Madonna and child and others

Pablo Picasso was an authoritative figure for Lithuanian artists not only in the 1930s. His influence was also important to representatives of Soviet modernism. Among them was Antanas Martinaitis, a painter from Kaunas. It is interesting that, like his contemporary, the sculptor Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis, he was more interested in Picasso’s Neo-Classical works and the compositions of his blue and pink periods, which were tolerated in Soviet times, than his Cubist works. Stepping into the cultural sphere occupied by the Madonnas painted by his predecessors, Martinaitis transferred the story from the New Testament about the birth of Christ to the modern age. His Madonna, child and others resembles Picasso’s families of circus acrobats, quietly enjoying the freedom acquired by marginalised people in exchange for social privileges.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
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; "A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis", 30 August 2018 – 1 June 2019, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.

Pablo Picasso was an authoritative figure for Lithuanian artists not only in the 1930s. His influence was also important to representatives of Soviet modernism. Among them was Antanas Martinaitis, a painter from Kaunas. It is interesting that, like his contemporary, the sculptor Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis, he was more interested in Picasso’s Neo-Classical works and the compositions of his blue and pink periods, which were tolerated in Soviet times, than his Cubist works. Stepping into the cultural sphere occupied by the Madonnas painted by his predecessors, Martinaitis transferred the story from the New Testament about the birth of Christ to the modern age. His Madonna, child and others resembles Picasso’s families of circus acrobats, quietly enjoying the freedom acquired by marginalised people in exchange for social privileges.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
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; "A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis", 30 August 2018 – 1 June 2019, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.