Imants Lancmanis, a painter, art historian, and a specialist in heraldry and restoration of art and architectural monuments, compares his 55 years as Director of Rundale Palace to a large-scale installation. He handed over this position to the new director Laura Lūse last year. Lancmanis has left his “utopian island” to turn his full attention to painting – an activity he associates with a profound emotional experience. Lancmanis admits: “Many people consider me to be reserved and unsociable, but I actually perceive things very  emotionally.”

By Laura Brokāne

We met in December 2016, at the opening of your altar painting The Issue of Christ in Easter 2016 held in St. Peter&rsquo;s Church. At that time, in the interview, you said that the painting was made during the weekends and holidays, and it was hard to predict how much time you would have for painting in the future.

In fact, at that time I knew already I would retire at the end of 2018. Not only to finish the articles that is my sacred duty, but to paint, paint, paint ... You mentioned The issue of Christ in Easter 2016 ... My painting The Holy Family will soon be ready, and I am currently working on the painting The Lord&rsquo;s Supper. Religious painting has always been a great challenge and trial for masters. Nowadays, when you look back you see there are so many great works created it seems that nothing new can be done, but it has turned out like that. In my life many things are not scheduled at all. The Holy Family appeared as a result of various coincidences. The idea came up at the end of August and strengthened during my trip to Spain in October. While The Lord&rsquo;s Supper, I saw in my dream one morning. I saw it as a fully-finished painting and now I&rsquo;m making it a reality. You see, I&rsquo;m up to my eyes in painting. I go to bed and wake up with the idea of painting.

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If I am correct the prototype of the Holy Family is a real family living in Latvia nowadays.

Yes, they are Brigita Zelča-Aispure and Sandis Aispurs and their two children. I saw Brigita sitting with the little one and realised here was a modern Madonna with a child. And in Spain, when looking at the works of [Bartolome Esteban] Murillo, I could see that it was the whole family together &ndash; Mother of God, Joseph, the little John the Baptist and the other boy. I did a quick photo session and ... The situation with The Lord&rsquo;s Supper is similar; a week ago, colleagues of the museum posed for images of Christ and his 12 disciples, and now I have already completed half of the painting.

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You have said that the interest in castles and manors in Soviet times allowed you to create your own world, to escape from everyday life.

Yes, it is true to a large extent. Probably for me it is also in my genes, the memories of the past ... But, rationally, it was a chance to shelter. Rundale Palace was like an island in the midst of Soviet madness. You could build a life there with your own values. Palaces have always attracted me with their fullness. They embody all the cravings &ndash; the craving of power, ambitions, greed. But at the same time there was everything that the imagination of a creative person could create. All the castles are to some extent Versailles &ndash; from Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt to the present day. My task in Rundale Palace was to bring back an unprecedented shabby, empty, profane building to its former glory. Art pieces in the premises of the palace change, and the museum also buys new ones. This activity is not the opposite of painting; it is a kind of spatial installation, only with very expensive items. These items can be assembled in a totally useless way, but they can also be arranged to create a sense of peace and euphoria. I am subjected to both &ndash; the taste of that time and, on the other hand, the understanding of harmony. However, I need painting as well &ndash; the smell of turpentine, a brush stroke ... It has now been three months since I have had this obsession with painting.

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Painting is a more individual form of selfexpression than work in the palace.

Yes, of course, any such installation is to some extent intermediate. There are many circumstances. For example, you cannot choose items completely voluntarily. But painting takes place in a large world in my head and makes me delirious to implement it. When I go to bed in the evening I am excited to get up the next morning to continue painting.

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The utopian mood of Rundale Palace can be felt strongly in the photographs of the carnivals&nbsp;organized by you during the Soviet era. However, in the interviews you said that you probably wouldn&rsquo;t have accepted this job in the palace if you had known what to expect there, for example, in the sixties.

