The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius before 1797

Periodical TYGODNIK ILLUSTROWANY (Warsaw).

Woodcut after Alfred Rurawski.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the architect Pietro de Rossi (1760–1811) made a drawing of Vilnius Cathedral, which had just been rebuilt in the Classical style by Laurynas Gucevičius, and the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, before it was pulled down in the early 19th century. The drawing shows the contrast between old and new architecture in the heart of the city. Later, the painters Marcelis Januševičius, Napoleonas Orda and others copied Rossi’s drawing. The young Polish painter Alfred Rurawski (1841–1873) also used it for a sketch, based on which P. Dziedzic made a woodcut. The woodcut was printed in the Warsaw illustrated weekly Tygodnik Illustrowany (1872, no. 251). The Palace of the Grand Dukes attracted interest throughout the 19th century. Since its demolition symbolised the end of the country’s independence, picturing it was seen as a patriotic act. The Warsaw artists who prepared the drawing for publication in the magazine were not familiar with the layout of Cathedral Square, and this is why the image is reversed: the cathedral appears on the right, and the palace on the left.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “Shaping the Landscape”, 30 June – 20 August 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius, curator Ona Lozuraitytė; “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; “Between presence and memory. Historic images of the Vilnius castles“ 12 October 2023 – 14 January 2024, The National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, curators: Rita Lelekauskaitė-Karlienė, Gabija Tubelevičiūtė, Marijus Uzorka.

Periodical TYGODNIK ILLUSTROWANY (Warsaw).

Woodcut after Alfred Rurawski.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the architect Pietro de Rossi (1760–1811) made a drawing of Vilnius Cathedral, which had just been rebuilt in the Classical style by Laurynas Gucevičius, and the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, before it was pulled down in the early 19th century. The drawing shows the contrast between old and new architecture in the heart of the city. Later, the painters Marcelis Januševičius, Napoleonas Orda and others copied Rossi’s drawing. The young Polish painter Alfred Rurawski (1841–1873) also used it for a sketch, based on which P. Dziedzic made a woodcut. The woodcut was printed in the Warsaw illustrated weekly Tygodnik Illustrowany (1872, no. 251). The Palace of the Grand Dukes attracted interest throughout the 19th century. Since its demolition symbolised the end of the country’s independence, picturing it was seen as a patriotic act. The Warsaw artists who prepared the drawing for publication in the magazine were not familiar with the layout of Cathedral Square, and this is why the image is reversed: the cathedral appears on the right, and the palace on the left.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “Shaping the Landscape”, 30 June – 20 August 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius, curator Ona Lozuraitytė; “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; “Between presence and memory. Historic images of the Vilnius castles“ 12 October 2023 – 14 January 2024, The National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, curators: Rita Lelekauskaitė-Karlienė, Gabija Tubelevičiūtė, Marijus Uzorka.