In the Latvian National Museum of Art, painting represents the Russian art from the 1870s to the 1930s most completely. During this period the Russian school of art developed rapidly and acquired its distinct national characteristics. At the beginning of the 20th century Russian art was at the forefront of the Avant-Garde.

Realism that had been developing in Europe since the mid 19th century took on a decisive role in Russia in the 1870s and 80s when the art scene was greatly influenced by the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (the so-called "Peredvizhniki", 1870–1923). The basic features of Russian Realism were the analysis and critique of contemporary social phenomena, an interest in the life of the people and motifs from the national nature. These are revealed in the paintings and studies of Realists of various generations – Ivan Kramskoi, Alexei Savrasov, Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky.

Refelecting the phenomena of the age and in contrast with the Realists, there are the academically tended works of Henrik Semiradsky, Georg Urlaub and Alexander Popov.

The ideals of the Peredvizhniki lost their relevance in the 1890s. The new generation of artists searched for different means of expression in Impressionism (Konstantin Korovin, Sergei Vinogradov), in Art Nouveau (Alexander Gausch), and in Symbolism (Konstantin Bogayevsky, Nikolai Sapunov, Nikolai Ulyanov). New techniques appeared in painting – the stylisation of form, accentuation of the plane of the canvas and decorativeness of colour and line. Figural compositions began to feature themes from national holidays, theatrical subjects and scenes from bygone times.

The Mir Iskusstva (1898–1924) group of artists based in St. Petersburg and headed by Alexander Benois became the advocate of the new creative changes. Masters of various artistic interests participated in the society’s exhibitions and their work was characteristic of the many-sided art of pre-revolutionary Russia – Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Philip Malyavin, Boris Kustodiyev, Ilya Mashkov, Zinaida Serebryakova.

The display is supplemented with sculptural works and porcelain. In the 19th century Russia’s largest porcelain factories were renowned for the high technical and artistic quality of their production. Porcelain is a very good pointer to the spirit of the age and the current fashion in art. The exhibited examples show an enthusiasm for Rococo, themes from the life of the nation and Art Nouveau motifs.

Items produced in Russia during the first ten years after the Revolution of 1917, the so-called "agit-porcelain" have a special place in the museum’s collection. A unique phenomenon in 20th century art history was the practice of well-known painters and graphic artists to paint revolutionary slogans, aphorisms and Soviet symbols on the old pottery forms of the former Imperial Porcelain Factory.

The paintings by Nikolai Roerich are part of a unique collection that has been in Riga since the 1930s.

Nikolai Roerich (1874–1947) was born in St. Petersburg and became an outstanding Russian artist, philosopher and traveller. In 1897 he completed his studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art and a year later graduated from the faculty of law at St. Petersburg University. Already in the 1890s Roerich had turned his attention to themes from antiquity becoming interested in ancient Russian history, Scandinavian and Baltic mythology and Oriental culture. During his time in St. Petersburg Nikolai Roerich became famous as a painter and stage designer.

From 1918 until 1923 Roerich and his family lived in Europe and America. The artist became active in society, and several cultural organisations were founded on his initiative. In 1923 Roerich travelled to India. From 1925 until 1928 he organised and led a major Central Asian expedition that would include the Himalayas, Tibet, Mongolia and the Altai region. From 1929 until the end of his life the artist and his family lived in the Kulu Valley in the Western part of the Himalayas. Here he founded an institute of scientific research, designed a project for the Peace Pact, painted and wrote essays.

In the 1930s more than 80 cultural organisations around the world put Roerich’s ideas into practice. There was also a Roerich Society in Latvia, the land of the artist’s ancestors. In its correspondence with the Roerich family, the Society proposed the idea of creating an art museum. For this purpose Nikolai Roerich sent some of his own and his son Svyatoslav’s paintings from India. In 1940 the Soviet regime abolished the Society and the Roerichs’ works came into the hands of the Riga City Art Museum (now the Latvian National Museum of Art). The Latvian Roerich Society was renewed in 1989.

The works of Nikolai Roerich on show reflect the artist’s motifs and stylistic of his painting during his time in India. The mountains are symbols of man’s spiritual labour – the place where the Earth meets the Universe.

The art of Svyatoslav Roerich (1904–1993) is represented on a display by four works. They demonstrate both his own individual style as well as the tendencies in the art of his father – a continuation of the beauty and spirituality that were close to both of them.