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Hopes to restore the independent state remained very much present throughout the whole 19th century and motivated the ideas of the civil resistance in both Poland and Lithuania. The struggles for independence erupted through the uprisings of 1794, 1830-31, and 1863. While these attempts at armed resistance did not lead to the liberation of neither Lithuania nor Poland, they demonstrated the undying willingness to regain freedom. With the increasing repressive crackdown by the tzarist government, the role of artists only grew. Paintings and poems became weapons in the fight against the tzarist policy of Russification. The paper focuses on the works that the painter Vincentas Smakauskas (1797-1876) created after the suppressed uprising of 1831. The paper proposes a hypothesis that the paintings created during this dramatic period of Lithuanian history encoded secret symbolical meanings that represented the ideas of civil resistance. The research was inspired by the repeating scenes of grief and was carried out as an analysis of the traumatic experiences in society after the suppression of the uprising of 1831, when the tzarist government started repressing cultural and religious life. The methodological combination of iconological research and psychoanalysis resulted in the premise about the compensatory functions of creativity for both artists and their social environment. While searching for the reasons of similarity between the two paintings by Smakauskas--"Steponas Batoras Establishes the Vilnius Academy" and "A Group of People Surrounding a Woman in Her Death Bed"--the research poses a question: what is the real object of loss? The paper proposes a hypothesis that the object of loss can be deduced from the interrelation between these two paintings. While the former depicts the act of establishment of Vilnius University, which is a socially uplifting event, the latter shows the loss of this symbol. It is likely that, due to the complicated political situation and censorship, Smakauskas was forced to hide this idea by depicting the anonymous woman in her death bead. Perhaps, his contemporaries, who still recalled his first painting proudly displayed in the hall of Vilnius University, were expected to recognise the anonymous dying woman as an allegory for the closed Vilnius University, which was also known as Alma Mater Vilnensis. This hypothesis still lacks in sufficient proof, yet we expect to find it during the further research. While researching Smakauskas' work, the paper has discovered the exceptional role the artists played in the social life of the 19th century Lithuania. Being the citizens without a state, they acted as public intellectuals and politicians of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper overviews the development of the notion of trans-disciplinarity in Lithuania and its neighbouring contexts, and makes an attempt to identify its current relation to science and art. The paper analyses the ways in which artistic research, without being a discipline in its own right, can nonetheless both provide a basis for the doctoral studies in arts, and liberate it from the traditions and disciplines of the humanities and other sciences. Furthermore, the paper argues that doctoral studies in arts are inherently trans-disciplinary and thus able to accommodate the traditional traits of the doctorate studies in the areas as different as humanities, social sciences, and even natural sciences. Lastly, the paper builds the case for artistic research as both the basis for the doctoral studies in arts and a unique research paradigm, itself able to produce new research traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers a general overview of the Lithuanian art historical research published during the three decades of Independence (1990-2020). The paper discusses the changes in institutional and academic life, the spectrum of methodological approaches, as well as the key art theoretical publications and their authors. The overview aims to assess the current situation in the art historical discipline and fascilitate the debates around the question whether Lithuania has managed to develop its own school of art theory. The analysis of the publications (mostly monographs) by the Lithuanian art theorists has conclusively shown that such school does already exist. In terms of its organisation, Lithuanian art theoretical school matches all the academic criteria: education is provided at all levels, and the dissemination and continuity of research, both empirical and theoretical, are ensured. The school has already gone through two or even three phases of development. The first stage, spanning between 1990 and 1998/99, was rich with significant achievements in the sector of education: it saw the launch of the first art theory doctorate programme in Lithuania, as well as the establishment of the Institute of Art Research, and the Vilnius Academy of Arts Publishing House. During the period, Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University launched their art theory programme, while the Culture and Art Institute in Vilnius had acquired two art theory departments. The second stage (2000-2010/12) saw a rapid growth of the number of publications, widening of the art theoretical specialisation, and further development of research methodologies. Along with the formal analysis and methodologies of iconography and iconology, came the outlines of social art history. All the spheres of art history became equipped with various methods of source research and interpretation. Among the main fields of research were the history of ecclesiastic and devotional art (patronage and heritage of mansions and urbanite art). One of the leading research problems of the time - the relation of text and image. The third stage covers the period of 2010-2020, and instead of the focus on the oldest examples of art historical heritage to the art of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. In Lithuania, the methodological innovations started gradually taking root only after the year 2000, therefore there are still many possibile routes to explore. Most texts emoploy a combination of different methodologies, varying between iconology, phenomenology, and semiotics. This helps the research to better grasp the multiplicitous nature of the analysed phenomena, although this sometimes comes at the expense of the narrational coherence and constructiveness of conclusions. The Lithuanian school is predominantly national-based. This has many advantages, although sometimes this makes it difficult to distribute the research internationally. Despite all the developments within the Lithuanian art history as a discipline, international collaboration via conferences, projects, publishing, and media still leaves much to be desired. Due to the reliability of documented information, Lithuanian art historians are able to produce a particularly high level of in their work with sources. Rather than emerging as a circle of followers around a particular prominent individual, the Lithuanian art theoretical school is a result of a number of colleagues - art historians and critics - practicing mutual support and exchange of ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the role of the Lithuanian diaspora and its artists in the art field of Argentina in the 30's and 40's, and overviews their input into the development of the nativist discourse. The paper employs social art history to show the impact the transatlantic migration had on the social mobility of migrant artists and their careers in South America and Lithuania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Lithuania, the era of a contemporary artist's book began with the restoration of Independence. The year 1993 saw the opening of "The Book", the first international show of artist's books (Vilnius Contemporary Art Centre; cur. Kęstutis Vasiliūnas) which was followed by various presentations of book art in many other international art fairs abroad. Since 1997 Vasiliūnas has been curating the triennials dedicated to artist's