A Lithuanian girl

Unfortunately, we do not know who sat for Adolfas Valeška (1905–1994) for A Lithuanian girl, a picture from his German period. However, this is not just a romantic picture of a young war refugee with a pretty face painted from life. Foreigners might be surprised at such attention being paid to the nation’s folk heritage, but in this picture a piercing nostalgia can be felt for the homeland that had been left behind. The wooden statue of the Sorrowing Christ and saints, the white dove, probably representing the Holy Spirit, and the delicate flower in the girl’s hand, show that the artist’s thoughts returned to his country, which he had left not long ago, which was being trampled over by foreigners, and to which he could only return in his memories.

The subject of this picture is the longing for the lost homeland. The image of a girl in national costume would not be enough to indicate a symbolic Utopia. Therefore, Adolfas Valeška (1905–1994) included a still-life, recognisable to the informed onlooker: a chapel with folk sculptures and some gifts like offerings on an imaginary altar, flowers, a  graceful jug which could be used for odoriferous oils or wine, and a white towel. Innocence and the hope of revival are symbolised by the white flower in the girl’s hand and the white dove of the Holy Spirit over the inclined head of a wooden Sorrowing Christ.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė); "Lithuanian Traditional and Folk Costumes: Textiles, Graphic Art, Painting", 11 May – 5 November 2017, Museum of the Radvilas Palace, Vilnius (curator Dalia Bernotaitė-Beliauskienė, Rima Rutkauskienė); "Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art between 1945 and 1990", 9 September 2021 – 30 April 2022, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė. „Dévotions privées“, 20 September – 06 October 2024, Chapelle Sainte-Blandine, Metz, France. Curators of the project Philippe Cossalter, Asta Dambrauskaitė, Daiva Tonkūnienė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024

Unfortunately, we do not know who sat for Adolfas Valeška (1905–1994) for A Lithuanian girl, a picture from his German period. However, this is not just a romantic picture of a young war refugee with a pretty face painted from life. Foreigners might be surprised at such attention being paid to the nation’s folk heritage, but in this picture a piercing nostalgia can be felt for the homeland that had been left behind. The wooden statue of the Sorrowing Christ and saints, the white dove, probably representing the Holy Spirit, and the delicate flower in the girl’s hand, show that the artist’s thoughts returned to his country, which he had left not long ago, which was being trampled over by foreigners, and to which he could only return in his memories.

The subject of this picture is the longing for the lost homeland. The image of a girl in national costume would not be enough to indicate a symbolic Utopia. Therefore, Adolfas Valeška (1905–1994) included a still-life, recognisable to the informed onlooker: a chapel with folk sculptures and some gifts like offerings on an imaginary altar, flowers, a  graceful jug which could be used for odoriferous oils or wine, and a white towel. Innocence and the hope of revival are symbolised by the white flower in the girl’s hand and the white dove of the Holy Spirit over the inclined head of a wooden Sorrowing Christ.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė); "Lithuanian Traditional and Folk Costumes: Textiles, Graphic Art, Painting", 11 May – 5 November 2017, Museum of the Radvilas Palace, Vilnius (curator Dalia Bernotaitė-Beliauskienė, Rima Rutkauskienė); "Free and Unfree. Lithuanian Art between 1945 and 1990", 9 September 2021 – 30 April 2022, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė. „Dévotions privées“, 20 September – 06 October 2024, Chapelle Sainte-Blandine, Metz, France. Curators of the project Philippe Cossalter, Asta Dambrauskaitė, Daiva Tonkūnienė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024