Bathers in the lake at Trakai

Walenty Romanowicz (1911–1945) began his Trakai series in 1940, when he was involved in the restoration work at Trakai castle, which continued under the Nazi occupation. It is likely that the restoration work was supported in order to raise from its ruins a medieval monument showing the influence of German culture. Romanowicz’s series expresses a particular mood of ‘historic escapism’. His engravings are characterised by his attempts to escape from the difficulties of contemporary life in dreams of the past, which was common in wartime Lithuania. At the same time, the etchings from the series express a continuation of the tradition of the Vilnius school of Neo-Classicism. Neo-Classical bathers were popular both in Polish and Lithuanian graphic art. For instance, in the 1930s, Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas and Jonas Steponavičius, graphic artists of Lithuanian origin, both made several prints of bathers.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

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; "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė. "Sheets and Splashes. Leisure in 20th and 21st century Lithuanian art", 14 July – 2 October 2022, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius. Curators of the exhibition: Goda Aksamitauskaitė, Eglė Juocevičiūtė, Austėja Tavoraitė.

Walenty Romanowicz (1911–1945) began his Trakai series in 1940, when he was involved in the restoration work at Trakai castle, which continued under the Nazi occupation. It is likely that the restoration work was supported in order to raise from its ruins a medieval monument showing the influence of German culture. Romanowicz’s series expresses a particular mood of ‘historic escapism’. His engravings are characterised by his attempts to escape from the difficulties of contemporary life in dreams of the past, which was common in wartime Lithuania. At the same time, the etchings from the series express a continuation of the tradition of the Vilnius school of Neo-Classicism. Neo-Classical bathers were popular both in Polish and Lithuanian graphic art. For instance, in the 1930s, Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas and Jonas Steponavičius, graphic artists of Lithuanian origin, both made several prints of bathers.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

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; "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė. "Sheets and Splashes. Leisure in 20th and 21st century Lithuanian art", 14 July – 2 October 2022, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius. Curators of the exhibition: Goda Aksamitauskaitė, Eglė Juocevičiūtė, Austėja Tavoraitė.