book (including "Diary: Eight Days", "Love", "The Rabbit and the House" and "23 Sins"). The 8th triennial "Memento Mori" (2018) took place in Vilnius Martynas Mažvydas Public Library, later the exposition was brought to the USA, Italy and Germany. The triennials dedicated to the artist's book have been organised across the entire world. Since 1993, over 40 international shows and symposiums were held in Lithuania, Germany, USA, Austria, France, South Corea and elsewhere. Vasiliūnas has managed to assemble a growing international community dedicated to the genre of artist's book. The extensive international interest in the Lithuanian artist's book trienials testifies to the lasting importance of Vasiliūnas' curatorial work. R. Vaigeltaitė-V. became part of the contemporary artist's book movement back in the early 1990s. During the next 30 years she has created over 60 artist's books, all unique in terms of their form and structure. Most of her books have a traditional format of a leafed codex, but she also made leporello concertinas and book-objects. The books were made of various types of paper, including hand-made paper, as well as plastic, linen fabric, natural materials and found objects. The artist's books often involve mixed media such as linocut, wood block, colography, collage, stiching, ink jet print. The subjects of these diary-like records of everyday and travel experiences include mythology and religion. In terms of printing technique, Vaigeltaitė-V's book art is related to graphic printing: the ideas she comes up with during the making of the artist's book are then explored in graphic prints, and vice versa. The artistic scope of Prof. Kęstutis Vasiliūnas (Graphic Art Department, Vilnius Academy of Arts) is truly universal -- he is a graphic artist, artist's book designer, installation artist and curator. Vasiliūnas got interested in the artist's book in the early 1990s. His first work -- The Book of Creation -- was exhibited at "The Book" (1993), a show dedicated to the genre of artist's book. Vasiliūnas usually makes singular books and small print runs. Among the techniques he uses are coloured wood block print, longhand writing, drawing, ink jet print and movable type print. Vasiliūnas' books retain their visual link with the traditional block-shaped book. Despite of what they are made of -- be it wooden panels, paper, tea bags -- they all have landscape or square-shaped rectangluar pages and they all feature lapels. The series of of tea bag book-objects was launched in the naugthties. Vasiliūnas also works as a graphic designer. His work is defined by an interplay between these two disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss and reconstruct in general features the reality of the Vilnius artistic community from late autumn 1939 to June 1941. This period of less than two years significantly changed the configuration of the artistic community of the city, the system of institutions shaping the art scene as well as the artistic goals. It also brought forth new names and inspired new images. These changes were above all determined by political circumstances: the war that broke out in Poland on 1 September 1939; the ceding of Vilnius and the Vilnius region to Lithuania; two Soviet occupations: in the autumn of 1939 and June 1940, and the subsequent Nazi occupation a year later. The influence of politics on the art scene and the life of artists has been explored in institutional and other aspects by both Lithuanian and Polish art historians, but the big picture is not yet complete, and the general narrative is still under construction. A further aim of this paper is to highlight some elements that have not received sufficient attention in historiography and that are necessary for the reconstruction of the whole. Some facts of cooperation or its absence among artists of various ethnicities are presented, and the question is raised on the extent to which these different groups were affected by Sovietisation, and what impact this fragmentation had on the city's art scene. The timeline of the activity of the higher art school and the Art Museum has been detailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper was inspired by the need to acknowledge and identify the signs of war in the Lithuanian art of the 1930s. In order to keep the specificity of art historical research in view, the research is narrowed down to the visual artefacts of various kinds and purposes--from paintings (Justinas Vienožinskis) and graphic prints (Mečislovas Bulaka, Jonas Kuzminskis, and Žibuntas Mikšys) to the mass-produced press illustrations, posters, adverts, and decorations. The paper analyses historiographically lesser known artworks, including the posters by Vytautas Jurkūnas, Boleslovas Motuza and Liudas Vilimas, and the examples of imported art (lithographs by Louis Lozowick as well as foreign photography). The research material leads to the conclusion that Lithuania was preparing for a modern warfare which, similarly to the situation in the neighbouring countries, was widely associated with new types of weapons; tanks, planes, bombs and gas masks were regarded as symbols of the upcoming war. The image of modern warfare was reflected and disseminated not only via political texts of both local and foreign authors, reports from war zones, civil defense instructions, but also by images, primarily mass-printed press illustrations, public posters, event decorations, and advertisements. From a product of mass visual consumption, the motif of a gas mask got transposed onto paintings and graphic art where it acquired the status of the sign of modern warfare and acted as a premonition for the war that was about to engulf Lithuania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has not been much academic research into how the artefacts of orientalist art ended up in Lithuanian museums, libraries and private collections, and how they are represented. This paper raises the question of the Far Eastern art heritage in Lithuania, and addresses the problems of artistic attribution. The paper analyses the case of the Chinese woodblock prints--nianhua (年画), or the so-called "New Year images"--stored in the orientalist art collections of the Lithuanian Art Museum (LAM) and Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis National Museum of Art (MKČNMA). The collections contain seven nianhua prints of this particular format and style. The research has successfully decoded the Chinese inscriptions; specified and determined the titles of the prints; attributed the prints to specific printmaking schools and workshops; identified the theatrical motifs with their corresponding literary sources and Peking opera productions; elaborated on the characters and their various properties; specified the meanings of the allegories, emblems, scenographic makeup, and costumes; and defined the particularities of artistic expression. The paper combined iconographic, historical and comparative methodologies, and carried out a partial research on the artistic style. Compared to the Chinese graphic art collections in the museums abroad, the works stored in LAM and MKČMA are not as numerous, yet they are arguably just as rare and valuable. The prints are unique in their form, aesthetic value, and artistic technique. All prints are attributed to the famous Yangliuqing school and dated to the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. They are all in good condition, and some of them are professionally restored. This first attempt to identify and introduce the Chinese woodblock prints from the orientalist art collections of Lithuanian museums is intended to inspire further research, promote the museum collections, and give an impetus to expand them. The research aims to bring a wider knowledge about the theatre-themed prints that reflect the whole complex of Chinese spiritual culture to the contemporary audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article was prepared for the conference „How to Tell About Art? Art History, Criticism, Texts and Narratives in Lithuania" which was organized by the Institute of Art Research. The