Still-life with a white Scottish Terrier and two birds

The motif of a white bird appeared in the oeuvre of Antanas Gudaitis (1904– 1989) around 1966. In that year, he made at least two sketches of a woman with a bird in her lap. By 1979, it had left the woman’s lap, and began to appear in scenes with a bride, and later in still-lifes. It is sometimes difficult to know whether it is a dream, a vision, or a lifeless stuffed bird, placed next to a mask, a wooden carving by a village craftsman, or a vase of flowers. It is likely that the dog in this picture was the beloved Scottish Terrier, called Ariel, of Juozas Miltinis, the director of the Panevėžys theatre and a close friend of Gudaitis. It is pictured with two of Gudaitis’ dream birds, but he managed to make both the real and imaginary animals appear lifeless. The composition looks like a still-life, a mise-en-scène, with turgid toys or stuffed animals, arranged by the artist’s heavy hands.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
Expositions: "A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis", 30 August 2018 – 1 June 2019, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024

The motif of a white bird appeared in the oeuvre of Antanas Gudaitis (1904– 1989) around 1966. In that year, he made at least two sketches of a woman with a bird in her lap. By 1979, it had left the woman’s lap, and began to appear in scenes with a bride, and later in still-lifes. It is sometimes difficult to know whether it is a dream, a vision, or a lifeless stuffed bird, placed next to a mask, a wooden carving by a village craftsman, or a vase of flowers. It is likely that the dog in this picture was the beloved Scottish Terrier, called Ariel, of Juozas Miltinis, the director of the Panevėžys theatre and a close friend of Gudaitis. It is pictured with two of Gudaitis’ dream birds, but he managed to make both the real and imaginary animals appear lifeless. The composition looks like a still-life, a mise-en-scène, with turgid toys or stuffed animals, arranged by the artist’s heavy hands.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
Expositions: "A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis", 30 August 2018 – 1 June 2019, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024