Portrait of a woman

Wincenty SlendzińskiI (1837–1909) inherited his love of art from his father Aleksandr, a graduate of Vilnius School of Art. As a student of painting at the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Moscow, he became involved in subversive activities along with some of his compatriots. He was arrested in 1863 immediately on returning to Lithuania, and was deported to Russia in early 1864. Slendziński lived in Kharkiv (now in Ukraine) from 1867 to 1871, where he became famous as a portraitist. After being arrested for a second time in 1875, he was sent to Kharkiv again. He stayed there until 1882, and only returned from exile in 1883. Sources show that he produced over 250 paintings during his second period of exile. Unfortunately, only a small part of his legacy is known today. According to his surviving work, he was a prolific portrait painter. His work, which was extremely accomplished professionally, attracted a respectable clientele. There was a university in Kharkiv from 1805, which received part of the collections of the closed Vilnius University after 1832. Many Kharkiv University students were young men from the former lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Slendziński might have had several compatriots among his clients. We do not know who the lady he painted in 1876 was. This middle-aged woman looks respectable, and surely belongs to the nobility: she may have been from the town’s upper stratum of society. The artist rendered realistically her composed face, her carefully arranged hair, and several pieces of expensive jewellery.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius

Wincenty SlendzińskiI (1837–1909) inherited his love of art from his father Aleksandr, a graduate of Vilnius School of Art. As a student of painting at the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Moscow, he became involved in subversive activities along with some of his compatriots. He was arrested in 1863 immediately on returning to Lithuania, and was deported to Russia in early 1864. Slendziński lived in Kharkiv (now in Ukraine) from 1867 to 1871, where he became famous as a portraitist. After being arrested for a second time in 1875, he was sent to Kharkiv again. He stayed there until 1882, and only returned from exile in 1883. Sources show that he produced over 250 paintings during his second period of exile. Unfortunately, only a small part of his legacy is known today. According to his surviving work, he was a prolific portrait painter. His work, which was extremely accomplished professionally, attracted a respectable clientele. There was a university in Kharkiv from 1805, which received part of the collections of the closed Vilnius University after 1832. Many Kharkiv University students were young men from the former lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Slendziński might have had several compatriots among his clients. We do not know who the lady he painted in 1876 was. This middle-aged woman looks respectable, and surely belongs to the nobility: she may have been from the town’s upper stratum of society. The artist rendered realistically her composed face, her carefully arranged hair, and several pieces of expensive jewellery.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius