Capri in the spring

The spring idyll in southern Italy, with the white Moorish-style house, an almond-tree (?) covered with a thick canopy of pink blossom, the blue of the sea separated from the blue of the sky by a strip of land, and the two girls playing in the sun in an enclosed courtyard, obviously symbolises the spring of a woman’s life. This and similar works by Jonas Mackevičius (1872–1954) expressing a joy of life, earned him recognition in the parlours of Kaunas, and still ensure that he is respected as a proponent of Russian post-academic and Italian neo-academic art. His style of painting began to change after he returned from Capri to Kaunas in 1929. The carefree lightness was gradually replaced by a patriotic duty to depict ‘realistically’ glorious moments in Lithuania’s past, in order to make them look topical, thus bringing them closer to the viewer, as in the example of Jan Matejko, the doyen of Polish historical painting. This picture is special as it was one of the first acquisitions which gave rise to the LAWIN collection.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Jonas Mackevičius (1872–1954), who had participated in the first exhibitions of Lithuanian art, fled from the First World War, and settled in Capri in 1914. According to him, he managed to make a living solely from art on this island in the south of Italy: tourists from Germany, Sweden and Norway willingly bought his paintings. On his return to Lithuania in 1929, in addition to easel painting and commissions for monumental works, Mackevičius also taught at Kaunas Art School. Even before his eventual return to Lithuania, visitors to exhibitions in the interim capital and in Šiauliai had the chance to see and enjoy his exotic Mediterranean paintings, distinguished by the Italian light and the impression of an eternal summer. But local art critics were not so enthusiastic, and were sometimes more critical of the features of salon art that were typical of his Italian paintings. For example, the artist and art historian Ignas Šlapelis wrote in the press in 1928 about an exhibition of Juozas Zikaras’ sculptures and Mackevičius’ paintings: ‘Our art lovers who expect a painting to match their new wallpaper [...] will definitely find something suitable in Mackevičius’ work’ (Ignas Šlapelis, ‘From the exhibition of Jonas Mackevičius and Juozas Zikaras’, Meno kultūra, 1928 , No 1, p. 19). However, the scepticism of some critics was unjustified. Mackevičius’ idyllic landscapes and still-lifes, along with the lyrical landscapes by Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and the fantasy compositions by Kazys Šimonis, remained some of the most popular works with collectors of Lithuanian art, both in the interwar period and later.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES I (2010). Text authors Nijolė Tumėnienė, Dalia Tarandaitė, 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. Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė. "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th– first half of the 20th centuries", 1 December 2017 – 19 August 2018, Vilnius Picture Gallery (Didžioji St. 4, Vilnius). Curators: Dalia Tarandaitė (project leader), Rūta Janonienė, Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.

The spring idyll in southern Italy, with the white Moorish-style house, an almond-tree (?) covered with a thick canopy of pink blossom, the blue of the sea separated from the blue of the sky by a strip of land, and the two girls playing in the sun in an enclosed courtyard, obviously symbolises the spring of a woman’s life. This and similar works by Jonas Mackevičius (1872–1954) expressing a joy of life, earned him recognition in the parlours of Kaunas, and still ensure that he is respected as a proponent of Russian post-academic and Italian neo-academic art. His style of painting began to change after he returned from Capri to Kaunas in 1929. The carefree lightness was gradually replaced by a patriotic duty to depict ‘realistically’ glorious moments in Lithuania’s past, in order to make them look topical, thus bringing them closer to the viewer, as in the example of Jan Matejko, the doyen of Polish historical painting. This picture is special as it was one of the first acquisitions which gave rise to the LAWIN collection.

Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė

Jonas Mackevičius (1872–1954), who had participated in the first exhibitions of Lithuanian art, fled from the First World War, and settled in Capri in 1914. According to him, he managed to make a living solely from art on this island in the south of Italy: tourists from Germany, Sweden and Norway willingly bought his paintings. On his return to Lithuania in 1929, in addition to easel painting and commissions for monumental works, Mackevičius also taught at Kaunas Art School. Even before his eventual return to Lithuania, visitors to exhibitions in the interim capital and in Šiauliai had the chance to see and enjoy his exotic Mediterranean paintings, distinguished by the Italian light and the impression of an eternal summer. But local art critics were not so enthusiastic, and were sometimes more critical of the features of salon art that were typical of his Italian paintings. For example, the artist and art historian Ignas Šlapelis wrote in the press in 1928 about an exhibition of Juozas Zikaras’ sculptures and Mackevičius’ paintings: ‘Our art lovers who expect a painting to match their new wallpaper [...] will definitely find something suitable in Mackevičius’ work’ (Ignas Šlapelis, ‘From the exhibition of Jonas Mackevičius and Juozas Zikaras’, Meno kultūra, 1928 , No 1, p. 19). However, the scepticism of some critics was unjustified. Mackevičius’ idyllic landscapes and still-lifes, along with the lyrical landscapes by Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and the fantasy compositions by Kazys Šimonis, remained some of the most popular works with collectors of Lithuanian art, both in the interwar period and later.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES I (2010). Text authors Nijolė Tumėnienė, Dalia Tarandaitė, 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. Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė. "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th– first half of the 20th centuries", 1 December 2017 – 19 August 2018, Vilnius Picture Gallery (Didžioji St. 4, Vilnius). Curators: Dalia Tarandaitė (project leader), Rūta Janonienė, Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.