conference description stated: "The aim of art history and criticism is to open the work of art to the imagination of the perceiver." What texts on art best reveal their artistic dimensions? All texts leave traces and affects perception, depending on the influence and symbolic value of the interpreter and the emancipation of the viewer or perceiver. How many and which perceptual references, what plug-ins/crutches does the viewer really need from an art critic? For Jacques Rancière, the emancipation of the viewer begins with the principle of equality. However, the art institution often insists on the 'correct' way to view the work, as well as what to buy, collect and watch, thus enforcing a linear understanding of cultural development. American antropologist Clifford Geertz argues that culture cannot be described by imposing ideas and advocates for the percetion-based, rather than evaluation-based understanding of culture.31 According to the modern paradigm of cultural relativism, it is important to learn the language of those we research, so that we could look over their shoulder, without succumbing to the Darwinian scientific racism. The latter violates the artist's autonomous representation of free thought, as well as the viewer's freedom to choose and interpret works of art according to their own experience. The artist's own 'study' of the authentic origins of an artwork can be considered as a unveiling of the unexposed part of the artwork in textual form. Artists own narrative frees them from the necessity to evaluate and provides material for studies of the peculiar systems of artistic thinking and creative genesis. Speaking about - or rather, with - art and artistic approach presuppose a respectful relationship with the art viewer and perceiver: instead of explaining what the particular experience should/could feel like, it provides more material for perception and further artistic interpretation. Could this help us "open the work of art to the imagination of the perceiver"? It is possible that, when written by a non-canonical artist, such a text with its ambiguous ties to the artwork would not only hamper the viewer's imagination, but also deconstruct any pre-existing fragmentary perception. The art history inventory finds complicated systems inconvenient. Therefore, by asking "Who Wants to Know where Artists live?", I not only emphasise the Who, which refers to the interested party, but also ask weather (who needs it) or why it could be interesting to know all that, and what to do with it. The article presents excerpts from a piece of author's artistic writing which was read as a conference paper. The reader is therefore invited to sample the experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the first Lithuanian art historical publication by proffessor and art historian Joseph Saunders, who read it in Vilnius University in November 1815. The article titled "Knowledge about Szymon Czechovicz's Life and Creations" is considered to be the beginning of historiographical research in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Similarly to the first art historian Giorgio Vasari and his "Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects" (published in 1550), Saunders reminds his readers of a forgotten painter (who made multiple portraits and religious scenes), and underlines his accomplishments and talent. Following the Vasarian tradition, Saunders brings attention to Czechovicz's life, his character, and his approach to art. Much like Vasari, Saunders is interested in the artist's soul, virtues and morale, and is emphasizing their importance in his philosophic reflections about art and artists. By comparing Saunders' article with the scheme of the "Lives" by Vasari, the paper suggests that Vasari could have been a model art historian, and argues that his methods of analysis were applied by Saunders in the 19th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual art in Vilnius of 1919-1939, as a whole, has not been studied until now. To a lesser extent, its level of study was determined by the difficult geopolitical situation in Vilnius. In the interwar years, Vilnius and its region were annexed by Poland. Subsequently, the peculiar artistic life of the city during this period and its results for a long time have been of little interest to Lithuanian researchers. This has led to a fragmented perception of Lithuania's art history, in which the interwar artistic life of Vilnius has still been marginalized. The aim of the article is to analyze the art formation processes of the interwar Vilnius, highlighting the direction and nature of the activities of its most important institutions (Faculty of Arts at Stephen Báthory University, Vilnius School of Crafts, Vilnius Association of Plastic Artists), and to discuss and evaluate their significance in the process of modernizing the city's culture. The paper raises a question of Poland's cultural policy in the interwar period: in which ways and by which means did it work in the field of art in Vilnius? It highlights that the art of the interwar period in Vilnius was dominated by the portrayal of historical architecture, while other spaces and themes were hardly touched - for example, there is a lack of images of suburban and modern lifestyle and daily life. The paper makes an assumption that it was the political and cultural situation in Vilnius that influenced the establishment of such a retrospective view. Only in the 1930s, with the transformation of Vilnius into a modern city of the Second Rzeczpospolita, its modern visual culture began to manifest itself more actively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isabel Flores de Oliva (1586-1617), generally known as Saint Rose of Mary or Saint Rose of Lima, became the first and, until today, the most venerated Catholic saint of Latin America. Almost immediately after her death, this Dominican of the Third Order, who died young and won fame for her highly ascetic life, various virtues and immovable faith, developed a cult following in Peru. Soon enough the cult had spread across South America and Europe. The topic of Saint Rose of Lima has been addressed in a great many publications that appeared in various (primarily Spanish-speaking) countries, but in Lithuania, the devotion to and images of this saint have not received specific research attention. By referring to the published sources and manuscripts, as well as the surviving ecclesiastical artworks, the author of this paper aims to discuss in more detail how information about the life and personality of Saint Rose of Lima was disseminated in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, what information about Latin America, its culture and people was conveyed in these sources, whether it was reflected in the iconography of the saint, and if so, how. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this paper is medieval jewellery from the Trakai parish church, which still remains the least studied in the scholarly field. By analysing the material aspect and the cultural context of the object, the paper tries to examine its historical value for the studies of the crafts and customary culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Late Medieval Period. First of all, rings are analysed, concentrating on their form, production technique and, especially, function. It is worth mentioning a ring with a crystal eye, whose size and construction, as well as its rich decoration and luxurious materials enable us to hypothesize about its function as a ring-reliquary. The flat decorated surface of another ring would supposedly point to its usage as a signet ring. The group of earrings is interesting by their luxurious materials, high craftsmanship and forms reminiscent of the Balkan traditions of the craft. Meanwhile, the analysis of the cultural context of the jewellery reveals its "multicultural" aspect, when the traditions of the craft from different cultures forgather. Moreover, a cross, found in the presbytery of the church with Victorious Cross iconography and Catholic and Orthodox symbols enables us to think about a