In front of the Gates of Dawn

‘Vilnius in the Year of War 1916’.

Images of German soldiers prevail in the second part of Buhe’s book: a military band plays in Lukiškių Square in the afternoon, a performance takes place in the German Theatre (converted from the city theatre) on Pohulanka, coachmen with horse-drawn sledges wait for fares by the railway station, soldiers take out boats on the River Neris with their girlfriends, or they frequent Sztrall’s Coffee House. This is the entertainment and the way of life for German soldiers in an occupied foreign city. One of Buhe’s drawings shows an encounter with local residents by the Gates of Dawn: women, old people and children pray before the miracle-working picture, and German soldiers pass by in a car and on a bicycle. For the former, the Gates of Dawn is a place for prayer, worship and contemplation; while for the latter, it is merely a transport artery, and they do not even take off their hats before the sacred picture, thus defying an old local tradition.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
Expositions: ‘Vilnius Forever. A Dialogue of Artworks and Guides to the City’, 25 May 2022 – 30 April 2023 Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Laima Laučkaitė.

‘Vilnius in the Year of War 1916’.

Images of German soldiers prevail in the second part of Buhe’s book: a military band plays in Lukiškių Square in the afternoon, a performance takes place in the German Theatre (converted from the city theatre) on Pohulanka, coachmen with horse-drawn sledges wait for fares by the railway station, soldiers take out boats on the River Neris with their girlfriends, or they frequent Sztrall’s Coffee House. This is the entertainment and the way of life for German soldiers in an occupied foreign city. One of Buhe’s drawings shows an encounter with local residents by the Gates of Dawn: women, old people and children pray before the miracle-working picture, and German soldiers pass by in a car and on a bicycle. For the former, the Gates of Dawn is a place for prayer, worship and contemplation; while for the latter, it is merely a transport artery, and they do not even take off their hats before the sacred picture, thus defying an old local tradition.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
Expositions: ‘Vilnius Forever. A Dialogue of Artworks and Guides to the City’, 25 May 2022 – 30 April 2023 Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Laima Laučkaitė.