The Hill of Three Crosses

During the First World War, the sculptor Antanas Vivulskis built a modern monument on the Hill of Three Crosses, with crosses joined together in an integrated composition. It immediately became a symbol of the city. In photographs and works of art, the monument is usually seen from the front, but the Vilnius painter Jan Gintowt-Dziewałtowski (1904–1980) took a different look at it. He painted the monument at an unusual time of day and from an unusual angle, at night, seen from above, as if from a bird’s-eye view. The crosses are brought closer, their austere geometric forms intertwine dynamically, and they emerge unexpectedly before the viewer’s eyes. The moonlight gives the picture a mysterious air: the monument glows pale in the dark, and the deep and distant space of the city unfolds beyond the hill, with the River Neris, the riverside and lights from windows reflected in the water. The picture was painted from a photograph taken from a plane in the daytime, but Gintowt-Dziewałtowski turned it into a spectacular night vision, thus creating one of his most impressive pictures.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Laima Laučkaitė); "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.

During the First World War, the sculptor Antanas Vivulskis built a modern monument on the Hill of Three Crosses, with crosses joined together in an integrated composition. It immediately became a symbol of the city. In photographs and works of art, the monument is usually seen from the front, but the Vilnius painter Jan Gintowt-Dziewałtowski (1904–1980) took a different look at it. He painted the monument at an unusual time of day and from an unusual angle, at night, seen from above, as if from a bird’s-eye view. The crosses are brought closer, their austere geometric forms intertwine dynamically, and they emerge unexpectedly before the viewer’s eyes. The moonlight gives the picture a mysterious air: the monument glows pale in the dark, and the deep and distant space of the city unfolds beyond the hill, with the River Neris, the riverside and lights from windows reflected in the water. The picture was painted from a photograph taken from a plane in the daytime, but Gintowt-Dziewałtowski turned it into a spectacular night vision, thus creating one of his most impressive pictures.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Laima Laučkaitė); "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.