complex bi-confessional reality and manifestation of the Church Union politics in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of World War II, a large part of the inhabitants of Lithuania fled to Germany. Several dozen thousand children also left for Germany together with their parents. Settled in DP (displaced persons) camps, parents together with teachers and all humanitarian intellectuals focused their attention on children's education. Despite the meagre living conditions, kindergartens and schools were established, new textbooks and readers were written, and old ones were reprinted. In all educational institutions the continuity of the teaching process was sought, and teachers worked according to the school programmes and curricula approved in the Republic of Lithuania in 1939. When children began to be assembled into schools, the lack of readers for children of all age groups became obvious. They were necessary not only for the teaching process, general and ethical education, but also to keep the children busy. In the period when DP camps were established in the spring and summer of 1945, this problem was solved by copying excerpts from some publications that had been brought from Lithuania by hand, or by multiplying these publications with a typewriter. The newly emerging Lithuanian periodical press helped solve the urgent problem of children's literature by including columns for children or by publishing separate supplements from the very first issues. The publication of children's books, among books of general nature, was partly supported by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), and many Lithuanian public organizations that operated in exile. The Book Publishing Committee was founded under the Education Board of the Lithuanian émigré community specifically for that purpose. In the period under discussion children's books and textbooks were published by private and cooperative publishers and publishing houses of public organizations. The largest Lithuanian publishing houses Patria, Sudavija, Venta, Gabija, Giedra and Sūduva established in Germany produced the largest number of children's books of various kinds. DP camps themselves, the schools that operated there or their parents' committees, as well as private persons also acted as publishers of children's literature. More than fifty illustrated Lithuanian books for children were published in post-war Germany from 1945 to 1951. The relatively small amount of illustrated publications was determined by the poor living conditions in exile, the production facilities of publishing houses and, above all, printing houses devastated by the war, as well as the lack of paper and funds. The appearance of almost all children's books published in Germany is plain and comparatively poor in all aspects. This concerns the format, paper, binding, the choice of fonts and the means of printing. The majority of the booklets were printed on thin and fragile mainly brownish paper of very low quality, and the booklets themselves were thin, light, with soft covers and seamless binding. There were no children's books printed on high-quality art paper. The appearance of children's books was spoiled by the equipment of printing houses affected by the war, the lack of high-quality typographic paint and the narrow range of colours. The majority of them are characterized by excessive or insufficient richness of the printing type. Sometimes even different pages of the same book vary in the degree of richness, and quite often the text and the illustrations of three or four colours are printed indistinctly. Children's illustrated books are also very different with regard to their artistic quality. It was determined by several factors. Beside professional artists (Adolfas Vaičaitis, Liudas Vilimas, Ona Dokalskaitė-Paškevičienė, Jonas Firinauskas, Juzė Katiliūtė, Zenonas Kolba, Vlada Stančikaitė-Abraitienė, Jonas Steponavičius), quite many artists who did not have the necessary qualifications and lacked theoretical knowledge in the book art and particularly the experience of layout design worked in the field of children's book design. These were mainly the attendees of the Kaunas Art School who did not finish their studies, Eduardas Krasauskas, Halina NaruševičiūtėŽmuidzinienė, Juozas Penčyla, Aleksandras Šepetys, as well as former students of the Vilnius Academy of Arts and the Kaunas Institute of Applied Art, Vytautas Leonas Adamkevičius, Emilija Drochnerytė, Povilas Osmolskis, Antanas Petrikonis and Viktoras Simankevičius. In comparison with children's books of the interwar period, new stylistic tendencies of design or illustration, and innovative forms of expression that could have been influenced by the new post-war environment of Western culture and its incredibly intense artistic life did not manifest themselves. Very generally speaking, traditionalist aesthetics and realistic expression were predominant. Besides, it cannot be seen from the poor context if one or another publishing house had a clear conception of an illustrated children's book and obvious artistic and aesthetic design criteria. However, all children's books published in post-war Germany have one thing in common - their ideological contents, which was partly determined by the emphasis on the knowledge of one's homeland given in the four-year primary school curriculum of the Republic of Lithuania as a very important part of developing national self-consciousness, teaching the universal and intrinsic values, and building a moral and aesthetic basis. The strengthening of the perception of identity of small kids who found themselves in an unfamiliar environment, the formation of their historical and civic self-consciousness became as urgent as never before. There were constant discussions on this topic in the periodical press of Lithuanians in exile. These views were followed by the majority of writers and artists: Lithuanian themes, images of the Lithuanian village and, specifically, national attributes are predominant both in the contents of books and the accompanying illustrations; traditional motifs of village life, as well as symbolic motifs of crosses, the musical instrument kanklės, and a heroic warrior are widely used. On the other hand, other important functions of children's books were not forgotten either. The aim was to awaken the feelings of the love for homeland and, no less importantly, the respect for one's parents, kindness, honesty, and other moral feelings, to develop imagination and aesthetic experience. Both the text and accompanying illustrations served this purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the second half of the 18th century, Vilnius had four institutional printing houses: one was the Academia's press enterprise, and the other three belonged to the Piarist, Basilian and Franciscan congregations. Inspired by the ideas of Enlightenment, Vilnius institutional printing houses began to seek out new types of book design. The paper takes a close look at the illustrations of secular books printed in Vilnius during the second half of the 18th century. Secular illustrations of this period is still a largely under-researched area. Such research is key in revealing the interactions between the traditionally religious and the newly enlightened worldviews that circulated aroud the book culture of the Great Duchy of Lithuania at that time. The research focuses on the six illustrations from different secular books. Three illustrations come from the Piarist printing house: "The Allegory of Diplomacy" (engraved by Johanna Dorothea Philipp-Sysang) from the book published in 1758; "The Allegory of the Piarist School of Piety" (by the artist F. Moser), book published in 1774; and "The Allegory of Electricity" (engraver unknown) in the publication from 1786. Two illustrations appear in the books printed in 1781 by an academic printing house: "The Portrait of Lucius Anneus Seneca" (engraver unknown) and "The Exterior View of Vilnius University" (engraver unknown). One unauthored illustration-vignette in the book printed in 1791 by the Basilian printing house depicts a labouring