
Vilnius
Author: |
Sergey Yuzhanin (1862–1933) ![]() |
Created: | 1912 |
Material: | paper |
Technique: | ink pen, ink |
Dimensions: | 24.50 × 31 cm |
Signature: | bottom left: Ви́льно / С.Ю., bottom right: 1912 / С. Ю. Вильно |
Stiklių Street in the Old Town was the most frequently portrayed street in the Jewish Ghetto in the 20th century. It was a narrow, picturesque lane, with brick houses and an arch, and many shops, warehouses and workshops. The shops were small, only a few square metres in size, and their only door often served as a window too. The walls of the street were hung chaotically with various signs. According to contemporary accounts, it was always busy. In order to attract customers, shop owners piled their goods outside, and the quarter resounded with the clamour and calls of vendors, and was quiet only on the Sabbath. This scene, drawn hurriedly in ink, expresses the chaos of the area: the narrow street is full of passers-by, including children and women carrying baskets full of purchases. Judging by the monogram, the date and the style, the drawing is by the Russian painter Sergey Yuzhanin (1862–1933). He lived in Vilnius between 1909 and 1915, taught at the Vilnius School of Drawing, and sketched and painted lively corners of the Old Town.
Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA I (2014). Compiler and author Laima LaučkaitėExpositions: “Académie de Vilna. Vilnius Drawing School (1866–1915)”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Jolanta Širkaitė). Published: Académie de Vilna: Vilniaus piešimo mokykla 1866-1915 / Vilnius drawing school: Exhibition Catalogue, Nacionalinė dailės galerija 2017 m. 4 d. - lapkričio 26 d., compiled by Jolanta Širkaitė, Vilnius: Lietuvos kultūros tyrimų institutas, 2017, p. 57.