Study of a naked body I

The work and teaching activities of Stasys Ušinskas (1905–1974) were a major impetus to the development of Lithuanian art. An alumnus of Kaunas Art School, Ušinskas returned to Kaunas from Paris in the early 1930s, where he had studied stained glass at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers under Henri Marcel Magne, improved his painting skills at the Academie Moderne under Fernand Leger, and followed classes in set design given by Aleksandra Exter. Ušinskas made his debut in Kaunas with a solo exhibition in the autumn of 1931, presenting the artistic innovations he had learnt in Paris, which were until then almost unknown on the local art scene.

His compositions in the styles of Cubism, Constructivism and Art Deco received critical acclaim. Halina Kairiūkštytė-Jacinienė wrote: ‘Ušinskis’ exhibition is the first exhibition sui generis in Kaunas. Due to its innovative nature, the Kaunas audience will definitely find it interesting to visit, although, being used to mostly realistic works that tend to idealise or copy nature, visitors will probably have various opinions’ (H. Kairiūkštytė-Jacinienė, ‘The Exhibition of Work by the Artist Ušinskis‘, Židinys, 1931, No 8–9, p. 165). The fear of a hostile reaction by the public to artistic innovations was not justified. The exhibition attracted huge interest, and as many as 15 out of the 27 paintings found buyers.

In the second half of the 1930s, like most of his colleagues seeking state support, Stasys Ušinskas (1905–1974) turned from avant-garde explorations to Neoclassicism, a style that was more approved of, and more suitable for the interiors of public buildings. His work was not merely a conservative attempt to imitate the art of the past. The plafond Circus rehearsal is reminiscent of the 17th-century trompe l’oeil wall paintings that decorated the best spaces in interiors, but the Art Deco style chosen by Ušinskas puts the work in a contemporary context.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

The work and teaching activities of Stasys Ušinskas (1905–1974) were a