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Felicita Pauļuka (Latvian: Felicita Pauļuka) (May 8, 1925 – December 8, 2014) was a Latvian painter mainly noted for her portraits, nudes and book illustrations. She established Latvian pastel painting traditions in the second half of the 20th century and is known as one of the most outstanding portrait and nude painters in Latvian art.[1]

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Felicita Pauļuka
Felicita Pauļuka
Born	(1925-05-08)May 8, 1925 Riga, Latvia
Died	(2014-12-08)December 8, 2014
Nationality	Latvian
Known for	Painting, Pastel art, Illustration

Biography

She was born Felicita Jānke (German: Jahnke) on May 8, 1925 in Riga, Latvia, in the family of an accountant of German origin.[2][3]

In 1940, Felicita Pauļuka enrolled the Art Academy of Latvia as the youngest student at the age of 15. During World War II, she had to stop her studies for four years.[3] In 1944, she resumed her studies, simultaneously working as an illustrator and cartoonist in the newspaper Cīņa. In 1949, she graduated with distinction from the portrait painting master workshop of the Art Academy of Latvia led by Ģederts Eliass and Leo Svemps.[1] The diploma work included a monumental figural composition in oil (Vecāķu Fishermen, 1949).[3] She has been participating in exhibitions since 1950 and a member of the Artists Union of Latvia since 1956.[2]

From 1943 to 1960, the artist was married to the painter Jānis Pauļuks.[3] The paths of Felicita and the well-known Latvian painter Jānis Pauļuks crossed before the World War II at the Art Academy of Latvia. They lived together for less than ten years (until the beginning of the 1950s), and all this time Felicita was there as a wife, muse and model.[4] From 1961 to 1980, her spouse was the Ukrainian graphic artist Sergejs Adamovičs.[3]

Art

Felicita Pauļuka is one of the most prominent representatives of portrait and nude painting in Latvian art. She has painted both with oil colors and pastels, and has drawn expressive drawings in charcoal and sangina techniques. In the 1950s and 1960s, she gained recognition in graphics and book art, created a certain concept of style and quality in children's literature illustrations. Collaborated with the magazines Draugs and Zīlīte. She has also worked on large cycles of drawings (Latvian fishermen, Georgian farmers, Donbas coal miners, Samsala fishermen, etc.). Due to the virtuosity and professionalism of these charcoal and sangina drawings, they are considered classic examples of Latvian art history.[5]

In the early 1960s, Felicita Pauļuka started a series of portraits of Latvian cultural workers, which she continued in the following years. She interpreted the external forms, characters and peculiarities of popular artists, writers and actors objectively and recognisably, but always from her own point of view.[6]

References

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