Winter landscape

When E. M. Römer lived in Vilnius, he often painted the courtyard of the Römers’ house on Bokšto
Street. That place was especially dear to the artist as it evoked memories and associations. He lovingly painted the quiet rhythm of the buildings surrounding the courtyard and could perceive the special beauty of the scarce urban vegetation, particularly distinct against the smoothness of brick walls. The painter liked winter and admired its subtle colours, the expressive rhythm of the branches of trees and shrubs, and wonderfully reproduced the effects of frost, mist and snowstorms.

Text authors Dalia Tarandaitė and Nijolė Tumėnienė

There are relatively few landscapes by Edward Mateusz Römer (1848–1900) in collections in Lithuania. Winter landscape falls into the category of ‘landscape of mood’ that was popular in the late 19th century. Römer was introduced to the principles of landscape painting as a student at the Academy of Fine Art in Munich (1869–1878). Adherents of this trend not only sought to render the characteristic details of a landscape with absolute precision, but through views of nature, they sought to express certain emotions reflecting both the state of mind of the artist and the spirit of the place. The subject is not a prominent piece of architecture or history; the artist selects an ordinary, apparently mundane view. The choice of theme was not entirely random, however. Winter landscape shows the spacious yard of the Römer house in Vilnius, at the crossroads of Bokšto and Savičiaus streets. We know of another view of the same yard painted in the winter of 1893 (reproduced in 1913 in Litwa i Ruś [Lithuania and Russia]). Winter landscape could have been painted the same year. The artist succeeded in recreating the mood of a city deep in snow and silence. The silhouettes of trees and houses, emerging softly from the silvery, foggy background, seem to have lost all materiality and substance, and are immersed in the world of visions and dreams.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES I (2010). Text authors Nijolė Tumėnienė, Dalia Tarandaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “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. 319. "The Age of Romanticism", 11 September 2019 – 6 August 2020, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Rūta Janonienė.

When E. M. Römer lived in Vilnius, he often painted the courtyard of the Römers’ house on Bokšto
Street. That place was especially dear to the artist as it evoked memories and associations. He lovingly painted the quiet rhythm of the buildings surrounding the courtyard and could perceive the special beauty of the scarce urban vegetation, particularly distinct against the smoothness of brick walls. The painter liked winter and admired its subtle colours, the expressive rhythm of the branches of trees and shrubs, and wonderfully reproduced the effects of frost, mist and snowstorms.

Text authors Dalia Tarandaitė and Nijolė Tumėnienė

There are relatively few landscapes by Edward Mateusz Römer (1848–1900) in collections in Lithuania. Winter landscape falls into the category of ‘landscape of mood’ that was popular in the late 19th century. Römer was introduced to the principles of landscape painting as a student at the Academy of Fine Art in Munich (1869–1878). Adherents of this trend not only sought to render the characteristic details of a landscape with absolute precision, but through views of nature, they sought to express certain emotions reflecting both the state of mind of the artist and the spirit of the place. The subject is not a prominent piece of architecture or history; the artist selects an ordinary, apparently mundane view. The choice of theme was not entirely random, however. Winter landscape shows the spacious yard of the Römer house in Vilnius, at the crossroads of Bokšto and Savičiaus streets. We know of another view of the same yard painted in the winter of 1893 (reproduced in 1913 in Litwa i Ruś [Lithuania and Russia]). Winter landscape could have been painted the same year. The artist succeeded in recreating the mood of a city deep in snow and silence. The silhouettes of trees and houses, emerging softly from the silvery, foggy background, seem to have lost all materiality and substance, and are immersed in the world of visions and dreams.

Text author Rūta Janonienė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES I (2010). Text authors Nijolė Tumėnienė, Dalia Tarandaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė
Expositions: “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. 319. "The Age of Romanticism", 11 September 2019 – 6 August 2020, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Rūta Janonienė.