child. The research sought to identify the symbols, subjects and iconographical origins of these illustrations. It turned out that two of the illustrations ("The Allegory of Electricity" and the view with Vilnius University) were original works made by the local artists. Meanwhile Seneca's portrait gives away the local author's personal preferce, as the type of the iconographical portrait he chose to imitate originates in the humanist reception of the stoicist philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The durability of art works largely depends on such factors as the quality of the materials used, the techniques and materials used in its creation, and storage conditions. The art works by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis are in need of restoration firstly because of the poor paper on which the artists painted and poor storage conditions that his paintings were for a long time kept in. A meeting took place at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum 1971 during which a decision was made to immediately initiate the restoration of the artist’s works. From that time on the Pranas Gudynas Centre of Graphic Restoration of the Lithuanian Art Museum restored more than 250 art works of Čiurlionis. For the occasion of the opening of the National Art Gallery in Vilnius in 2009, Čiurlionis’ paintings The City III and Andante, the second part of the Sonata of the Pyramids, were restored. This article describes the condition of those paintings before their restoration and the results of technological investigation. It also describes the restoration processes that were carried out. After restoration, the beauty of The City and the Andante paintings revealed itself. The restoration materials used and the methods applied stabilized the aging process of the paper. Moreover, the thorough technological investigation of the work that was conducted during this process complemented the existing database of technological data of M. K. Čiurlionis’ works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on a little researched cultural aspect in the 16th-17th century Grand Duchy of Lithuania: the function of specific works of art during military triumph celebrations. The image of Michał Krzyczewski, colonel of Bogdan Chmelnicki's army, recorded during the military campaign led by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania field hetman duke Janusz Radziwiłł (Jonušas Radvila) against the rising Cossacks of the Ukraine has been chosen as a starting point. There have been attempts to prove that the portrait of colonel Krzyczewski, who was captured during the Loyev battle (present Belarus) on 31th July 1649 and died in a few days from injuries, was created by Abraham van Westervelt, an artist of Radvila's court, member of his military expedition and chronicler. Referring to formal and iconographic characteristics of the artefact an assumption has been made about the use of analogous works of art and their propagandist character during celebrations of military victories in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th-17th century. The paper argues that such a tradition to represent conquered and killed enemies could have formed when the pre-Christian custom to exhibit body parts of conquered enemies, which is mentioned in historical sources, merged with the Renaissance all'antica fashion in the practice of military triumphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kaleidoscope of events in the European Union over the last few years has forced such rapid change that even a neophyte in this game requires a lot of knowledge, skill and effort. Our objective is to examine to what extent the internationalization of the cultural sector will aid or hinder the development and/or assimilation of Lithuanian culture at large, and the reasons why, in Lithuanian culture, there remains a certain lack of self-awareness. For Lithuanian culture policy makers, a surprisingly successful pattern of cultural co-operation is the phenomenon of the South Eastern European cultural networks. A series of completed research has provided evidence of the importance of horizontal cultural co-operation, giving vivid examples of existing culture networks all over Europe. The methodology for this paper is based on the results of the surveys completed through the joint efforts of the Department of International Economics and Management at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania, and Lithuanian Centre for the Perfection of Cultural Administrators. In the first round of surveys, done in September 2005, among the operators of the country's cultural institutions, 125 public servants of the culture departments in city and county municipalities, museums and libraries, gave their opinions on the opportunities and threats internationalization may pose to the cultural sector in Lithuania. In the following years, more respondents - artists, lecturers, students - took part in the survey, totalling 331. The results of the survey are discussed in the paper in more detail. The main finding: Along with some other important findings, our research suggests that there are certain political, economic, social and technological issues to be considered when establishing international contacts in Lithuania. The existing competences of cultural operators do not always take these environments into consideration, and life-long training becomes critical for the further internationalization of the country's sector of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary folk artists sculptors and wood carvers do not avoid portraying historic themes and historical personalities in their creations. Images of the rulers of Lithuania comprise a significant amount of it. Most frequently the only one sacred ruler of Lithuania is portrayed - St. Casimir. Also, sculptures of grand dukes have been created, especially those of Mindaugas and Vytautas the Great. Important events related to rulers, or their family members have been carved quite rarely. In the paper the iconography of the rulers of Lithuania in the works of folk artists is discussed for the first time. The images of the sacred ruler St. Casimir and the grand dukes of Lithuania (Vytautas, Mindaugas, Gediminas, Kęstutis, Jogaila, Algirdas), which were created from the beginning of the Rebirth (9th decade of the 20th century) until now, are examined. When creating St. Casimir's sculptures folk artists refer to the established iconography, using the canonical pose, gestures and attributes. However, at present, unlike the traditional folk sculpture, a greater emphasis is paid not on St. Casimir's piety, but to reveal his image as a patron of Lithuania. Lithuanian grand dukes are often depicted by one composite scheme, inherited from the interwar monuments to Vytautas the Great - a standing armoured knight with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Often these attributes are accompanied by one or more signs of a ruler (the crown, scepter, and the reign's apple). Therefore, the sculptures of dukes are characterized by the uniting of two images - hero and king. Although, sometimes only the image of the ruler is highlighted in the sculptures of dukes. Vytautas and Mindaugas are depicted in this way. And only one king - Jogaila is never depicted as heroi. Folk artists seek to give portrait likeness to each of the duke's images. For this reason they introduce some attributes, signs, and symbols specific only to one or another ruler, and sometimes use records. Certain signs characterizing the epoch or residence of the duke are found in almost all depictions of certain rulers, such as, the legend of the founding of Vilnius (wolf and Gediminas' Castle Tower) for Grand Duke Gediminas; monogram, date of baptism or the coronation, the royal crown, scepter, reign's apple - for Mindaugas; ducal crown, royal robe, the coat of arms of Lithuanian Grand Duke for Vytautas; royal crown, the reign's apple - for Jogaila. Only Kęstutis and Algirdas images are lacking customized attributes. Trying to get portrait likeness wood carvers, as a visual basic source, use the reproductions, duplications or under them redrawn illustrations of portraits of the dukes in various popular publications and on the Internet. Usually they follow illustrations of the A. Guagnini chronicle A Description of Sarmatian Europe (1578) and their remakes; they also use reproductions of Vytautas portraits from the 17th-18th centuries and reproductions of portraits by J. Matejko and A. Penkowski. Acknowledgements The Fellowship is being funded by the European Union Structural Funds project "Postdoctoral Fellowship Implementation in Lithuania" within the framework of the Measure for Enhancing Mobility of Scholars and Other Researchers and the Promotion of Student Research (VP1-3.1-ŠMM-01) of the Program of Human Resources Development Action Plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this article is the patronage of an important Lithuanian magnate, Casimirus Leo Sapieha, who left a distinct trace in the political and cultural life of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania in the 17th century. