Old Vilnius

At the time when Władysław Zahorski and Wacław Gizbert-Studnicki published their guides, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky (1875–1957) created drawings of Vilnius. A descendant of nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the artist grew up in Vilnius and after his studies at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts remained in Saint Petersburg and joined the ranks of Russian Silver Age artists and the World of Art movement. Dobuzhinsky won fame as a poet of the old city and a master of art noveau-style drawing. During his visits to Vilnius to see his parents, he drew views of the city. Rather than iconic monuments, in his drawings he depicted the city’s cosy nooks and corners, old courtyards, Stiklių and Mėsinių streets with colourful street signs. In the early 20^th century, the Society of St Eugenia in Saint Petersburg published a series of Vilnius views by Dobuzhinsky. The artist continued to work on this series in the years of World War I.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

At the time when Władysław Zahorski and Wacław Gizbert-Studnicki