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Biography
Boris Vipper (Latvian: Boriss Vipers, Russian: Борис Робертович Виппер; 3(15).4.1888, Moscow - 24.1.1967, Moscow) was Latvian art historian, Professor at the University of Latvia (1924-1941), Soviet art critic, member of the USSR Russian Academy of Arts.
Education
He studied at Moscow State University (1906-1911) and taught there, at the Latvian Academy of Arts and at the Latvian University.
Career
He taught history and art theory at the Latvian Academy of Arts, since 1932 at the University of Latvia and made a substantial contribution to the research on Latvian art. As an art critic, he specialised in European, particularly in Latvian, Italian, Dutch, Russian and German art.
Since 1944, he worked as an acting director of the scientific department of The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. His fundamental works are dedicated to the main problems in art history and include questions of realism, struggles between art schools and historical development of styles and genres.
His theoretical course, Introduction to the Historical Study of Arts, was unique for its deep and thorough analysis of technical problems and genres. He covered primitive to 20th-century art.