The Missionaries’ Church in Vilnius

Between the wars, Józef Marian Marcinkowski (1906–1978), took up the aquatint technique, and produced pictures that are distinguished by their scenic and accentuated gradation of planes. His print The Missionaries’ Church in Vilnius is an aquatint. Below the tall Baroque church is the Safjaniki area, which was razed after the Second World War. It was a poor district, consisting of Safjaniki (Tanners), Ežero (Lake) and Žuvų (Fish) streets near the Fish Market on the banks of the Vilnia. The print by Marcinkowski reflects the social contrast: humble and dilapidated buildings, a splay gate and a simple street are juxtaposed with the elegant Missionaries’ Church. Marcinkowski recorded an aspect of Vilnius that has now disappeared: Safjaniki has been replaced by Maironio Street.

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

Between the wars, Józef Marian Marcinkowski (1906–1978), took up the aquatint technique, and produced pictures that are distinguished by their scenic and accentuated gradation of planes. His print The Missionaries’ Church in Vilnius is an aquatint. Below the tall Baroque church is the Safjaniki area, which was razed after the Second World War. It was a poor district, consisting of Safjaniki (Tanners), Ežero (Lake) and Žuvų (Fish) streets near the Fish Market on the banks of the Vilnia. The print by Marcinkowski reflects the social contrast: humble and dilapidated buildings, a splay gate and a simple street are juxtaposed with the elegant Missionaries’ Church. Marcinkowski recorded an aspect of Vilnius that has now disappeared: Safjaniki has been replaced by Maironio Street.

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