Čiurlionis

Čiurlionis

It's interesting to come across an artist who is revered in his own country but little-known beyond its borders. One such - for me, at any rate - is M K Čiurlionis.

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, also known as M. K. Čiurlionis (...1875 – ...1911) was a Lithuanian painter and composer. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. During his short life he composed about 250 pieces of music and created about 300 paintings. The majority of his paintings are housed in the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania. His works have had a profound influence on modern Lithuanian culture. The asteroid 2420 Čiurlionis is named after him. (source)

Čiurlionis produced some evocative music, as I experienced at the M K Čiurlionis museum in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania, his country. In addition to displaying a number of his paintings the museum also provides a small auditorium for listening to his musical works. Here's one:

Kaunas: Museum

M K Čiurlionis

Like many educated Lithuanians of the time, Čiurlionis's family spoke Polish. Čiurlionis was a musical prodigy: he could play by ear at age three and could sight-read music freely by age seven. He was one of the initiators of, and a participant in, the First Exhibition of Lithuanian Art that took place in 1907 in Vileišis Palace, Vilnius. Soon after this event the Lithuanian Union of Arts was founded, and Čiurlionis was one of its 19 founding members.
In 1907 he became acquainted with Sofija Kymantaitė (1886–1958), an art critic. Through this association Čiurlionis learned to speak better Lithuanian. Early in 1909 he married Sofija. At the end of that year he traveled to St. Petersburg, where he exhibited some of his paintings. On Christmas Eve Čiurlionis fell into a profound depression and at the beginning of 1910 was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital "Czerwony Dwór" (Red Manor) in Pustelnik,[2] northeast of Warsaw. While a patient there he died of pneumonia in 1911 at 35 years of age. He was buried at the Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius. He never saw his daughter Danutė (1910–1995).
Čiurlionis felt that he was a synesthete; that is, he perceived colors and music simultaneously. Many of his paintings bear the names of musical pieces: sonatas, fugues, and preludes. (source)

M K Čiurlionis

M K Čiurlionis

M K Čiurlionis

Kaunas Main Square

Pretty buildings in Kaunas

Vilnius

City of Black Angels

A visit to the Baltic country of Lithuania and its capital of Vilnius inspires this collection of photos.

Check out Wikipedia for some detailed info on this interesting city with a chequered history. Radiating out from the now-restored Cathedral are a medieval hilltop castle in one direction, a restored old town with a venerable University (with a library founded in 1570) in another, and a wide boulevarde of handsome 19th century buildings in yet another direction.

Between the buildings you can find cobbled side streets and many churches decorated with the distinctive Lithuanian crosses. You can also find reminders of the recent Soviet past such as sports stadiums and apartment blocks in practical 'brutalist' style. The strange legends of Lithuania - the black angels, the saints and the medieval knights - pop up as reminders of the past; and the quirky art works of Vilnius's design students represent the present.

Viva Vilnius!

Contemoprary design in public art.

Serene religious statuary in the Church of St John.

Reading Room in the Library of the University of Vilnius

Icon of St Casimir (three hands?)

The Church of St. Anne is a masterpiece of the late Gothic period.
The church has survived without damage for over 500 years and has become a symbol of Vilnius.

The Rare Book Department of the Library of Vilnius University has accumulated over 160,000 items from the 15th–21st centuries. It is the largest depository of old books in Lithuania and rivals the most famous libraries of Eastern Europe in its significance. The collection contains the largest collections of incunabula and post-incunabula in Lithuania; 16th–18th century books; and the world's richest collection of old Lithuanian books, especially valuable old atlases and maps.

Design students add some pizzazz to Vilnius's streets:
Here, a 'Writers' Wall'

A survivor from the past, in Vilnius's suburbs.

Soviet-era sports stadium.

19th century building with a dark past: was once KGB headquarters.
The names of those whose disappeared into its basement are now
engraved along the walls.

The Cathedral of Vilnius.

Sunny street cafe.

Attractive northern architecture.

The weather in April.

Lithuanian Litas

Lithuanian Locator

The quiet Old Town of Vilnius.

White Baroque

'White Baroque'

The Wikipedia definition of the "Baroque" style is as good a place to start as any:

The Baroque is a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance and music. The style began around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread to most of Europe.

A full- blown Baroque church interior - such as, say, the spectacular Gesu Church in Rome - is once seen, never forgotten. The ornate detail, riotous colours, and an inability to leave any surface uncovered are stupendous and overwhelming.

But what of "White Baroque"? Think the same cacophony of detail, drama and ornamentation but rendered all in white stucco, with little colour detail. Quite a different impression.

I came across this in the Church of Saint Peter & Paul in Vilnius, Lithuania, begun in 1668 and completed in 1704. The reason for all the whiteness was probably a lack of funds rather than a seeking for less, well, thunderous colour. It is difficult to keep White Baroque pristine - it's not possible to merely give the place a new coat of white paint regularly, because the layers would eventually submerge the details. Instead it has to be painstakingly cleaned. 

Nevertheless the result is strangely beautiful. 

A touch of gold on the pulpit

A delicate touch of colour

The Church of Saints Peter & Paul, Vilnius, Lithuania

Lithuanian Crosses

Lithuanian black angel and joyful cross

In Lithuania the predominant religion is Christian Catholicism. But instead of the familiar Christian cross, the Lithuanians prefer far more intricate, beautiful and joyful versions, many of which seem to incorporate pagan symbols such as the rays of the sun, plants and animals - the harmless grass snake, for example.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the marvellous Lithuanian Crosses:

Kryždirbystė or Lithuanian cross crafting is a traditional Lithuanian art of crafting crosses. The making of altars and crosses is an important part of Lithuanian culture. Lithuanian traditional crosses are part of the people's Roman Catholic religion and are also linked to ancient pre-Christian culture dating back much longer, having links to memorial poles signifying the pagan world tree. Approximately since Lithuania became a part of the Russian Empire in the 19th century, these crosses have become a symbol of the Lithuanian people.

In addition to its formal use in churches, the cross in Lithuania long ago became a frequent subject of folk art. Lietuviškas kryžius is a stylized folk art cross put up at crossroads, in cemeteries, near houses, and as votive offerings in churches. The crosses combine elements of architecture, sculpture, blacksmith art, and painting. They often feature organic flourishes, motifs of the sun, birds, and represent the World Tree. To plead for grace or to express gratitude, the crosses are built as memorials to the dead or as the signs of spiritual protection at certain places. The art of Lithuanian cross crafting was acknowledged as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001 by UNESCO.

A distinctive two-barred cross - the Vytis Cross - appears on the shield held by the knight in Lithuania's coat of arms. Adopted by Grand Duke Jogaila as his personal insignia, it is usually associated with the Jogaila dynasty. This cross is displayed on Lithuanian aircraft. 

The Lithuanian Coat of Arms