Voldemārs Irbe

Voldemārs Irbe (13 November 1893 – 10 October 1944) was a Latvian pastel painter, active in Riga throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Though he was well known for his odd behavior and disheveled appearance, leading him to be nicknamed "Barefoot Irbīte", Irbe's work was acclaimed by the Latvian art world both during and after his lifetime.

Life In 1893, Irbe was born to a highly religious family in the Beļava Parish of Latvia's Valka district. After his family moved to Riga in 1904, Irbe enrolled in school, but he performed poorly and only showed interest in theology. Irbe's brother Jacob, noting Irbe's poor scholastic performance and interest in art, encouraged him to enroll in an art school instead. Consequently, Irbe entered the Drawing and Painting School at the Riga Decorative Painters' Art Society. Irbe took to art much more than he had to traditional schooling, and after his graduation he began working in the studio of .

After the 1915 suicide of his father, Irbe took up employment at a local Orthodox monastery. Impressed by the art he saw in those cities, Irbe next attempted to travel to Egypt. However, this venture was unsuccessful, and he ultimately decided to return to Riga in 1919. Irbe was summoned for military service, but due to his personal convictions against violence, he was unwilling to serve; consequently, he declared himself "an idiot" so that he could be found mentally unfit for the army.

During World War II, Riga was frequently bombed; Irbe was killed in one such bombing in 1944. A statue of Irbe was later erected near the site of his death. He was known for the speed of his work, which sometimes led him to be criticized for carelessness; however, Irbe was widely praised by his fellow artists, including Vilhelms Purvītis, Jūlijs Madernieks, and Kārlis Neilis.