"Emilija has returned home: an exceptional work of art from a private collection is exhibited at Antazavė Manor", December 2025.

St. In the run-up to Christmas, during the period of concentration and good deeds, extraordinary things often happen: thanks to the openness and communion of the famous Lithuanian art collector Dr. Jaunius Gumbys, in order to foster Lithuanian culture and preserve the history of Lithuania, the gem of his exclusive art collection – "Portrait of Emilija Pliaterytė" (author – artist Tadas Lukoševičius) – is currently being presented to the visitor in the exposition of the Zarasai Regional Museum in Antazavė Manor (Dusetai eldership, Zarasai district). 

According to Daiva Šukštulienė, Deputy Head of the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Zarasai District Municipality Administration for Culture, she noticed the portrait of Emilija Pliaterytė in the exhibition "Senses and Feelings" organized by the Vilnius Picture Gallery of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, and she began to take an interest in this portrait even earlier, when she was creating an exposition dedicated to Emilija Pliaterytė in Antazavė Manor. Arvydas Veikšra, director of the Zarasai Regional Museum, is pleased to present to the visitors of the manor a wonderful painting from the beginning of the nineteenth century, which depicts the famous representative of the Pliateri family of Antazavė Manor – Emilija Pliaterytė. As the director says, "it was necessary to make sure that the conditions for the exhibition of the portrait were suitable and safe. We are glad that the idea was approved by the Mayor of Zarasai District Municipality Nijolė Guobienė, and the collector Dr. Jaunius Gumbis saw the meaning in this activity and provided such a unique opportunity." 

Why can we consider Antazavė Manor as the home of a prominent historical personality, fighter for the freedom of Lithuania, Countess Emilija Pliaterytė? According to historian Darius Tvardauskas, in1783 Antazavė Manor belonged to Emilija Pliaterytė's grandfather Liudvikas Pliateris (1760–1788) and grandmother Kunigunda Valavičiūtė Pliaterienė (1760–1846), their son Pranciškus Xaveras (1785–1840), who became Emilija Pliaterytė's father, was born here, and, although Emilija Pliaterytė was born in Vilnius Manor, however, after the divorce of her parents, in 1815 Emilija and her mother Ona Mohl Pliaterytė settled in Liksna Manor near Daugavpils, so she often visited her grandmother in the Antazavė manor, and at the end of March 1831, Emilija Pliaterytė wrote her statement in the office of the Antazavė manor that she was going to the uprising of her own free will and seeking to fight for freedom. From the Antazavė manor, she rode to  the Didžiadvaris manor in Dusetos, where she and her cousin Caesar Pliater (1810–1869) gathered the first group of rebels and joined the uprising. 

Dr. Rūta Janonienė, chief researcher at the Institute of Art Studies of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, when requesting the portrait of Emilija Pliaterytė, says that "the portrait of a woman in a white dress was created by an undoubtedly talented artist, and certain principles of its composition and image creation in general allow us to raise assumptions that he had studied the art of portrait painting in the nineteenth century. I half at the Vilnius Art School, with Jonas Rustemas". Dr. Rūta Janonienė writes about the portrait of Emilija Pliaterytė: "the restraint and seriousness of the girl depicted in the portrait, reflecting her character; In addition, the eyes of the girl depicted in the portrait are bluish, which also corresponds to the descriptions; it is known that the author of the portrait, the artist Tadas Lukoševičius, was supported by the Counts Pliateriai-Zyberkai, Emilija Pliaterytė and her mother also lived in the von Zyberkai manor, thus, both the artist and the person portrayed were related to the Plateri-Zyberkai family." 

Zarasai District Municipality would like to thank the collector Dr. Jaunius Gumbius for patronage, the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, and the curator of Expositions and Exhibitions at the LNDM Vilnius Picture Gallery Joana Vitkutė for their cooperation. 

Antazavė Manor also presents the works of professional artists: works of art by artists Šarūnas Sauka and Nomeda Saukienė, ceramicist Noe Kuremoto, Petras Stauskas and many other creators, museum valuables from Ramutis Petniūnas, barometers from the collections of Libertas Klimka.