Playing and Dancing Indians

The beginning of J. Rimša’s career was related to his studies of Indian life: their past, traditions, customs and nature. He travelled to Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, and painted more than 1,000 pictures, although the whereabouts of most of them are unknown. He began his career under the influence of the Spanish school of painting, while his creative individuality matured under the influence of French painting, mostly Post-Impressionist. He finally felt a spiritual affinity with Gauguin, who also sought out the charm of primitive cultures, but in Tahiti. Living far away from Lithuania, Rimša took a similar path in his work: from traditional realism, which occurred in Latin America under the influence of Spanish painting, to Post-Impressionism and Symbolism. Text author Nijolė Tumėnienė.