The Bernardine ensemble

The years of the Second World War were a controversial period for Viktoras Vizgirda (190 4–1993). On one hand, he lived in the regained capital, which had been the object of his dreams before the war, and he headed the Academy of Art. A highly professional staff of teachers from Kaunas assembled there: Telesforas Valius taught graphic art, Jonas Mikėnas sculpture, Antanas Gudaitis drawing, and Mikalojus Vorobjovas the history of art. On the other hand, the German occupation was a difficult period: the Academy was short of money and staff, and Vizgirda himself had to work as an administrator and an accountant. The Nazis began their cruel repressions and restrictions, part of the premises was taken over by the army, and finally, in March 1943, the Germans closed the Academy. Quite unexpectedly, Vizgirda had time to paint, and he painted almost all his Vilnius townscapes in the summer of 1943. The atmosphere of the period can be felt in them. The Bernardine friary is depicted on a bright afternoon, but a strange cold light from the sun falls on the street, where fearsome dark shadows, the restless rhythm of trees, and the sharp contrast between the red brick architecture and the blue surroundings generate a feeling of intensity.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

After Stephen Báthory University was closed in 1939, Vilnius Art School opened on 14 June 1940 in the premises of the old Faculty of Art. A year later, it was renamed Vilnius Academy of Art. Justinas Vienožinskis, Viktoras Vizgirda, Antanas Gudaitis and Jonas Kuzminskis came from Kaunas to work at the Academy of Art, and Kaunas Art School offered only courses in applied art. Adherents of the dominant tradition there, who had used expressive brushwork and stressed the importance of colour, and who had found inspiration in nature and the countryside, discovered the urban landscape of Vilnius. The abundance of cityscapes in wartime art can be seen as the wish of the Lithuanians to reclaim their historic capital and make it their own again. Inspired by the Polish Pictorialist tradition which Jan Bulhak had shaped, they juxtaposed its iconic architecture with leafy parts of the city, creating a style that redefined the iconography of the city.

This image of the city was very different to the work of the Polish school. The teachers and students at Stephen Báthory University had paid more attention to drawing than to pictorialism, and put less emphasis on the relationship between nature and architecture.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius. Curator Laima Laučkaitė; "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.

The years of the Second World War were a controversial period for Viktoras Vizgirda (190 4–1993). On one hand, he lived in the regained capital, which had been the object of his dreams before the war, and he headed the Academy of Art. A highly professional staff of teachers from Kaunas assembled there: Telesforas Valius taught graphic art, Jonas Mikėnas sculpture, Antanas Gudaitis drawing, and Mikalojus Vorobjovas the history of art. On the other hand, the German occupation was a difficult period: the Academy was short of money and staff, and Vizgirda himself had to work as an administrator and an accountant. The Nazis began their cruel repressions and restrictions, part of the premises was taken over by the army, and finally, in March 1943, the Germans closed the Academy. Quite unexpectedly, Vizgirda had time to paint, and he painted almost all his Vilnius townscapes in the summer of 1943. The atmosphere of the period can be felt in them. The Bernardine friary is depicted on a bright afternoon, but a strange cold light from the sun falls on the street, where fearsome dark shadows, the restless rhythm of trees, and the sharp contrast between the red brick architecture and the blue surroundings generate a feeling of intensity.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

After Stephen Báthory University was closed in 1939, Vilnius Art School opened on 14 June 1940 in the premises of the old Faculty of Art. A year later, it was renamed Vilnius Academy of Art. Justinas Vienožinskis, Viktoras Vizgirda, Antanas Gudaitis and Jonas Kuzminskis came from Kaunas to work at the Academy of Art, and Kaunas Art School offered only courses in applied art. Adherents of the dominant tradition there, who had used expressive brushwork and stressed the importance of colour, and who had found inspiration in nature and the countryside, discovered the urban landscape of Vilnius. The abundance of cityscapes in wartime art can be seen as the wish of the Lithuanians to reclaim their historic capital and make it their own again. Inspired by the Polish Pictorialist tradition which Jan Bulhak had shaped, they juxtaposed its iconic architecture with leafy parts of the city, creating a style that redefined the iconography of the city.

This image of the city was very different to the work of the Polish school. The teachers and students at Stephen Báthory University had paid more attention to drawing than to pictorialism, and put less emphasis on the relationship between nature and architecture.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius. Curator Laima Laučkaitė; "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.