Exhibition "Vilnius in Art. 1939–1956," March 28–September 8, 2019

Lithuanian Art Museum on Thursday, March 28, 4 p.m. Vilnius Picture Gallery (Didžioji St. 4) opened the exhibition "Vilnius in Art. 1939–1956“. This first exhibition about dramatic wartime and post-war Vilnius marks the beginning of the Lithuanian Art Museum's ongoing programme "Welcoming the 700th Anniversary of Vilnius". Every year, until the year of Vilnius' 700th anniversary (2023), the gallery will host exhibitions that will highlight different artistic sections of the city. In 2020, the second exhibition of the cycle "Sacred Vilnius" is planned, in 2021 the aim will be to highlight the romantic aura of Vilnius, and in 2022 controversial sections of Vilnius will be presented through the eyes of contemporary artists.

The opening of the series of exhibitions "Vilnius in Art" is the third in the Vilnius Picture Gallery – for the second year in a row, the first international exhibition "The Most Important Signs of the History of the City of Vilnius" opens on 25 January 2023 (the letter of 25 January 2023 of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas to European cities from the Riga Archive was exhibited in 2018, this year the first image of Vilnius from Slovenia is presented), the second cycle of exhibitions "Vilnius Streets" began in 2018 (the first was dedicated to the Castle This autumn the second exhibition of the cycle "The Great Street" will be opened, in 2020 – for Aušros Vartų Street). All three cycles of exhibitions in the gallery are implemented annually until 2022 and aim to prepare for the 700th anniversary of Vilnius (2023).

Vilnius has been presented to the public in various aspects in works of art in various periods. The aim of this exhibition is to show the city during the difficult war and difficult post-war years, covering the period from 1939 to 1956. The exhibition aims to reveal what Vilnius saw and how it was portrayed by artists who lived and worked in particularly difficult conditions in the capital at that time.

Lithuania's artistic life, as well as the whole of Lithuania, was mainly influenced by political events after the Second World War. During the period of the restoration of Vilnius, only a handful of Lithuanian artists lived here: sculptor Rapolas Jakimavičius (1893–1961), architect-engineer Juozapas Kamarauskas (1874–1946), architect Vladas Drėma (1910–1995), Balys Macutkevičius (1905–1964), Vaclovas Kosciuška (1911–1984) returned just before the war. On 14 June 1940, by order of the Minister of Education, the Vilnius School of Arts was established (in the premises of the Faculty of Arts of Stephen Batory University), which was reorganized into the Vilnius Academy of Arts on 5 June of the following year. The Vilnius Academy of Arts gathered a strong core of educators – Juozas Mikėnas (1901–1964), Viktoras Vizgirda (1904–1993), Justinas Vienožinskis (1886–1960) and others, who had a considerable influence on Lithuanian art. At that time, Adolfas Valeška (1905–1994) was already living in Vilnius, and he was appointed director of the Vilnius City Museum. Vytautas Jurkūnas (1910–1993), Irena Žebenkienė (1909–1985), Liuda Vaineikytė (1908–1997) and others who came later after the war joined the ranks of artists.

A small part of the exhibition consists of works by students of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Stephen Batory University in Vilnius from 1919 to 1939. The students of this faculty were taught not only painting, graphics and sculpture, but at the same time they were instilled in an interest in the art and architectural heritage of Vilnius. The romantic streets of the Old Town, its buildings, and cozy courtyards of the city are reflected in the works of the students of the Faculty of Arts – Vanda Krasnodembska-Reicherova (1892–1982), Edvardas Kučinskas (1905–1958), Vladas Drėma (1910–1995).

Although engulfed in the turmoil of war, Vilnius opened up to artists as an urban treasure. The architecture of Old Vilnius fascinated Lithuanian artists, and their work more or less reflected the views of the Old Town of Vilnius. Especially many landscapes depicting St. At that time, it was painted by V. Vizgirda and A. Gudaitis. M. Bulaka created the sanguine cycle "Images of the Old Town of Vilnius" (1943–1950). J. Kuzminskis immortalized the monuments of Vilnius in linen engravings and etudes. The panorama of Vilnius, the curves of the streets, the harmony of nature and the city, the picturesque suburbs, and the surroundings of the city fascinated Justinas Vienožinskis, Pranas Gudynas (1919–1979), Eugenija Jurkūnienė (1907–2005). There are plenty of views of the Old Town of Vilnius even before 1959. In the work of Rafael Chvoles (1913–2002), who lived in Vilnius, who devoted all his attention to the theme of the ghetto.

The variety of images of Vilnius in art is not great, often artists depicted the same objects, but their works differed due to their individual approach and stylistic features. Most often these are images of the Old Town of Vilnius, often small etudes painted while looking out of the window.

The exhibition consists of the following parts: "Panoramas", "Architecture of Old Vilnius", "Walking through the streets", "Courtyards, courtyards", "The city and its green areas", "Suburbs". In total, over 200 painting, graphic and sculpture exhibits are presented. The main part of them consists of the exhibits of the Lithuanian Art Museum. The works for the exhibition were loaned by the National M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art, Kaunas City Museum, the Lithuanian Art Knowledge Centre "Tartle", the Public Institution "Lewben Art Foundation" and the Lithuanian Expatriate Art Foundation, the Lithuanian Nature Research Centre, the Vilnius Academy of Arts, Dr. Jaunius Gumbis, Aurelija Kosciuškaitė-Petkevičienė, Algirdas Petrauskas, Julius Sasnauskas.