Portrait of a Brother
Author: Peldavičiūtė-Montvydienė Ada, 1911 - 1967
Created: 1943.
Material / technique: oil on canvas.
Dimensions: 83x68 cm.
Signature: Ada (in the top-right corner of the painting).
Ada Peldavičiūtė Montvydienė, a beautiful blonde, was popular among her fellow artists, some of whom she immortalized in her paintings. The Lithuania's collection still holds Peldavičiūtė’s portrait of her teacher Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and a picture of the graphic artist Telesforas Valius. The latter portrait, same as that of her brother Vytautas Pelda-Peldavičius’, she painted during the war. In the background of Valius’ portrait, we can recognize motives of his works - fragments of rural life in Samogitia. Similarly, Peldavičius is immortalized among the ruins of Greco-Roman architecture. This portrait could have been painted using a travel photograph. In any case, it is a nod to the portrayed’s profession, as well as the painter's reminiscence of her beloved Italy. It is again difficult to say if she intended to picture her impressions of the ancient monuments, or to convey the echoes of Novecento Italiano painters’ art. Since 1936, Peldavičiūtė studied with Felice Carena at the Florence Academy of Art. Her style was doubtlessly affected by both her teacher’s focus on classical antiquity and his wide brush strokes.
Reference: “Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists' works from the 18th–first half of the 20th century”; Album, Part II, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius, 2019, p. 245.
Exhibitions: "Homecoming of Ada’s art " An exhibition of Peldavičiūtė’s works, 10 June–1 September 2013, Lithuanian Art Museum; Exhibition of the Fine Arts Collection of Edmundas Armoška "Outcrops of Lithuanian Art 16th–21th Centuries", 2008 July 3 - August 31, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius; "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries", 1 December 2017 - 26 August 2018, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius Picture Gallery.
Published:Lithuanian Art Museum. Chronicle 17, 2013 Vilnius, Lithuanian Art Museum, 2015, p. 209–219; "Outcrops of Lithuanian Art 16th–21th Centuries", Vilnius Exhibition of the Fine Arts Collection of Edmundas Armoška, Vilnius: Lithuanian Art Museum, 2008 Kat. No.III, 127, P. 124; Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries" Historical Review, Catalogue, Part I, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius, 2019, P. 199, Cat. 147; "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries" Album, Part II, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius, 2019, P. 244.
Photograph: display in the exhibition "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries", 1 December 2017 - 26 August 2018, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius Picture Gallery.