The view from the Hill of Three Crosses

Wide views unfold from the Hill of Three Crosses. This view was chosen by Aloyzas Stasiulevičius (b. 1931) when he painted the southern part of Vilnius from the hill. He graduated from the State Institute of Art of the LSSR in the mid-1950s, and Vilnius townscapes became his main theme. He developed his style from a realistic rendering of landscapes to very abstract and geometric compositions on urban themes. This picture, painted in 1962, belongs to his early period. It is divided into horizontal strips: the River Vilnia flows at the bottom, the fields of Užupis stretch above it, and Saviour Hill, with the Missionaries and Visitation churches, rises still higher. The view expresses the mood of nature, and shows vast areas of the city in the distance; the blue-green colouring expresses the cold winter’s day, while the light and rather chaotic brushstrokes weave a transparent and pulsating surface. Later, this lively quivering of pictorial space in Stasiulevičius’ paintings was to disappear, to be replaced by hard and rhythmic shapes.

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)
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“

Wide views unfold from the Hill of Three Crosses. This view was chosen by Aloyzas Stasiulevičius (b. 1931) when he painted the southern part of Vilnius from the hill. He graduated from the State Institute of Art of the LSSR in the mid-1950s, and Vilnius townscapes became his main theme. He developed his style from a realistic rendering of landscapes to very abstract and geometric compositions on urban themes. This picture, painted in 1962, belongs to his early period. It is divided into horizontal strips: the River Vilnia flows at the bottom, the fields of Užupis stretch above it, and Saviour Hill, with the Missionaries and Visitation churches, rises still higher. The view expresses the mood of nature, and shows vast areas of the city in the distance; the blue-green colouring expresses the cold winter’s day, while the light and rather chaotic brushstrokes weave a transparent and pulsating surface. Later, this lively quivering of pictorial space in Stasiulevičius’ paintings was to disappear, to be replaced by hard and rhythmic shapes.

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)
© VŠĮ „Lietuvos dailės fondas“