The First Exhibitions of Lithuanian Fine Art and the Modern Lithuanian National Identity Project

Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis

Abstract

The article discusses the first Lithuanian fine art exhibitions within the broader discourse and evaluations prevalent during that era. Its objective is to discern and delineate the ideological origins, whether explicit or implicit, that underlay these exhibitions and marked the genesis of the interwar Kaunas School of Art. The term “origins” here doesn’t solely denote a stylistic trait inherent to Lithuanian fine art, which may have surfaced during those initial exhibitions and subsequently reappeared at the Kaunas School of Art. Rather, it encompasses a spectrum of ideological assumptions, acknowledged by contemporaries of the time as forming the bedrock of Lithuanian fine art identity or, at the very least, the quest for such an identity. Thus, the article highlights the multifaceted processes of recognition, acceptance, and rejection of cultural traditions that were shared by the pioneering Lithuanian fine art exhibitions and the nascent Kaunas School of Art. These processes were chiefly directed towards the exploration of national identity, as well as the reinterpretation and refinement of the relevant forms of cultural identity, representative of Lithuanian national heritage. The article seeks to achieve the following objectives: (a) to portray the initial exhibitions and the milieu of Lithuanian fine art as a relatively unified entity, highlighting their commonalities; (b) to draw connections between these shared attributes and the project of forging a modern Lithuanian national identity of the time, along with the identity quest of the modern Lithuanian individual; and (c) to channel these depicted interactions towards the subsequent institutionalized setting of the Kaunas School of Art, framing it as the continuation and propagation of the trends initiated during the first exhibitions.

The discussion relies on the assumption that the burgeoning movement of professional Lithuanian fine art not only spurred formal stylistic developments but also instigated a heightened focus on them, prompting an interpretative effort that advo- cated for a reevaluation of modernized artistic language and its reassignment of new functions. The genesis of this “shift in perspective” can be traced back to the notion of the nation’s spirit finding expression in art, a concept disseminated across Eastern Europe primarily through the influence of German Romanticism, and subsequently, through other branches of the Romantic movement. This concept served as a guiding principle for modern societies, including Lithuanians, as they embarked on the quest for their identity in the realms of fine art and other artistic domains. Consequently, they interpreted the traits of the national spirit through the lens of artistic expression and, conversely, imbued artistic expression with the characteristics of the national spirit.