Biography

Latvian artist Roberts Šterns was born on February 4, 1884, in Liepāja, into a family of fishermen. His father, Fricis Šterns, was a Moravian preacher, and the household was marked by a strict religious atmosphere. Šterns had a brother who was a graphic artist and woodcarver and two sisters – one a writer and the other a singer.
He received his primary education at the Liepāja City School. From 1900 to 1904, he learned music theory and violin. In 1905, despite his parents’ objections, he left for the Penza Art School in Russia.
After graduating, he returned to Rīga, where he worked as a teacher at the Maldonis Gymnasium and pursued research in drawing methodology. In 1912, as part of an educational exhibition, he gave a series of lectures on drawing techniques. In 1920, he was one of the founders of the Latvian Public University. Along with his active teaching career, he was also involved in literary creation and art criticism.
The artist died on May 15, 1945, of a heart attack in his apartment in Rīga.[1]

Artistic style

While working as a teacher, Šterns also studied at the Art Academy of Latvia, from which he graduated in 1930. He completed his studies in the Figurative Painting Studio led by Jānis Roberts Tillbergs (1880–1972). Šterns was a proponent of traditional realism in visual art. His style is marked by academic realism – focusing on the depiction of the external, the material similarity of objects, the representation of ideas, and the expression of life and nature in his homeland. He gained particular recognition as a marine painter, depicting seascapes under a variety of conditions – sunlight reflecting on the water, moonlight, storms, rain clouds, and more. His works frequently feature fishermen, amber collectors, and local landscapes.[2]
Since 1914, Šterns had participated in exhibitions organized by the Society for the Promotion of the Arts and the Latvian Cultural Fund. His works were also shown internationally, including at a 1939 exhibition of marine paintings in Lübeck (Germany) and Liège (Belgium).[3]

Interesting Facts

In 1920, Šterns published the book “Introduction to Methodical Drawing” and contributed a popular drawing course to the magazine “Atpūta.” In 1925, his monograph “Janis Rozentāls” was issued.
Šterns also devoted himself to literature, focusing on philosophical, ethical, and everyday themes. His 1914 collection “Aphorisms. Paradoxes. Similarities” was followed in 1939 by “A Good, Smart, Beautiful Life”.
Before his death, he was working on a novel portraying the life of an artist, but the fate of the manuscript remains unknown. [4]