You stated exactly &ndash; utopia. In Soviet times the idea of renovating Rundale Palace was definitely a utopia. It is hard to say how we managed to overcome all this &ndash; apparently it was decided by fate. Castles in Latvia have not been in a favourable position in the 20th century. The fact that Rundale was allowed to be reborn is a real miracle. Utopias are wonderful with their vision to move forward and it is really nice if these utopias come true. In reality they quite often remain on the level of an imaginary world.

You are also right regarding the fact that from time to time it seemed impossible. Depressing moments occurred quite often. It has been a very long process. In April, 55 years passed since I started working in the palace.

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What is your relationship with the Palace right now? Is there a special &ldquo;rose bush&rdquo; to care for?

There is a lot to be taken care of. I have to finish the third volume of the monograph on the Palace, as well as the catalogues of my late wife (art historian Ieva Lancmane &ndash; ed. remark) on the 18th century portrait exhibition. Actually it is good that I have a lot of writing to finish, otherwise painting could turn into an obsession. It is good to sit down at the computer in the evening and turn to the writing. Moreover, it takes place in the same room where I paint. Painting The Lord&rsquo;s Supper is enormous for my scale, I can only put it in my workroom slanted and I can barely reach it.

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Don&rsquo;t you paint in the Palace?

No, I go to the Palace for meetings. I&rsquo;m a member of the scientific council, so we&rsquo;re discussing publications. I still have collections of watches and decorative bronze items, and I myself want to make publication about them. Relations with the palace are certainly not disrupted. Now and then, I have to go there, feel the mood. But I don&rsquo;t want to be there too often and be a disturbance. I&rsquo;m not someone who thinks it is necessary to give advice to the new director. The new director is great with everything. I was pleased to see that this change did not raise unnecessary collisions &ndash; neither for me personally, nor to other colleagues in the museum &ndash; everything is carrying on smoothly.

What is necessary for you to paint?

Actually, I just need some free time, which I have a bit more of at the moment, but it&rsquo;s not to the neglect of all other duties. In my case, just painting would be dangerous. I go too deep into the process. Many people consider me to be a restrained, distant person, but I actually perceive things very emotionally. I believe that art can only be practiced if you go through it. The paths of contemporary painting are often closed to me because they are too rational and simplified. Of course, I can&rsquo;t express in painting everything I experience and think, for that I need themes. I have chosen a religious theme with purpose. I am delighted to combine the complex of Christ&rsquo;s ideas with his physical image. For me, the vision of the painting appears as a flash, which I later fill in rationally. In general, it is more a spiritual state rather than a rational. It is as if I have to stage a performance &ndash; I write the material, I put it on stage, I make the scenery myself and put all this into the painting. With this embodiment I try to make the painting move away from me, float away, and I look at it as if from another dimension &ndash; as the miracle I have given birth to. This process means a lot to me. This is my way and I cannot recommend it to others. There has to be an imaginary world that just comes, and then I carry it out.

The modern world is so confused – people often say they don’t see meaning. Consumption is no longer satisfying – if you are satiated and wealthy, disappointment can come easily. And in this situation moral values can show you the way out. Spiritual  selfbalancing is the only thing worth striving for. 

When we speak about contemporary art, maybe the result just seems to be simple, but in fact it is rooted in deep emotions.

I don&rsquo;t really want to speak negatively about contemporary art, but if the viewer can&rsquo;t enter and disappear into it &hellip; By the way, Helena Demakova just gave a very interesting lecture for the employees of Rundale Palace on a few contemporary art phenomena &ndash; [Anselm] Kiefer, [Damien] Hirst. It is good to know the context surrounding the artist. For example, Kiefer has always seemed to me to be non-picturesque and tangled, but it is important to know the background in which he painted &ndash; in the middle of rejection and non-acceptance. While Hirst seems to me to be a very serious art phenomenon considering the scope of his work. And of course, Bill Viola; I saw a performance of Tristan and Isolde in Paris and, with the help of music and video, Viola has been able to turn this story of Tristan and Isolde into a truly powerful image. To be honest, it even exceeded the impression I have gained from the old masters. After the show I walked crying along Paris. It was a year after my wife&rsquo;s death and I the show affected me at a very personal level. Modern art is also capable of giving you a very strong emotional experience. Though I myself would not be able to work with video art; I need a brush touching the canvas, to see how the canvas gradually fills up, goes away from me, and finally I think it was created by the hand of someone else.

