Cellars. From the series 'Trakai'

Walenty Romanowicz (1911–1945) studied art and medicine at Stephen Báthory University before the war, and later taught anatomy to students at the Faculty of Art. His deep knowledge of the area is reflected clearly in his work. In a selfportrait engraved in 1940, he depicted himself in a circle drawn with a compass, like a 20th-century Vitruvian Man, looking dramatically at the absurdity of war.

The engravings from the series ‘Trakai’, created between 1941 and 1944, are also distinguished by the anatomical precision of the figures, and the meticulous attention paid to the surroundings. Romanowicz took part in the conservation and restoration work on the ruins of Trakai Castle from 1935, documenting it and depicting the subject in his engravings with almost photographic precision. His etchings show a tendency towards retrospectivism that is typical of the art from the Second World War. He seems to put a distance between the viewers and the reality, and takes us back to a timeless past. It is not surprising that in one engraving we see troglodytes, characters from a bygone era.

In 1944, the KGB arrested and imprisoned Romanowicz. He died in prison in 1945, but the exact date of his death and his place of burial are unknown.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Walenty Romanowicz (1911–1945) studied art and medicine at Stephen Báthory University before the war, and later taught anatomy to students at the Faculty of Art. His deep knowledge of the area is reflected clearly in his work. In a selfportrait engraved in 1940, he depicted himself in a circle drawn with a compass, like a 20th-century Vitruvian Man, looking dramatically at the absurdity of war.

The engravings from the series ‘Trakai’, created between 1941 and 1944, are also distinguished by the anatomical precision of the figures, and the meticulous attention paid to the surroundings. Romanowicz took part in the conservation and restoration work on the ruins of Trakai Castle from 1935, documenting it and depicting the subject in his engravings with almost photographic precision. His etchings show a tendency towards retrospectivism that is typical of the art from the Second World War. He seems to put a distance between the viewers and the reality, and takes us back to a timeless past. It is not surprising that in one engraving we see troglodytes, characters from a bygone era.

In 1944, the KGB arrested and imprisoned Romanowicz. He died in prison in 1945, but the exact date of his death and his place of burial are unknown.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė