Vilnius landscape with old oaks

Bronisław Jamontt (1886–1957), a non-matriculated student from St Petersburg Academy of Art, was appointed to succeed Ferdynand Ruszczyc in teaching landscape painting at the Faculty of Art. He started working as Ruszczyc’s assistant in 1931, became a professor of landscape painting in 1937, and taught at Stephen Bathory University until it closed. Working in the tradition of Neoromanticism, he was fascinated by 18th-century Dutch landscapes and the Barbizon school, so it is not surprising that he painted stylised landscape compositions. He was particularly fond of depicting handsome old trees and storm clouds, and sought to convey the dramatic forces of nature, rather than creating idyllic and peaceful views in his canvases.

Jamontt’s tendency to look to the history of art for inspiration drew him close to the Neoclassicism promoted by Ludomir Sleńdziński at the Faculty of Art. He introduced to Vilnius art in the interwar period the style of the 18th-century landscape and the dramatic understanding of man’s helplessness against the forces of nature, which were characteristic of the second half of the 19th century. He often combined urban views with elements of nature in his stylised landscapes, and created an image of a mystical city with a tense atmosphere, as seen, for example, in his Vilnius landscape with old oaks.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.

Bronisław Jamontt (1886–1957), a non-matriculated student from St Petersburg Academy of Art, was appointed to succeed Ferdynand Ruszczyc in teaching landscape painting at the Faculty of Art. He started working as Ruszczyc’s assistant in 1931, became a professor of landscape painting in 1937, and taught at Stephen Bathory University until it closed. Working in the tradition of Neoromanticism, he was fascinated by 18th-century Dutch landscapes and the Barbizon school, so it is not surprising that he painted stylised landscape compositions. He was particularly fond of depicting handsome old trees and storm clouds, and sought to convey the dramatic forces of nature, rather than creating idyllic and peaceful views in his canvases.

Jamontt’s tendency to look to the history of art for inspiration drew him close to the Neoclassicism promoted by Ludomir Sleńdziński at the Faculty of Art. He introduced to Vilnius art in the interwar period the style of the 18th-century landscape and the dramatic understanding of man’s helplessness against the forces of nature, which were characteristic of the second half of the 19th century. He often combined urban views with elements of nature in his stylised landscapes, and created an image of a mystical city with a tense atmosphere, as seen, for example, in his Vilnius landscape with old oaks.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album KAUNAS–VILNIUS / 1918–1945 (2021). Compilers and text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė
Expositions: "1918-1945 / Kaunas-Vilnius", 27 August 2020 – 21 August 2021, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė.