At dawn

In this canvas W. Slendziński pictured a courtyard near St. Bartholomew Church in the Užupis district of Vilnius right before sunrise. He supplemented the landscape with an everyday life theme: the master coming back early in the morning is met by his happy dog, and a servant is taking the unharnessed horse to the stable. In creating the mood of the picture, the painter used several different sources of light: the dimness of the dawn, the cold glittering of the moon, lights in the windows and the light of the lamp carried by the servant.

Text author Dalia Tarandaitė

When Wincenty Slendziński (1837–1909) returned to Vilnius in 1883 after a long period of exile, he discovered Užupis and painted it often, especially sites around the Church of St Bartholomew. This former church of the Penitential Canons belonged to the Bernardine Franciscan friars at the time, and operated as a sister church to the Church of St Francis and St Bernardino. The work At dawn shows a courtyard near the Church of St Bartholomew. The artist showed typical features of late 19th-century Užupis: the uneven, hilly relief, modest and rather sparse buildings, a suburban quietness, and the slow passing of time that seems to be embodied by a wooden fence stretching across the length of the painting. Interestingly, a precise date, the early morning of 3 March 1887, is written on the back of the canvas. It is hard to say why the rather wintry first day of Lent was important to Slendziński; but whatever the reason, with its strange and mysterious mood, the painting goes beyond evoking personal memories or important events. It is arguably one of the most beautiful nocturnes of Vilnius, with a premonition of the cosy warmth of home waiting for the traveller returning home on a frosty night.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES I (2010). Text authors Nijolė Tumėnienė, Dalia Tarandaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė

In this canvas W. Slendziński pictured a courtyard near St. Bartholomew Church in the Užupis district of Vilnius right before sunrise. He supplemented the landscape with an everyday life theme: the master coming back early in the morning is met by his happy dog, and a servant is taking the unharnessed horse to the stable. In creating the mood of the picture, the painter used several different sources of light: the dimness of the dawn, the cold glittering of the moon, lights in the windows and the light of the lamp carried by the servant.

Text author Dalia Tarandaitė

When Wincenty Slendziński (1837–1909) returned to Vilnius in 1883 after a long period of exile, he discovered Užupis and painted it often, especially sites around the Church of St Bartholomew. This former church of the Penitential Canons belonged to the Bernardine Franciscan friars at the time, and operated as a sister church to the Church of St Francis and St Bernardino. The work At dawn shows a courtyard near the Church of St Bartholomew. The artist showed typical features of late 19th-century Užupis: the uneven, hilly relief, modest and rather sparse buildings, a suburban quietness, and the slow passing of time that seems to be embodied by a wooden fence stretching across the length of the painting. Interestingly, a precise date, the early morning of 3 March 1887, is written on the back of the canvas. It is hard to say why the rather wintry first day of Lent was important to Slendziński; but whatever the reason, with its strange and mysterious mood, the painting goes beyond evoking personal memories or important events. It is arguably one of the most beautiful nocturnes of Vilnius, with a premonition of the cosy warmth of home waiting for the traveller returning home on a frosty night.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES I (2010). Text authors Nijolė Tumėnienė, Dalia Tarandaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė