Romans Suta (1896-1944)

Born on April 28, 1896 in Cesis vicinity (Latvia), died on July 14, 1944 in Tbilisi (Georgia), rehabilitated posthumously.
Painter, graphic artist, decorative and stage designer, art critic and theoretician. Studies at J. Madernieks' Art Studio (1913), Riga City Art School (1913-1915), and Penza Art School (1915 -1917). A prominent figure and active protagonist of modernistic trends in Latvian art. Travels to Berlin and Paris, where he made the acquaintance of A. Ozanfant, Le Corbusier, and others. The influences of Cubism and Constructivism.
Member of the Riga Artists' Group (1920-1924) and Riga Graphic Artists' Society. Painter of still-lifes and figural compositions. After the first experiments in Modernism, he turned to a more realistic manner of representation. Initiator and developer of a national constructive style, especially in interior design; founder of Baltars creative workshop for porcelain painting (1924-1928); designer and painter at Kuznetsov's Porcelain Works and the Glass-Blowing Factory in Ilguciems (Latvia); head of the drawing and painting studio at the public high school (1929-1934) and private art studio (1934-1940). From 1939, he was engaged in film production at the Riga film studio as chief designer (films "Kauguriesi", "Melancholic Waltz").