Seaside of Riga (1848) by Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820‒1895)The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820‒1895) has an important place in the cultural heritage of Latvia, Russia and Germany.
Street in Capri (1893) by Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820‒1895)The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
The artist was born in Riga, however he has spent most of his life elsewhere.
For many years the artist’s destiny was closely connected to Russia. After studies in the Imperial Academy of Arts (1835–1839) he successfully debuted as a book illustrator and soon was acknowledged as one of the greatest graphic artists in Russia.
Seaside of Riga (1848) by Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820‒1895)The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
In 1867 Timm had to travel abroad for medical treatment and since then he lived and worked in Berlin until the end of his life. In Germany he mastered his skills in a new art – ceramics. Timm’s work in ceramics was very successful, it bought him fame, recognition and the honorary title of Professor at the Prussian Academy of Arts, leaving his mark in the history of German art of the second half of the 19th century.
According to the artist’s bequest, collections of his work were given to museums.
Riga City Museum of Art (now – the Latvian National Museum of Art) received Timm’s graphic works and paintings in 1904–1905, but the ceramics went to the Dome Museum (now – the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation) in 1907.
Portrait of an African (1844) by Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820‒1895)The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
Thanks to the bequest of Timm, the collections of Riga’s museums provide an extensive and diverse view into all periods of his creative work.
Seaside of Riga (1848) by Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820‒1895)The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
Although most of Timm's creative life was spent far from Riga, his ties with his native land were not broken.
He participated in art exhibitions held in Riga and often spent summers in his motherland (at the seaside of Riga, Sigulda, Ogre etc.)
He was also an honorary member of the Latvian Art Promotion Society (Kunstverein) and the Society received a large gift from the artist. The works from his art collection are also now part of the Latvian National Museum of Art collection.
Exhibition Curator: Ksenija Rudzīte, Curator of the Foreign Painting Collection, LNMA / Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
Photos: Aigars Altenbergs, Normunds Brasliņš