The Visitandine Church in Vilnius

Lew Dobrzyński (1907–1937), who died young, lived in Pereslavl, Feodosiya, during the First World War, and afterwards moved to Vilnius and attended the Joachim Lelewel Gymnasium. Between 1929 and 1935, he studied in the Art Department at Stephen Báthory University. During the last year of his life, together with other artists, he established the Vilnius Group. As a promising young artist, Dobrzyński was invited to show work in exhibitions held by the Institute for the Promotion of Polish Art and the Vilnius Art Society in Warsaw. He was known as a good draughtsman, he was particularly fond of architecture, and he made mostly engravings. his etching The Visitandine Church in Vilnius shows the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which belonged to the Visitation Order, or Visitandines. Unlike the twin-tower churches of Vilnius Baroque, this one, built in 1756, has a plan in the shape of a Greek cross, a dome, and no towers. The façade is particularly decorated, with the dynamic forms of its undulating pediment echoed in the rich foliage of the old trees. Built on Saviour Hill and surrounded by trees, the church was seen as an example of the harmonious coexistence of noble architecture and nature.

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)

Lew Dobrzyński (1907–1937), who died young, lived in Pereslavl, Feodosiya, during the First World War, and afterwards moved to Vilnius and attended the Joachim Lelewel Gymnasium. Between 1929 and 1935, he studied in the Art Department at Stephen Báthory University. During the last year of his life, together with other artists, he established the Vilnius Group. As a promising young artist, Dobrzyński was invited to show work in exhibitions held by the Institute for the Promotion of Polish Art and the Vilnius Art Society in Warsaw. He was known as a good draughtsman, he was particularly fond of architecture, and he made mostly engravings. his etching The Visitandine Church in Vilnius shows the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which belonged to the Visitation Order, or Visitandines. Unlike the twin-tower churches of Vilnius Baroque, this one, built in 1756, has a plan in the shape of a Greek cross, a dome, and no towers. The façade is particularly decorated, with the dynamic forms of its undulating pediment echoed in the rich foliage of the old trees. Built on Saviour Hill and surrounded by trees, the church was seen as an example of the harmonious coexistence of noble architecture and nature.

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)