Karlis Hall and Freedom Monument

“(..) In his life and works, Zāle’s personality has developed from his inner center. Zāle is one of those people who, when meeting him, could immediately feel the inner core behind the exterior, something essential. This core was embedded in his vitality. Innate powers, the heritage of Kursian ancestors, are the great dowry that Laima placed in the cradle of Kursa’s son. Nature had lavishly endowed Zāle with this vitality. An indefatigable vitality flowed in the sculptor’s posture, in every gesture, in the expressive play of features and in his language, giving everything a peculiar freshness and juiciness. From the fertile vital layer, his fantasy burst forth briskly and spontaneously, his lively thought burst forth. From here arose everything that was original and healthily primitive in Zāle’s life and work. This unbreakable store of rustic forces broke its way through life and overcame difficulties. In artistic creation, it gave us the opportunity to say something of our own and something new, to stand out in the first places, achieving outstanding achievements in our monumental sculpture. In this art region, we did not have our own traditions that had grown up in the circle of modern culture, which began to form in the Latvian painting region since the end of the last century. Thus, we could quite easily succumb to the influence of the old cultural peoples, remaining imitators and descendants. "If this did not happen, if in a relatively short time our best sculptors in the field of monumental sculpture were able to create something original and noteworthy, then we must thank the rustic foundation of our life for it. Zāle expresses this ancient layer with deep and instinctive security. The forms of modern artistic expression were thus able to grow from the roots of rustically fresh primitiveness, seeing behind the decoration of present-day culture the ancient wisdom and beauty in its - one would like to say - barbaric splendor and greatness (..)"

“(..) We, said the master, should not be ashamed and run away from ourselves and the time in which we stand, but should be who we are — Latvian artists. If you are an artist, show the power of your land, its blessings and beauty, show the workers in their efforts, show the mother, the guardian of the family hearth, the protector of the fatherland, show all this with respect, with warm feelings and reverence, so that others can see who we are and respect us. But if you make them look like cripples in your inept depictions, if you smear the faces of peasants and workers with mud, making them look like dumb animals, show them crooked and broken like slaves or criminals, — you have slandered and spat on your people. Such a fool should better throw away his brushes and go dig ditches or Do some other, more useful work. How can others respect you if you don't know how to respect yourself? Being an artist doesn't mean gliding around the outside of life and random trifles, but it means searching for the core and nucleus in nature and people. Dilettantes stick to random trifles and don't see the main thing, while other dilettantes tinker with form and rejoice as if in happy coincidences. If I spit, my spit will sometimes spill out with some kind of twists and drops, but is that how a serious artist should approach his art? Only amateur scoundrels who show off their every stupidity act like that, but not serious painters. Connoisseur and dilettante - these were bitter and contemptuous words in Zāle's mouth. The sculptor also did not respect easy improvisation and empty enthusiasm in art. Especially in the last stage of his life, Zāle increasingly emphasized knowledge and true ability, skill and craftsmanship. importance. He highly respected the traditions of academic art. Once, at a meeting of the Committee of the Brothers' Graves, the sculptor refuted the objections of Academician F. that the horse stands he had created did not have the correct proportions. Zāle then ordered a compass to be brought and, measuring, showed that everything was in accordance with recognized norms. F. felt completely awkward afterwards. I remember that, when showing photos of the works of academic masters in the Luxembourg Museum, Zāle rejoiced: "What knowledge and skill there is! It is immediately clear what the master wanted to achieve. Here there are proportions, an understanding of the formation of forms, a sense of beauty. Such works will always retain their value and will not tire. But here some good people, in their amateurish ineptitude and unpreparedness, imagine that they are creating great works of art." (..)”

“(..) On the one hand, Zāle focused on serious studies of form, understanding of movement and anatomical structure, but on the other hand, he put composition at the center of his work. To the students who already imagined themselves to be ready-made artists who were allowed to do as they pleased, Zāle simply told them not to waste their time here at the academy. At the academy, one should study the craft of sculpture, acquire knowledge, skills. One can do what one likes and what comes to mind very well at home. With great enthusiasm, Professor Zāle knew how to approach the students, without suppressing their individual perception, but clarifying what should be done and how to approach their task. Many of them had their eyes opened for the first time here, and the favorable results were already visible in a short time in the exhibition of the students’ works. Zāle made them delve deeper into the meaning of composition, the structure of forms, the movement, expression and characterization of figures. When The student had a sense of what was to be found in a certain composition, and the rigorous study of natural forms took on a completely different meaning. Thus he taught his students to consciously control their own creation, and not to simply copy the appearance of nature without any meaning (..)”

“(..) He participated in the Freedom Monument design competition in 1924 and 1925. In 1925, the Cabinet of Ministers decided that the Freedom Monument should be built according to the design of the Zāle, but this decision was not implemented. A lot happened around these matters in those years, intrigue and noise, but there was no definite positive outcome. However, the competition, like the work on the Brothers' Cemetery, was important for the development of the Zāle. He gained considerable experience, had a lot to consider and reflect on, clarify his ideas, which could later be put into practice. The master and some of his closest friends had their own meeting place in the city - at Madernieks's, Brīvības Street 13. Collaborators also gathered here, because this was the residence of this artists' association. There they discussed the events of the day and art issues in detail; they wrote or discussed some good articles. There was a "stabs" where they discussed the situation during the monument design competition, rejoicing in their successes and puffing up about failures. Zāle also participated quite actively in the progress of the Cooperative during these years. His thoughts were always listened to carefully by both the older and younger artists of the group. Until 1930, the issue of the Freedom Monument had been abandoned. When notable state and public figures again took up the matter with renewed vigor, the necessary solution was achieved. In 1930, the last competition for the monument's designs was held, in which Zāle won first prize. This design was improved and, working with arch. Štālbergs, it was completed in 4 years. At that time, a tall barrack - a workshop with bright windows - rose on the monument's square. The work to be erected gradually grew in its core. Zāle made the models in a modernly equipped new workshop on Polotsk Street, the stone cutting took place here. The pillars and stairs around the core of the monument led from floor to floor; The chisels of the many stonemasons and master's assistants clanged on the ground and on the platforms. Pneumatic chisels roared, tearing apart the solid granite mass. It was like a strange fairyland, where the will of the creator caused forms seen in the spirit to sink and remain in matter. Sunlight streamed into the twilight of the vast spaces, and the white stands of giants shimmered in it, each one awaiting the moment of its fulfillment in quiet solemnity. All around lay scattered blocks of stone with parts already begun: arms, waists, heads, truly membra disiecta — as the Latin poet says. These impressions remained indelibly in the memories of the visitors to the workshop. The Freedom Monument was finished. Zāle had meanwhile acquired a house on Avotu Street. Its income was to ensure the existence of the master and his family, so that they could live and work independently in the future, because the artist's intentions were rich and broad (..).

“(..) The past and the present, like one indivisible song, are contained in the sounds of the heroic epic in the Freedom Monument. In a grand breath, it expresses the entire life of the people: work, spiritual quest, family, military strength; Lāčplēsis — the performer of wild forces, the singer-songwriter; the breakers of the shackles of slavery and the image of Freedom with three shining stars, historical scenes also open. The wonderful light of fairy tales shines everywhere here. The same is also conveyed by many other works of Zāle's recent years. Here the master searches for the essence in the images of reality and elevates reality itself to the solemn and simple beauty of a fairy tale (..)”