1918–1945 Kaunas–Vilnius I 2021
Art album 1918–1945 Kaunas–Vilnius.
Compilers and authors Dovilė Barcytė and dr. Ieva Burbaitė. Vilnius, Ellex Valiunas, 2021.
Interwar art is the strong point of the Ellex Valiunas collection. The collection includes works by prominent classics of both Lithuanian and Polish art who lived and worked in Vilnius, and whose creative legacy is not represented widely enough by the collections in Lithuanian museums. Paying attention to Vilnius art has allowed for the formation of a substantial collection of Vilnius-related art, several items of which have never been published, and which are put on public view in this book for the first time.
The first three parts of the volume are devoted to portrayals of the two cities, the capital and the former capital, immortalised in works by artists and photographers. Whereas the image of Kaunas appears to have been shaped by Lithuanian artists who were steeped in national feeling and the spirit of modernity, the image of Vilnius that was developed by local artists emphasised tradition and romantic inspiration from the past. A common historical narrative is evoked, along with its interpretations in Lithuanian and Polish art and public life, without avoiding the stillcontroversial Vilnius question.
The rest of the book presents the art scenes in Kaunas and Vilnius during the period from 1918 to 1945. Much attention is devoted to Kaunas Art School and the Faculty of Art at Stephen Báthory University, the two institutions that shaped the main artistic trends at the time. The works published illustrate the differences between these two traditions. Kaunas was more open to artistic experimentation, while Vilnius tended towards Neoclassicism. Works of art that have become classics of the period are included, as are other less characteristic examples, which are intended to stimulate a broader discussion about the diversity of art from this period.
Art album 1918–1945 Kaunas–Vilnius.
Compilers and authors Dovilė Barcytė and dr. Ieva Burbaitė. Vilnius, Ellex Valiunas, 2021.
Interwar art is the strong point of the Ellex Valiunas collection. The collection includes works by prominent classics of both Lithuanian and Polish art who lived and worked in Vilnius, and whose creative legacy is not represented widely enough by the collections in Lithuanian museums. Paying attention to Vilnius art has allowed for the formation of a substantial collection of Vilnius-related art, several items of which have never been published, and which are put on public view in this book for the first time.
The first three parts of the volume are devoted to portrayals of the two cities, the capital and the former capital, immortalised in works by artists and photographers. Whereas the image of Kaunas appears to have been shaped by Lithuanian artists who were steeped in national feeling and the spirit of modernity, the image of Vilnius that was developed by local artists emphasised tradition and romantic inspiration from the past. A common historical narrative is evoked, along with its interpretations in Lithuanian and Polish art and public life, without avoiding the stillcontroversial Vilnius question.
The rest of the book presents the art scenes in Kaunas and Vilnius during the period from 1918 to 1945. Much attention is devoted to Kaunas Art School and the Faculty of Art at Stephen Báthory University, the two institutions that shaped the main artistic trends at the time. The works published illustrate the differences between these two traditions. Kaunas was more open to artistic experimentation, while Vilnius tended towards Neoclassicism. Works of art that have become classics of the period are included, as are other less characteristic examples, which are intended to stimulate a broader discussion about the diversity of art from this period.