Vibrant old world profiles

Leidinys anglų kalba / Publication in English

Western European Painting of the 16th–19th Centuries

The publication Vibrant Old World Profiles: Western European Painting of the 16th–19th Centuries from the Collections of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art accompanies the renewed Western European painting exhibition, planned to open in the wing of the Radvila Palace in spring 2023. It is an album representing the museum’s collection and a book recording the current understanding and ‘seeing’ of its works. The publication is structured not according to the conventional chronological-historical principle — grouping works by period and place of creation, traditional schools of painting, or authorship — but according to specific conceptual cross-sections or themes: ‘Choices and Oaths’, ‘Labour’, ‘Fights’, ‘The Natural Elements’, ‘Lust and Temptations’, ‘Feasts’, ‘Journeys and Discoveries’, ‘Visions and Meetings’, ‘Religious Passion’, ‘Sleep, Vigil, Death’.

The book comprises a foreword by Dr Arūnas Gelūnas, Director General of the LNAM, introductory texts by Dalia Tarandaitė and Dr Tojana Račiūnaitė, and a catalogue presenting over ninety paintings. The catalogue entries were written by Dalia Tarandaitė, Tojana Račiūnaitė, and Joana Vitkutė.

‘This originally conceived and professionally produced catalogue of the museum’s collections invites readers to rediscover the old European painting collection anew, to look more closely at individual works, and to read the meanings concealed within them. The intriguing “museum walk” proposed by the authors will not only lead the reader into the exhibition rooms, but will also serve as a reliable guide through the labyrinths of imagery, ideas, and events of bygone centuries.’

Dr (habil.) Rūta Janonienė

‘This companion to the new and innovative exhibition of old Western European painting from the collections of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art is exceptional. No art exhibition in Lithuania has hitherto received such thorough commentary. Each painting is discussed and explained; furthermore, the history of the collection itself is presented, indicating how the exhibits came to be in the museum. Even the museum’s regular visitors will learn a great deal that is new about long-familiar works as they browse through this companion, while the order of the exhibition will prompt them to see the works in new, sometimes unexpected contexts. Viewing, accompanied by reading, promises a genuine cultural adventure.’

Prof. Dr Irena Vaišvilaitė

Editors: Tojana Račiūnaitė, Joana Vitkutė

Authors of texts: Arūnas Gelūnas, Tojana Račiūnaitė, Dalia Tarandaitė, Birutė Valečkaitė, Joana Vitkutė

Copy editors: Ilona Čiužauskaitė, Laura Patiomkinaitė

Designer: Vytautas Volbekas

Published by the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, 2023

Print run: 500

298 pp.

32×35 cm

Compiled by: Tojana Račiūnaitė, Joana Vitkutė

Authors of texts: Arūnas Gelūnas, Tojana Račiūnaitė, Dalia Tarandaitė, Birutė Valečkaitė, Joana Vitkutė

Copy editors: Ilona Čiužauskaitė, Laura Patiomkinaitė