Secluded Corner of Užupis
Secluded Corner of Užupis

Secluded Corner of Užupis

Author: Mackevičius Vytautas, 1911 - 1991

Created: 1965.

Material / technique: oil on canvas.

Dimensions:  48x62 cm.

Signature:  V Mack  (in the bottom-right corner of the painting); V. Mackevičius / Užupio kampelis / 1965 48x62 (in the back side of the painting, under the frame top-right).

The responsible position of Vytautas Mackevičius (1911–1991) as rector of the LSS R State Institute of Art in the Soviet period required him to produce ideologically correct figure compositions, and therefore painting landscapes was a genuine break for him. He liked painting views of the Old Town. This view of Užupis was inspired by the natural quality of the view, which even today is unchanged. It is seen from the foot of Saviour Hill. The roofs of Užupis, interspersed with green and yellow autumnal foliage, and crowned with the tower of the Church of St Bartholomew, rise above the River Vilnia, and the riverside houses make it look like a citadel. The powerful static verticals and horizontals, the large decorative planes, the bright sunlight and the broad brushstrokes create a firm and sonorous image of the Old Town.

Reference: Art album "Vilnius. Topophilia" (Volume I). Compiled by L. Laučkaitė. Vilnius, LAWIN, 2014, I Vol. P. 298.

Exhibitions: “VILNIUS. Topophilia”, 5 October – 26 November, 2017, the National Gallery of Art, Vilnius.

Published: Art album "Vilnius. Topophilia" (Volume I). Compiled by L. Laučkaitė. Vilnius, LAWIN, 2014, I Vol. P. 298.