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In your creative work you, similar to Viola, are engaged in a spiritual search in this modern world.

Exactly. The issue of Christ purposefully was on Easter 2016 &ndash; it was addressed to the crazy modern world full of conflicts. I consider myself fully to be a contemporary artist. I wonder that viewers are often confused by my form characteristic to old masters. In fact, my work is similar to that of Kiefer or, in particular, to Viola. At all times artists have intended to give a message. Even though an icon of the Byzantine artist nowadays seems to be just a yellow-and-brown oval, the author wanted to put the deepest emotions into it. The external shape can be variable, but the main thing is what is standing behind it. I am less interested in painting the shape; I need a certain degree of trustworthiness, the fact that the human being from the picture is addressing his fellow humans.

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You have described your style as conceptual romanticism.

Yes, basically my paintings as image systems are romantic. For example, I try to find nobleness in war and death &ndash; to prove that even in such circumstances man can be spiritual and enlightened. The term &ldquo;conceptual romanticism&rdquo; comes from a conversation I had with my wife in which I said that I consider my paintings to be conceptual. But she replied &ndash; no, the main thing in them is romantic contributions. The fact that the paintings are done in a realistic, old-fashioned form, is secondary. This is important to bring the message to the audience.

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The messages of many contemporary artists are related to social responsibility.

Yes, it is a very important topic that seems to be old fashioned and irrelevant to many people today. There is also a conception that it is related to propaganda, and it is non-artistic. But the old masters also wanted to say something, to deny, to praise. I have already said that I am very emotional, so I cannot, for example, feature a war without condemning it. It is not the artist&rsquo;s duty to educate the viewer, but he can remind them of some important, eternal truths, including moral responsibility. In Latvia nowadays, thank God, people do not have to decide whether to participate in war or kill, but they still have a moral responsibility towards their family, the environment. It is good that art and literature reminds us about this. Art and literature have a tremendous impact. In ancient times, when literature was out of competition, it had the power to create human characters within a whole generation.

I don&rsquo;t like art if it is cynical, indifferent, snubbing everything, including social and moral responsibility. Nowadays, all these criminal films have done a lot of harm &ndash; killing is presented as something regular, there is cynicism, and evil impunity. The films show violence as something playful. And we see that violence among schoolchildren is not so rare. The worst contribution of mass culture is that death in it is not real. In ancient cultures it was taken very seriously. The artist does not have to think about entertaining, amusing or horrifying the viewer, but to show the way to the light and do it in a way that is not straight and didactic. You can sneer about Christian values, but if you want to be honest you have to think what can replace them. In my opinion, only a person with a violent and brutal character can declare I have no ideals, I do not believe in anything. How can one reject the good? I think it should be a pretty sad life. I have never been able to understand criminals because living with crime must be very uncomfortable. It is easy to do good because then you can live in the comfort zone.

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For example, the theorist Hannah Arendt, when speaking about war, points to the banality of evil.

Nowadays, man is focused on scepticism, but can be easily convinced &ndash; just like eating organic food or practicing yoga, you can cultivate good for your mental hygiene. Christian values can be a point of support. I can&rsquo;t imagine a total denial of the higher power. Maybe in youth it seems that you can do everything by yourself, but by the time, for example, you have worked 55 years in the palace, you realize that you have been just a tractable performer in an important mission, which you did not carry out by your will and imagination. I am not saying that my paintings are intended to draw people to God, even less to the church, but it would be nice if they think about ideals, especially because the modern world is so confused &ndash; people often say they don&rsquo;t see meaning. Consumption is no longer satisfying &ndash; if you are satiated and wealthy, disappointment can come easily. And in this situation moral values can show you the way out. Spiritual self-balancing is the only thing worth striving for.