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the activity undertaken by Sapieha in the field of art, to discuss it comprehensively in the context of cultural and historical heritage, and determine the relationships between the founder and artists and artistic centres. Specific attention is focused on the analysis of the influence of his contacts with the Polish royal courts of the Vasas. Casimirus Leo Sapieha (1609-1656) was born into one of the noblest Lithuanian lineages; his parents were the famous Chancellor Leo Sapieha and Elżbieta of the wellknown Radziwiłł family. In 1631 Casimirus Leo Sapieha was appointed the Great Scribe (notarius magnus) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), in 1637 - the Marshall of the GDL court, in 1645 - and the Vice-Chancellor of the GDL. This well-educated magnate financed the construction of several churches and palaces, together with their rich arrangement: paintings, sculptures, goldsmithery, liturgical vestments and bells. The tapestries bought by Sapieha in Brussels in the famous workshop of Jacob van Zeunen, and the silver sarcophagus of St. Josaphat Kuncewicz, which was made in Gdansk by the goldsmith Peter van der Rennen, are good examples of valuable Sapieha's endowments. Among the various Sapieha's bequests the largest was a Charterhouse in Bereza (present-day Belarus), being at the same time the biggest of the fortified sacral architecture designs in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. According to the founder's will Bereza was intended as the main necropolis of the Sapieha's family. The church and other buildings were designed by an unknown Italian architect (ingeniosus Italus), who came to Bereza from Warsaw. Various investigations have led to the conclusion that an important, if not a primary factor influencing the various Sapieha foundations was the status of this educated magnate at the Polish royal courts of the Vasas. Employed at these courts were the most eminent representatives of the artistic world - architects, painters, sculptors and musicians. What is more, a careful analysis of Sapieha's endowments proves that the artistic patronage of Casimirus Leo Sapieha, although underappreciated, was of the highest value and greatest importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the necessity for market research, that is, on the issue, which is popular in the arts market nowadays. The authors of the article examine several cases of the latest market researches recently conducted in the art organizations in Lithuania. The drawbacks of the completed research and possible reasons for certain insufficiency of cultural operators to conduct research in the field of culture are discussed in this article. Theoretical insights by Madden, Schuster, kotler and Scheff and others are provided as a methodological basis for further discussion. A variety of international and national research institutions and their activities are presented in the article as a potential support for art organizations carrying out research. The issue of cultural indicators is raised in the paper as well. Conclusions and recommendations on how to improve the quality of research in arts organizations are provided in the final part of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article searches for the answer to the question, which is formulated in the title: if active trade unions of artists are possible in Lithuania (and in other countries) or not. This phenomenon is not widely studied in Lithuania. There are some general monographs discussing problems of trade unions, where some references to artist trade unions are observed. After bigger protests, actions or other problems, short reports appear in media. Despite this, the sphere is problematic and interesting enough for a more comprehensive scientific study. This article is written using the material, which was collected conducting researches or analyzing theoretical material in the master paper 'Perspectives of Artists' Trade Unions in Lithuania'. The article also employed sociological qualitative research methods (ten interviews with the leaders of Lithuanian artist trade unions and other persons related to this sphere in one way or another). The article briefly reviews the history of trade unions in Lithuania and the world, the emergence of the artists' unions; it also makes an attempt to identify the main types of artists' trade unions that are acting in Lithuania and to analyse their main features. Later, the example of foreign organization, i.e., performing artists' trade union 'Equity' in the United kingdom, is introduced. Certain aspects of the English model may be used in Lithuanian organizations. The article states that despite the fact that there are some organizations in Lithuania, which follow the Western examples and represent the creators in pro-active ways (e.g. the Union of journalists), the majority of artist trade unions still have to intensify efforts to better respond to the needs of contemporary artists , to use the opportunities offered by the Internet, and to actualize the range of the provided services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an overview of creation of three graphic artists of one generation and graduates from one and the same artistic school, colleagues and close friends Irena Daukšaitė, Elvyra Katalina Kriaučiūnaitė and Nijolė Šaltenytė, which was carried out on the basis of examples of printmaking, which is their main artistic activity. The beginning of their creative path coincides with the so-called 'female' generation, which made a push into Lithuanian graphics in the beginning of 80s. It introduced more emotionality, sensitivity into Lithuanian graphics. Plastic expression in Lithuanian graphics of that period became more metaphorical and complicated. Then the popular linocut was gradually replaced by classical metal techniques, which enabled artists to convey more chamber intonations, more subtle tonal gradations and quiver of delicate lines of tracery. Artists of young generation were united by their wish to maintain internal independence, to philosophise on ethic categories and issues of existence. They were not interested in folk styling Lithuanian graphics. Their works contain Lithuanian identity, which is encoded in nostalgic lyrical emotion and in expressive character of the form. The creative works of all the three artists consistently acquired post-modernist character concurrently following general trends in European graphics. Experience accumulated while participating in republican and international art exhibitions expanded their outlook, enabled the artists to perceive latest trends in contemporary graphics, which resulted in changes in their individual artistic style. Significant awards received in republican and international exhibitions of graphics evidence the ability of these artists to express own ideas through universal art images. Close friendship of the three artists and their everlasting communication inevitably conditioned certain similarities of artistic expression in their creation. Lyricism