Portrait of Stefan Sylvanovich, son of the artist

Author: Silvanowicz Nikodem , 1834 - 1919

Created: 19th century

Material / technique: oil on canvas.

Dimensions: 46.5 x 38.5 cm.

The artist Nikodemas Silwanowicz (Siliwonowicz, Sylwanowicz, Silwanowicz, 1834-1919) lived and worked in a difficult historical period. He was born on 13 December 1834 (25 according to the Gregorian calendar) in Vilnius County, Vileika Parish, Tsintsevichi (present-day Belarus), in the family of the petty nobility George and Anastasia Silwanowicz, and experienced all the constraints of the post-civil war repressive policies of imperial tsarism (the literature is incorrect in its assertion that Silwanowicz was of peasant origin). However, under favourable circumstances, his artistic abilities, which became apparent at school, attracted the attention of the Maladechna landlord, who entrusted the young man with the task of teaching his own children, and later financially supported his studies at the Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts (where Silvanavičius studied painting from 1856-1859 and mosaics from 1866-1870). For a few years between his studies, the artist lived in Vilnius, for a while he had a studio in the Römeris' house on Savičiaus Street. However, St Petersburg became the city where the artist developed his professional and pedagogical career. After receiving the title of academician and professor in 1876, he lived and worked in the imperial capital until 1898, returning to Lithuania only for holidays. The artist was also connected to Lithuania through his family. In 1865, Silvanavičius married a noblewoman, Pelagė Pranckevičiūtė (Fronckiewicz, Frąckiewicz, c. 1842-1901), in the Karkažiškių church, and had four sons with her. The family was particularly fond of the Birštonas area, and also visited Jieznes, where Pelagėja's sister Vincenta, married to the landowner Ignas Kvintos, stayed. After his wife died in 1901, N. Silvanavičius settled in Birštonas, and later in Prienai. The artist died on 21 (28) May 1919. He returned to Lithuania from the interior of Russia, where he had fled during the First World War. Silvanavičius painted in various genres, created a number of altarpieces and other religious paintings for churches, for example, the cycle of the Stations of the Passion of Christ for Vilnius Cathedral (he received this commission thanks to his wife's brother, the prelate of the Vilnius Cathedral Chapter, Viktas Pranckevičius). He also liked to paint portraits, especially of his family and friends. The collections of the artist's descendants have preserved several portraits of family members painted by the artist, which are still unknown to researchers and art lovers alike. After Nikodemas Silvanavičius's death, these works remained in Lithuania in the collection of his son Stanislaw, later passed to Stanislaw's widow Stefania, and after her death to the heirs of her second husband Świechowski, who lived in Warsaw. Recently, some of these portraits have been appearing from time to time in Polish auctions. One of the family's collections is N. Silvanavičius's 'Portrait of his son Stephen', recently acquired at an auction in Warsaw and returned to Lithuania. ((hp) Rūta Janonienė Senior Researcher, VDA Institute of Art).

Exhibitions: Exhibition of fine and applied art works of the 16th-20th centuries "Senses and Sensations", 5 December 2024 - 4 May 2025, LNDM Vilnius Gallery of Paintings, Vilnius.

Photographs: Preparing for the exhibition ''Senses and Sensations''. Photo by Vadim Šamkov; Display in the exhibition "Senses and Sensations". Photos by Gintarė Grigėnaitė.