Evening on Tiesos Street

After graduating from the State Institute of Art of the LSSR in 1953, Jonas Švažas (1925–1976) lectured there until his death. He was an active participant in artistic life, and was one of the initiators of the movement for the revival of Lithuanian painting. He headed the Young Artists’ Section, and later the Painting Section, of the Union of Artists of the LSSR, and publicly defended innovations in painting. The main theme of his work was urban and industrial landscapes, and his pictures are admired for their solid compositional structure, their decorativeness, and their simple draughtsmanship. The Institute of Art was on Tiesos (now Maironio) Street, and he walked down the street every day. Its old trees inspired him to paint Evening on Tiesos Street. The rhythmic structure of the picture is created by the black tree trunks, the houses of the Old Town huddling behind them covered with snow, and the walls of buildings in darkness. Švažas managed to convey an impression of light at night without using chiaroscuro: the colours of the houses and the lighted windows glow in the dark; and on a closer look, it is possible to see that the shadows on the canvas are also full of colour.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
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)
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024

After graduating from the State Institute of Art of the LSSR in 1953, Jonas Švažas (1925–1976) lectured there until his death. He was an active participant in artistic life, and was one of the initiators of the movement for the revival of Lithuanian painting. He headed the Young Artists’ Section, and later the Painting Section, of the Union of Artists of the LSSR, and publicly defended innovations in painting. The main theme of his work was urban and industrial landscapes, and his pictures are admired for their solid compositional structure, their decorativeness, and their simple draughtsmanship. The Institute of Art was on Tiesos (now Maironio) Street, and he walked down the street every day. Its old trees inspired him to paint Evening on Tiesos Street. The rhythmic structure of the picture is created by the black tree trunks, the houses of the Old Town huddling behind them covered with snow, and the walls of buildings in darkness. Švažas managed to convey an impression of light at night without using chiaroscuro: the colours of the houses and the lighted windows glow in the dark; and on a closer look, it is possible to see that the shadows on the canvas are also full of colour.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
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)
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024