Poster ‘A prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Gate of Dawn’

Vilnius was usually represented in Lithuanian art and in the press by easily recognisable symbols. Images of Gediminas’ Castle and its surroundings, the cathedral, the Gates of Dawn and the painting of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn were the most common. These symbols appealed to patriotic sentiment, and summed up the essence of Vilnius for Lithuanians as the historic capital of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, and at the same time as a deeply Catholic city, so that the Lord’s help could be invoked in reclaiming it. For instance, a poster by Vaclovas Kosčiuška (1911–1984) called A prayer to Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn uses all these symbols: Gediminas’ Castle, the Gates of Dawn, and the painting of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn, together with a Lithuanian woman holding a child and praying for the Virgin’s intercession.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024

Vilnius was usually represented in Lithuanian art and in the press by easily recognisable symbols. Images of Gediminas’ Castle and its surroundings, the cathedral, the Gates of Dawn and the painting of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn were the most common. These symbols appealed to patriotic sentiment, and summed up the essence of Vilnius for Lithuanians as the historic capital of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, and at the same time as a deeply Catholic city, so that the Lord’s help could be invoked in reclaiming it. For instance, a poster by Vaclovas Kosčiuška (1911–1984) called A prayer to Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn uses all these symbols: Gediminas’ Castle, the Gates of Dawn, and the painting of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn, together with a Lithuanian woman holding a child and praying for the Virgin’s intercession.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2024