ASTOŅSTARU ZVAIGZNES SIMBOLIKA ANŠA CĪRUĻA VEIDOTAJĀ INTERJERĀ UN EKSTERJERĀ RĪGAS PILĪ

This article explores the eight-pointed star, popularly known as “auseklītis” (morning star), one of the symbols of “Latvju raksti” (Latvian ornaments) used by interwar Latvian artists in their pursuit of creating “Latvian” or “national” art. Among those who widely used the eight-pointed star was artist Ansis Cīrulis (1883–1942), particularly in the interior he designed for the Ambassadors Accreditation Hall of Riga Castle. This interior, with its iconic murals, is now part of Latvia’s Cultural Canon, that reflects most significant cultural achievements and is intended to foster a sense of belonging to Latvia. The research is a case study that focuses in detail on a single symbol used by one artist in a specific location. The research examines sketches, paintings, design objects, and archival sources and texts to understand the connotations assigned to the images. Materials from the Latvian State Historical Archive of the National Archives of Latvia and contemporary periodicals are used to reveal the views of art critics and the general public at the time. A key method in decoding symbolism is comparative analysis, used to compare the artwork under study with other works by Cīrulis. The research employs a theoretical perspective based on cultural nationalism, which emphasizes how material culture – artifacts, including paintings, public buildings, and symbols like flags and coats of arms – often play a significant role in the cultivation and instrumentalization of national culture, proclaiming the roots and presence of the nation. In this context, cultural elements become tools of legitimation, proving the nation’s right to exist and express itself, a process that does not end with the proclamation of the state but continues throughout the 20th century in highlighting the nation’s defining cultural feature. This theoretical perspective is applied to Cīrulis’ work in Riga Castle: heraldic murals, wall and ceiling paintings in the Ambassadors Accreditation Hall, the suite of furniture and the castle gates. In the heraldic murals in Riga Castle (none of which have survived), the eight-pointed star appeared in two instances: four stars were part of the Jelgava coat of arms, representing the four historical regions of Latvia; three stars ornamented the horn in the Ventspils coat of arms, possibly conveying the meaning of “zvaigžņotāju zeme” (land of star-makers) – a concept popularized by Matīss Siliņš, which influenced Cīrulis’ perception of essential ethnographic symbols for Latvians. Thus, Cīrulis expressed an idea that was vital for the emerging nation: national unity. An important purpose of the interior arrangement of the Ambassadors Accreditation Hall was to demonstrate to foreign envoys a “Latvian taste” or “style”. It is important to highlight the symbolic importance of Riga Castle in the new state – it was perceived as a symbol of power. The “Latvianization” of this location thus carried deep symbolic meaning. The “Latvian style”, or the search for authentic art, within the framework of cultural nationalism is recognized as characteristic of the new nation. In the intensively green wall painting in the Ambassadors Accreditation Hall, a golden rising sun appears, with four eight pointed stars placed among its rays, intersected by an eight pointed star in an ornate frame called “zalktis” (grass-snake). The four stars symbolize the four historical regions of Latvia, while the separately depicted eight-pointed star is one of the key ethnographic symbols for Latvians (along with the sun and swastika), rooted in peasant textile ornamentation and folk songs. Therefore, Cīrulis symbolically expresses the idea of statehood and Latvianness. The depiction of eight-pointed stars in the ceiling fresco can be interpreted similarly. The furniture is decorated with ornamental motifs, including eight-pointed stars, which contemporaries described as Latvian, yet the furniture itself was characterized as designed in a Biedermeier style. The “Latvianization” of the historic style can be explained by de-provincialization efforts, i.e., an attempt to position the emerging Latvian nation on the same cultural level as the established national cultures of old Europe. Overall, the interior of the Ambassadors Accreditation Hall in Riga Castle can be described as representing a folkloristic Art Deco style. It features a solar aesthetics that aligns well with Siliņš’ promoted vision and Cīrulis’ use of the sun as a central Latvian symbol. Folkloristic Art Deco style also embodied the optimism of the 1920s regarding the reborn Latvian state and the revival of ancient Latvian art. The eight-pointed stars forged into the castle gates can be interpreted as symbols of the ancient Latvians and their worldview. They allowed contemporaries to form a symbolic link between interwar Latvia and an idealized past. Through the lens of cultural nationalism theory, Cīrulis’ work at Riga Castle symbolically conveyed ideas essential to the new nation – the unity of its regions, the distinctiveness of Latvians as a people compared to other nations, and the antiquity of their art, and more broadly, its culture, which does not lag behind but perhaps even surpasses that of other nations. Overall, the findings highlight art’s role in fostering national cohesion and identity, underlining its importance in symbolically shaping Latvia as a nation.