Darius and Girėnas

As the sculptor and head of the Sculpture Department at the Kaunas Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts, Professor Bronius Pundzius (1907–1959) played a significant role in the artistic life of interwar Lithuania. A graduate of the Kaunas Art School, he participated actively in the burgeoning artistic scene after the first exhibition of work by young artists in 1930. During this period, there was a strong emphasis on the role of monuments and commemorations developing civil society and strengthening the national identity in Lithuania. Competitions began to be held for the construction of monuments honouring famous individuals, and sculptural images and commemorative medals were also created. One notable project was the monument dedicated to the Atlantic flight by Darius and Girėnas, for which Pundzius won a competition in 1937. However, due to the outbreak of the war, the monument never materialised. Instead, in 1943, Pundzius sculpted bas-reliefs of the pilots on the Puntukas stone. The monument was eventually erected in Kaunas in 1993, albeit with some modifications to its original design. Even before his involvement in the monument project, Pundzius created a bronze bust of the Lithuanian aviation heroes as a commission for the Aeroclub of Lithuania. Additionally, in 1935 he crafted a relief depicting the pilots, capturing their dynamic and lively portraits with remarkable vigour and vitality. Plaster versions of these compositions also gained popularity. Bronze and plaster busts of the pilots served as interior decorations that were popular with interwar intellectuals, reflecting the growing national self-awareness of the time.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

As the sculptor and head of the Sculpture Department at the Kaunas Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts, Professor Bronius Pundzius (1907–1959) played a significant role in the artistic life of interwar Lithuania. A graduate of the Kaunas Art School, he participated actively in the burgeoning artistic scene after the first exhibition of work by young artists in 1930. During this period, there was a strong emphasis on the role of monuments and commemorations developing civil society and strengthening the national identity in Lithuania. Competitions began to be held for the construction of monuments honouring famous individuals, and sculptural images and commemorative medals were also created. One notable project was the monument dedicated to the Atlantic flight by Darius and Girėnas, for which Pundzius won a competition in 1937. However, due to the outbreak of the war, the monument never materialised. Instead, in 1943, Pundzius sculpted bas-reliefs of the pilots on the Puntukas stone. The monument was eventually erected in Kaunas in 1993, albeit with some modifications to its original design. Even before his involvement in the monument project, Pundzius created a bronze bust of the Lithuanian aviation heroes as a commission for the Aeroclub of Lithuania. Additionally, in 1935 he crafted a relief depicting the pilots, capturing their dynamic and lively portraits with remarkable vigour and vitality. Plaster versions of these compositions also gained popularity. Bronze and plaster busts of the pilots served as interior decorations that were popular with interwar intellectuals, reflecting the growing national self-awareness of the time.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė