Francisks Varslavans (1899-1949)

Painter.

F.Varslavans worked in oil, pastel and watercolor, painted portraits and landscapes.

He was born on Oct 10, 1899 in Rezekne.

Studied at art school of Imperial Art promotion association (1915-1917). School's head was Nikolai Rerich, but the teacher of F. Varslavans was painter Arkady Rilov. Then studied at futurist D.Burljuk’ in Vladivostok. Later working as burner visited Polynesia and Philippines.

F.Varslavans returned to Latvia in 1920, settled down in Rezekne. Worked as the drawing teacher in Rezekne Latvian Gymnasium and in the State Institute of Teachers (1921-1925). He made decorations for theatre of Latgale (1921-1925). Supported by the scholarship of the Cultural Foundation visited Berlin, Rome, Florence, Paris (1923). Since 1925 lived in Paris, studied painting in the Louvre. He worked as a baker, dishwasher, and partner on dances on the ship which floated to Brazil (1929).

In 1936 he established the Group of Rezekne Artists. F.Varslavans has made the huge contribution to development and popularization of art in Latgale as the head and the organizer of this group. His house became a place of meetings and discussions for artists of Rezekne. He worked as director of Rezekne Local History Museum (1940), as inspector of the Department of Fine Arts of the Arts Management in Riga (1940-1941).

In 1941 F.Varslavans evacuated to Tashkent, worked as the scene painter in Hiva Theatre of the Uzbek SSR, worked in State Art Ensemble of LSSR in Ivanov (1942-1944).

In 1944 returned to Riga.
F.Varslavans was a member of the Organizational Committee of Latvian Soviet Artists and the authorized representative of the Art Foundation of the USSR in Latvia (1944-1946).

Was member of the Artists’ Union since 1944.
Participated in exhibitions since 1918 (Vladivostok).
F.Varslavans participated in exhibitions of Group of Independent Artists (1924-1926) and Association Green crow (1927-1931), in exhibitions of the Latvian artists in Moscow and Leningrad (1934), in the Vein, Budapest, Prague (1937), in Paris and London (1939), and also in many exhibitions in Riga.
Personal exhibitions are organized in Riga (1924, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1935, 1949), Rezekne (1924). Memorial exhibitions are organized in Riga (1975, 2000), family exhibition in Rezekne (1985).

Being one of the first Latvian artists F.Varslavans awarded the title of the Latvian SSR Honored Art Worker

F.Varslavans died on November 28, 1949 in Riga.