and romantic elevation were most vividly revealed in the early works by Irena Daukšaitė. The early Nijolė Šaltenytė's and Elvyra Katalina Kriaučiūnaitė's creation developed towards similar post-modernist trend. All the three artists purposefully used more complex and metaphorical plastic language, only Šaltenytė searched for creative impulses in surrealistic manner, whereas the creation of Daukšaitė and Kriaučiūnaitė to bigger and bigger extent approached esthetisized, perfectly composed abstraction in terms of artistic forms used. Their engravings pregnantly enrich positions of contemporary Lithuanian graphics, which is oriented towards decorative abstraction. Enjoyment of colours, emotional pictorial features are characteristic of both Daukšaitė and Kriaučiūnaitė, but hand-made paper is the distinctive sign in the creative works by the latter artist. The only Nijolė Šaltenytė remained faithful to the figurative. Colour in her works is always minimal and it is usually applied only to highlight the emphasised elements of the work. More radical changes in the style were not observed in the works by Šaltenytė: there was a gradual transition from landscape compositions of chamber, fragile nature and full of elements of romantic flight to generalised monumental form and multi-meaningful expression. The three artists are not indifferent to artistic life in Lithuania and to development of contemporary graphics: they are active participants in republican and thematic exhibitions of engravings, the artists are also organisers, curators of exhibitions and compilers of exhibition catalogues. For many years Nijolė Šaltenytė has been chairperson of Graphics Unit within the Lithuanian Artists' Association. The artists are stimulated by huge spiritual potential, a continuous striving for improvisation. They do not avoid mixing and combining expression means characteristic of post-modernist art. They expand the limits of the concept of graphics, free of technological limitations, employing digital print and creating spatial objects. In the panorama of contemporary graphics, the artists are distinguished not only by their productivity but also by their ability to renew, change and surprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the history of Lithuanian culture and literature, the didactic prose of the Samogitian Bishop Motiejus Vaalančius (1801-1875, bish. 1850-1875) - the dominant figure of the religious, public and cultural life in the mid-19th century Lithuania - is rightly considered to be both pioneering and instrumental in the formation of Lithuanian fiction. As is the case in a number of other writing genres, Motiejus Valančius is thought to be the pioneer of hagiographic literature in Lithuanian language (which began to be written and translated during the mid-19th century). Thereby the hagiographic works of Valančius are distinguished in their role as a bridging element between early didactic and fictional Lithuanian literature. It was hitherto known that Motiejus Valančius had written and published two hagiographic works - Žyvatai šventųjų (The Lives of the Saints, 1858) and Gyvenimai šventųjų Dievo (The Lives of the Saints of God, 1868) - pioneering works and representatives of Lithuanian hagiographic literature which are characterised by their original style. However, the corpus of Lithuanian hagiographic literature has been recently complemented by two so far unknown manuscript works - The Life of the Saints Part II (Žyvatai šventųjų, d. II, 1864) and The Works of the Saints (Darbai šventųjų, 1874-1875), and a copy of the latter. The manuscript of The Life of the Saints Part II - is not a copy made by Motiejus Valančius' hand, it is a fair copy prepared for the press; the manuscript of The Works of the Saints - bears the autograph of Motiejus Valančius; while the copy of The Works of the Saints is a fair copy prepared for the press not by Motiejus Valančius' hand. Moreover, the history of the texts and manuscripts are affected by the social-political circumstances of the time. The new hagiographic works significantly complement the earliest corpus of Lithuanian hagiographic literature, enrich the creative biography of the author and extend the history of Lithuanian literature, particularly the period of literary fiction's appearance. Valančius' manuscript of The Life of the Saints Part II has not yet been recorded or researched in the historiography of Lithuanian literature related to Valančius and the lives of the saints described by him. The article presents the manuscript of The Life of the Saints Part II; the results of research carried out on its history are presented: its dating, spiritual approbation, censorship, information about the manuscript, owners of the manuscript, and its place of storage are presented. A description of the manuscript is also presented: its signature, format, binding, sheets, flyleaves, pagination, paper, inscriptions and corrections are presented. As can be seen from the text itself and from other inscriptions in this manuscript, Motiejus Valančius had The Life of the Saints Part II completely prepared for the press - a copy of the text was made by a so far unknown person, i.e. the fair copy that was intended for publishing. Valančius himself re-read the manuscript and made minimal corrections to it. The manuscript was given to publisher Adam Zawadzki; later on it appeared in the possession of Viktoras Julijonas Aramavičius, a member of Vilnius Censorship committee. The censor did not censor the manuscript nor read it carefully, as it does not contain an aprobatum inscribed by the censor or other marks characteristic of censored manuscripts. Although the censor, following the policy of the spread of Orthodoxy and the instructions of tsarist censorship (and negative attitudes towards the Uniates), removed the life of the Blessed Josaphat of Polotsk (Josaphat Kuntsevych, 1580-1623). Perhaps it was because of the removal of this part of the text that the manuscript was returned to its author. Motiejus Valančius did not make any corrections to the text; in the later selections of the lives of saints he did not include the description of the Blessed Josaphat's life. This publication presents an account from the lives of saints - the life of the Blessed Josaphat of Polotsk which relates to the other texts devoted to this Blessed in this volume of Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reminiscences (1975-1985), a series by the famous Lithuanian photographer Algimantas Kunčius (b. 1939), stands out in the context of the humanist photography that dominated in Lithuania during the Soviet period. Rather than photographing people, Kunčius focused on things and the everyday urban as well as rural environment. The series marked the beginning of a new aesthetic tendency, which was later developed in the 1980s by younger photographers. It also reflected processes that had been taking place in Lithuanian painting, which was then moving towards the observation of everyday life. After the restoration of independence in 1990, Reminiscences gained significance and came to represent Lithuanian photography in the international context; separate images were used to illustrate poetry and texts on the ethnic roots of Lithuania, displaying the images' capacity to touch upon universal sensibilities. Therefore, this paper explores how the photographic rendering of "things" in Reminiscences was used to express identity and reflect on ideas that were current during the late Soviet period as well as investigating how personal memories are associated with wider cultural phenomena. The discourse of memory is read by linking visual analysis with the photographer's memories and interpretations of this series that were made at the time of its creation. The discourse of memory in Reminiscences by Kunčius follows two main directions. The first leads towards a phenomenological reduction of the opposition between the observing subject and the object that is being observed. This effect is achieved through the use of various codes of photographic language, which supports the interpretation that the things