KALVE Coffee continues to celebrate the achievements of legendary masters of Latvian visual art, this time dedicating its most relevant Toffee espresso blend to the pioneer of Latvian modernism, Jāzeps Grosvalds.

Jāzeps Grosvalds, known as Joe among his family and friends, is one of the most prominent figures in Latvian art - not only classical modernism pioneer , but also the originator of several nationally important topics that formed the basis for the modern art of the newly independent country of Latvia.

In August 1913, Joe and his brother Olgert went on a trip to Spain, where they visited several cities including Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville and Granada. In the city of Seville, the artist was in a constantly excited mood and he felt like he was in a real oriental fairy tale. He was particularly fascinated by the gardens of the Alcázar Palace: “Everywhere flowers – rose and almond blossoms and soft, perfumed air; decoration for the Arabian Nights,” Joe writes in his diary. The teeth of the medieval towers behind the mimosas curtain or rose net and the former minaret or Hiralda tower between palm trees on dark blue sky background – this is the visual formula that allowed Grosvalds to become aware of color the role of expression, their emotional and aesthetic effects, which will appear so strongly in his later works.

Artwork: Jāzeps Grosvalds. Alcazar garden in Seville. (1913, collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art)