Plein-air session of Vilnius University art students

Despite taking a new approach to traditional genres and subjects, Neoclassicism applied traditional means of expression, consisting of figurative treatment, clear drawing, and monumental and idealised forms. Artists found their inspiration in Greek and Roman art, the Renaissance, and 17th and 18th-century Classicism, which naturally led to the predominance of nudes, portraits and figurative compositions, with figures often placed against a background of urban architecture, as in the canvases Plein-air session of Vilnius University art students and Washerwomen (by the Vilnelė in Užupis) by alumni of the Faculty of Art at Stephen Báthory University. The arrangement of the figures against the backdrop of Vilnius architecture, reminiscent of a historical composition, transforms a genre scene into an event on a grand scale. However, while turning to the history of art, Neoclassical artists also drew on the experience of Modernist trends (Cubism and Expressionism), and experimented with distortion and the expressiveness of the image.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius

Despite taking a new approach to traditional genres and subjects, Neoclassicism applied traditional means of expression, consisting of figurative treatment, clear drawing, and monumental and idealised forms. Artists found their inspiration in Greek and Roman art, the Renaissance, and 17th and 18th-century Classicism, which naturally led to the predominance of nudes, portraits and figurative compositions, with figures often placed against a background of urban architecture, as in the canvases Plein-air session of Vilnius University art students and Washerwomen (by the Vilnelė in Užupis) by alumni of the Faculty of Art at Stephen Báthory University. The arrangement of the figures against the backdrop of Vilnius architecture, reminiscent of a historical composition, transforms a genre scene into an event on a grand scale. However, while turning to the history of art, Neoclassical artists also drew on the experience of Modernist trends (Cubism and Expressionism), and experimented with distortion and the expressiveness of the image.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius