Kalnrozes, Valdis (Latvian, 1894-1993)

Valdis Kalnrozes (1894-1993) was a prestigious 20th Century Latvian painter, who was famous for his skilful Expressionist style and the subtle tones depicted by the muted palette he favoured.

Kalnrozes was born in Kuldiga, into a family of bakers. The artist discovered painting relatively late in life, studying at the Latvian Academy of Art from 1927 to 1932. The artist quickly discovered his aptitude for landscape painting, and during his years of study Kalnrozes travelled to several European countries, including Belgium, Holland and Germany where he painted prolifically. An important characteristic of Kalnrozes’ works are his use of brighter shades to highlight and magnify the more subtle, blended tones. From the 1930s, Kalnrozes developed a distinctive brush painting technique, as well as exploring novel methods of paint application such as using a palette knife to achieve textured surfaces.