Vilnius from the Sapieha mansion

The German painter Alfred Schlemm worked in Vilnius during the First World War as an army hospital orderly. In his free time, he liked to draw local residents and paint townscapes. There was a military hospital in the Sapiega mansion in Antakalnis, and he painted a sketch from the window of the mansion. This is an unconventional view, from an unexpected angle and with the unusual vision of a foreigner. The meadows of Antakalnis spread out at the bottom of the picture, the buildings of the Vileišis mansion stand on the left, and the wooden Tivoli hostelry is on the right. Vilnius looms behind the trees, with the towers of the Church of St Philip and St James, and the Church of St Raphael, and hills stretch away in the distance. The shapes and contours of objects are indistinct: the sketch is painted in an Impressionist style. The rich combination of subdued green, brown and blue tones creates the mood of a grey, misty day, and exudes a certain nostalgia.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
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)

The German painter Alfred Schlemm worked in Vilnius during the First World War as an army hospital orderly. In his free time, he liked to draw local residents and paint townscapes. There was a military hospital in the Sapiega mansion in Antakalnis, and he painted a sketch from the window of the mansion. This is an unconventional view, from an unexpected angle and with the unusual vision of a foreigner. The meadows of Antakalnis spread out at the bottom of the picture, the buildings of the Vileišis mansion stand on the left, and the wooden Tivoli hostelry is on the right. Vilnius looms behind the trees, with the towers of the Church of St Philip and St James, and the Church of St Raphael, and hills stretch away in the distance. The shapes and contours of objects are indistinct: the sketch is painted in an Impressionist style. The rich combination of subdued green, brown and blue tones creates the mood of a grey, misty day, and exudes a certain nostalgia.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
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)