being photographed were signs whose purpose was to carry the memories of a past that was able to both influence and form the present of the self. The second direction of the interpretation takes a turn towards reading cultural values in the structure of the series. Thus, every photograph becomes a step in the process of discovering national identity. The latter meaning is related to the significance of Reminiscences in Lithuanian culture, as the reading of common meanings in everyday things allows the audience to appropriate identity constructed by the photographs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper sets out to analyse the influence of the clothing ceremony of Vilnius Benedictine nuns as well as profession and consecration ceremonies on the décor and iconography of St. Catherine's Church. It will attempt to reveal how a specific art object illustrates and supports the ritual, and how a religious 'event' determines the contents and form of the object. The mystical engagement with the divine fiancée is a metaphor of the eternal vows of nuns. After having expressed their sacred will to follow Christ particularly closely, future nuns are dedicated to God, mystically engaged with Christ, the Son of God, and ordered to serve the Church by the bishop of their diocese through an appropriate liturgical ceremony. During the Baroque epoch the symbols of engagement acquired a wider expression and included not only the profession, but also clothing and consecration in Benedictine nunneries of Chełmno congregation; thus the act of mystical pledge took place even three times in a nun's life. It would be worth emphasising that in the 17th century Benedictines of the Chełmno congregation started to perform the clothing ceremony in the same solemn and public manner as the profession and consecration ceremony: first in Benedictine nunneries of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and later the tradition of solemn clothing spread also among the Benedictines of Poland. This was influenced by the text of Rule, which was renewed on the initiative of Vilnius bishop Eustachy Wołłowicz, which particularly emphasised preparations for noviciate and the beginning of noviciate. This Rule was delivered to Benedictine nunneries in the territory of Vilnius diocese in 1629. Solemn ceremonies of mystical engagement that used to take place in the Vilnius Benedictine nunnery - clothing, profession and consecration - inspired the iconography of three altars - St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilda and St. Catherine - in St. Catherine's Church. These altars used to be incorporated into the structure of celebrations and also fulfilled the function of a setting to the ceremony, which used to add ideas and meanings to the action of the mystical union. The altars were dedicated to those blessed virgins who embodied best the idea and purpose of mystical engagement and, through the example of their lives, showed how to follow this road of love to Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Funeral ceremonies and their traditions are a significant part of everyday life that reflects important aspects of a certain society's views. On the other hand, pompous funerals of noblemen and other famous people in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania often turned into extraordinary events and impressive celebrations; their décor also shows the particularities of the artistic culture of the time. The Bernardine Church in Vilnius and its churchyard was the favourite place of burials among townspeople from the very beginning. Unfortunately, only fragmented and very laconic data concerning funeral ceremonies before the 17th century have survived; the 17th-19th century left more information. Funerary traditions in this church partially illustrate more general traditions in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is important that representatives of various classes of society used to be buried in the Bernardine churchyard: magnates, noblemen, craftsmen and merchants used to choose their eternal resting places here. The walls of this church, the churchyard and the Bernardine cemetery established in early 19th century have sheltered bodies of the friars themselves, Bernardine sisters, and many impoverished people of the city. There are various sources concerning funerals at the Bernardine Church, although they are quite fragmentary. These are the monuments that have survived in the church until our days and inscriptions of former monuments recorded in written sources; various messages in the convent's diaries and other documents about people buried in the church or in the churchyard; more extensive information on some funerals in written sources; funerary sermons; descriptions of hearses in church inventories and scarce iconographic sources. The paper attempts to systematise the information gathered from various sources on funeral ceremonies in this church, to reveal its character and discuss the features of artistic décor of such funerary ceremonies. It also tries to show how funeral ceremonies and the very place of burials were related to the social status of the buried person and other facts of social status and wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the restored portable altar of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ that was presented in the exhibition, "Christianity in Lithuanian Art" and restored at the P. Gudynas Center for Restoration. This altar reflects the artistic heritage of the Vilnius fraternities and is distinguished by its plastic and painted qualities and is of special interest because of its patrons. This article covers the activity of the Fraternity of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ, the attributes of the fraternity including its clothing, the inventory owned and used by this church and the altar and its paintings (which were looked after by the fraternity). The paper uses the inventories of the Vilnius Church of St Peter and Paul the Apostles and the books of the fraternity as its references. The discussed portable double-sided altar of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ is distinguished by its artistic value. This altar has two paintings of the Wounds of Christ and Our Lady of Sorrow on both sides of which the kneeling figures of a man and woman are depicted. Making reference to the records of the books of the fraternity, the assessment is made that the members of the fraternity of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ are depicted in these paintings: in particular the image of Casimir Kieyc, who was the head of the fraternity at that time, and the image of his wife Kristina. They purchased this portable altar with their own resources for the procession to Trakai. The altar was gilded and contained two paintings and was carried for the first time to Trakai during the procession of the feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, i.e. on the 7th of September in 1666. Later on, from 1668, the paintings of this altar were decorated with a silver setting. A record in the book of the fraternity is witness to the fact that on the 4th of June in 1733, just before the celebration of the Body of Christ, the portable altar painting of Our Lady of Sorrows was decorated with a new precious silver setting made by a professional Vilnius goldsmith. In 1750 a new wooden housing was created for this altar; consequently the images of the donators of the altar's paintings were damaged during the process of trimming the edges of the canvas (by about 4 cm) to adjust them to fit the newly made frames. This object of art had one more major restoration in 1799. This original portable altar, ordered by the Vilnius Fraternity of the F ive Holy Wounds of Christ and used in their devotional practice, is a reminder of the history of this fraternity. Moreover, it depicts the canvas's patrons and reflects the form of devotion and iconography that were specific to the Baroque culture of the 17th - 18th centuries and spread throughout its fraternities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]