Pietà

Stanislovas Kuzma (1947–2012) had no hesitation in choosing the classic composition of the Pieta for the Memorial to the Defenders of Lithuania’s Freedom. The image of the grieving Virgin Mary in the context of the ‘murderous events’ seemed just right to the artist. A small sculpture carved from wood in 1992 was one of the first versions of the monument. It has a pure, precisely modelled form, with very few realistic elements. The theme of the Pieta for a monument goes back a long way in the Christian world. Michelangelo’s Pieta, which is perhaps the best known, was commissioned in 1498 for the tomb of the French cardinal Jean de Bilheres in Rome. It looks as if the famous masterpiece might have influenced Kuzma’s choice of composition for his memorial.

Text author Dalia Vasiliūnienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė, THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius; “Heaven and Beyond. Works of religious art from the collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex“, 31 May–24 September 2016, Church Heritage Museum, Vilnius (curators Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė)
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“

Stanislovas Kuzma (1947–2012) had no hesitation in choosing the classic composition of the Pieta for the Memorial to the Defenders of Lithuania’s Freedom. The image of the grieving Virgin Mary in the context of the ‘murderous events’ seemed just right to the artist. A small sculpture carved from wood in 1992 was one of the first versions of the monument. It has a pure, precisely modelled form, with very few realistic elements. The theme of the Pieta for a monument goes back a long way in the Christian world. Michelangelo’s Pieta, which is perhaps the best known, was commissioned in 1498 for the tomb of the French cardinal Jean de Bilheres in Rome. It looks as if the famous masterpiece might have influenced Kuzma’s choice of composition for his memorial.

Text author Dalia Vasiliūnienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė, THE ART OF MATERIALS. Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius; “Heaven and Beyond. Works of religious art from the collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex“, 31 May–24 September 2016, Church Heritage Museum, Vilnius (curators Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė)
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“