Photographer Jānis Rieksts (1881-1970) is better known for taking portraits of notable Latvian cultural figures and documenting the life of Latvian riflemen during the World War I, but his contribution to ethnographic photography is no less important. His substantial legacy at the collection of the National History Museum of Latvia includes photographs of 50 farmsteads and its inhabitants taken in the early 20th c. In addition to photography, he collected valuable ethnographic items and published original postcards depicting traditional dress and Latvian peasant types.
For a short time, Rieksts also ran an art salon and was one of the most active members of the Latvian Photographic Society. His energy and vision carried into the production of photo paper and plates in the 1930s.
From sheaves of flax to fabric
To get an overview of the Latvian way of life, the Latvian Photographic Society intended to create a series of photographs of work processes and tools in each of Latvia’s regions. To this end, Jānis Rieksts went to the townships of Latvia in the early 20th c. and carefully documented the daily life and festivities of farmers and fishers. His series of photographs –the processing of flax from sheaves in the fields to fabric on looms and from launching boats into the water to drying fish on shore – are a valuable source for research and visualisation of ancient skills.
“We are a small nation and if we lose our identity, we can easily disappear from the face of the earth. The nation must learn to hold high the values that its ancestors have passed on to them, through difficult and long roads, and which we can proudly show to other nations.”
J. Rieksts. Fifteen years in damper fumes. In: Talsu Balss. 1933. No. 46
Clothing in photographs
The apparel of farmers changed significantly during the 19th c., and many features of contemporary fashion appeared in the dress of both men and women. As early as the first half of the 19th c., men began to wear classic English-style suits; women adopted city-style skirts and jackets in the latter half of the century. Rieksts’ photos show that garments made according to ancient traditions were often worn simultaneously with urban dress.
“Each nation has its own style of dress, developed through old traditions, and it reveals its spiritual content. It passes from mother to daughter, from father to son, and the more generations that can be counted, the greater the honour for the wearer. Latvians, too, have their own dress, which, according to experts, are the most luxurious and glorious in the world.
J. Rieksts. Fifteen years in damper fumes. In: Talsu Balss. 1933. No. 46
Jānis Rieksts’ ethnographic collection
In 1921, Jānis Rieksts donated his ethnographic collection created in parallel with photography to the current National History Museum of Latvia. Initially, the collection included 540 ethnographic items, 150 drawings, and 2500 photographs. The largest part of the collection was items of clothing of from Kurzeme region – Nīca and Bārta skirts, glorious brooches from Rucava, and simple brooches from Kuldīga. Rieksts’ ethnographic collection also contained more than 200 pieces of applied art –vases, decorative plates, bowls, mugs by Pēteris Šteinbergs (1874-1938), Jēkabs Dranda (1853-1915), Augusts Julla (1872-1958), Ansis Cīrulis (1883-1942), and other potters.
See the next stand: Following the call to document life in the countryside
See the previous stand: On the Liv coast