Castle Hill, Three Crosses Hill and Bekešas Hill in Vilnius

KRASZEWSKI JÓZEF IGNACY, WILNO OD POCZĄTKÓW JEGO DO ROKU 1750, T. 1–4, WILNO, 1840–1842.

Lithograph after Karol Raczyński.

Vilnius was a very special subject for late 18th and 19th-century artists, for several reasons. The art department of the old academy, which was transformed into a university in the early 19th century, produced several generations of artists who were to set the course for the development of the nation’s art. Not only were young and creative students in the art department attracted by the buildings of the university, but they also admired the beauty of the ancient capital of Lithuania, its scenic views, and the history that was vividly present in its architecture.

Karol Raczyński (1799–after 1860), from the parish of Jieznas, came to Vilnius to study, stayed for a long time, and created some beautiful views. He managed to give the city, situated on hills and half-hidden by woods, an especially lyrical atmosphere. In one of his lithographs from 1835, he depicted the Bernardine Gardens inside a loop in the River Vilnia, the steep hills and the towers of churches, from a vantage point that offered a good view in the hills of Užupis. This lithograph, cropped at the bottom and on the left in order to fit the book, was used to illustrate the third volume of Wilno: od początków jego do roku 1750 (Vilnius: From its Founding to the Year 1750) by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The inscription below the image was changed, with the purpose of shifting the focus from the Bernardine friary to the ancient hill-forts, with their memories of the origins of the city.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Laima Laučkaitė)

KRASZEWSKI JÓZEF IGNACY, WILNO OD POCZĄTKÓW JEGO DO ROKU 1750, T. 1–4, WILNO, 1840–1842.

Lithograph after Karol Raczyński.

Vilnius was a very special subject for late 18th and 19th-century artists, for several reasons. The art department of the old academy, which was transformed into a university in the early 19th century, produced several generations of artists who were to set the course for the development of the nation’s art. Not only were young and creative students in the art department attracted by the buildings of the university, but they also admired the beauty of the ancient capital of Lithuania, its scenic views, and the history that was vividly present in its architecture.

Karol Raczyński (1799–after 1860), from the parish of Jieznas, came to Vilnius to study, stayed for a long time, and created some beautiful views. He managed to give the city, situated on hills and half-hidden by woods, an especially lyrical atmosphere. In one of his lithographs from 1835, he depicted the Bernardine Gardens inside a loop in the River Vilnia, the steep hills and the towers of churches, from a vantage point that offered a good view in the hills of Užupis. This lithograph, cropped at the bottom and on the left in order to fit the book, was used to illustrate the third volume of Wilno: od początków jego do roku 1750 (Vilnius: From its Founding to the Year 1750) by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The inscription below the image was changed, with the purpose of shifting the focus from the Bernardine friary to the ancient hill-forts, with their memories of the origins of the city.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Laima Laučkaitė)