Could you tell me what inspires you outside art.

I am inspired by many things. First of all, literature; I feel sorry that television and the internet are more popular than literature. These days, since I have been completely focused on painting, I hardly ever watch television, as I hate adverts. I don&rsquo;t understand the meaning of advertising. Why is the same clip repeated ten times during the movie? In my opinion, the viewer starts hating this product rather than having a desire to buy it. I&rsquo;ve discovered a way not to tolerate this banality &ndash; I watch movies via internet. I choose serials that are not too harmful &ndash; which keep the viewer in the area of responsibility, which have the proper setting. From the entertainment genre I like westerns, because in the end the bad guys are always paid back. (Laughing.) I am very pleased that the role of literature has not disappeared altogether.

It is nice that in Latvia, where the purchasing power is relatively low, people publish, buy and read books. Literature is an opportunity for everyone to be creative &ndash; the reader actually stages the story, creates images and the scenery themselves. The educational role of the book is incredibly large &ndash;and, God be merciful, it won&rsquo;t diminish. In terms of music, I am very conservative &ndash; contemporary music rarely forms the harmonized system that I am looking for. Old-time music with compositional perfection fascinates me. When I am nervous and a piece of kitschy music chases me I turned on something by [Wolfgang Amadeus] Mozart or [Johann Sebastian] Bach. Well-structured music restores my nervous system again. Music easily gets into my head. I have had situations that one melody has been sitting in my head for three weeks. Raimonds Pauls to my mind is a genius who is ahead of [Andrew Lloyd Webber, and other great composers, and is known for his ability to turn each text into extraordinary imagery. Every single year in the second half of the 20th century Latvia was dressed in a system of recognizable sounds of Raimonds Pauls. But I can&rsquo;t listen to his songs otherwise they stay in my head for a long, long time. I listen to complex melodies that I can&rsquo;t reproduce. But unfortunately I can reproduce some pieces of Mozart as well. (Laughing).

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Vasiļevskis is one of the post-war period artists that extremely subtle form of the ability to play with the ideology of socialist realism, bringing the post-modern trends. In the painting &ldquo;Still Life &ndash; Ray of Sun&rdquo;, he leads the eye to a tangible, objective reality in abstraction, dividing the broken surface of the beam of light into squares that turn into a feeling of illustration. The light in this case is the artist&#39;s captured phenomenon not only through technical observation, but through awareness.

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Could you please name one Latvian artwork from the post-war period that is very important for you personally?

I highly value post-war Latvian art, especially painting. I believe that Latvians are lucky with the art gene, with a sense of colour and harmony that could have accompanied a Latvian peasant, for example, when building a house. In any period of Latvian history, even during Stalin&rsquo;s time, there has been a powerful painting. I am not saying this based on local patriotism, which is not so characteristic of me. Also in the exhibition of the National Museum &ldquo;Portrait in Latvia. 20th century&rdquo; I noticed a lot of good works, including those which our group (French group &ndash; ed.) did not value high in the sixties, but in reality they are not bad. I highly value my contemporaries Maija Tabaka, Bruno Vasilievskis and others, but to choose one best author or the best work is impossible.

I feel sad when I see that artists or critics often deny everything that does not belong to their peers. Contemporary art appreciation tends to be narrow-minded, serving one certain group. For example, nobody wants to speak about Leipzig&rsquo;s artist Michael Triegal because he is from the East and represents an uncomfortable direction. It is similar with me, my paintings do not fit into the cosy, oiled, wide road. The artist must always look at his own uniqueness, oddity and not look back and calculate what will be relevant in the market. There are so many opportunities in art &ndash; there is no point in imitating someone. I think I have been able to be fairly objective and not to have had thinking imposed on me by a certain group. I think I can see what is behind the work of art. I can&rsquo;t be fooled if someone tells me there is something which does not exist.

Imants Lancmanis | Self-balancing

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