The unknown Ciurlionis

Ukraine did a masterful job of preparing for the celebrations of the 130th birth anniversary of Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875- 1911), one of the most prominent representatives of Lithuanian music and art. A concert featuring the works of this renowned composer was held at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. The National Art Museum of Ukraine is holding an exhibit of his works called “The Fantastic World of Symbols, Light, and Harmony.” The artist left a colossal creative legacy, over 200 compositions and as many paintings that were created in the space of five years. Some visitors to the exhibit say that in Soviet times Ciurlionis gave many art lovers an opportunity to glimpse a different creative world.

Despite the fascination with Ciurlionis’s works, his art is still the subject of discussion. “All because he spent his life recognized and unwanted,” says art critic Albina Rasputko. Some of his little known photographs were displayed only in 2000 at the Ciurlionis National Museum of Art in Kaunas, as part of the exhibit “The Still Unrecognized Ciurlionis.” Today his creative heritage is considered one of the most moving phenomena of the age of symbolism. His body of work lacks concrete human images; nature predominates: the elemental sea, cliffs, mountains, and windmills. Even the paintings on display are not arranged chronologically but thematically: cycles of nature, cosmic and musical themes, sketches dating to various periods, graphics, and photographic studies done in 1905, during his summer trip to the Caucasus and Black Sea coast.

It is perplexing to realize that only facsimiles are on display. Museum officials explain that the original works, which were executed in unfixed pastels and tempera on paper, make it impossible for them to be displayed outside the confines of the Ciurlionis Museum in Kaunas, where nearly the artist’s entire creative legacy is stored. Temperature fluctuations, vibrations during transportation, and other factors have a damaging effect on the originals. For that reason the first facsimiles of Ciurlionis’s paintings were made in 1938. A collection of 45 high-quality reproductions was printed in Italy in 1997; their size and color spectrum very closely approximate the originals.

Needless to say, his works of art cannot be duly appreciated without hearing his music. The museum has combined the exhibit with music. Ciurlionis’s symphonic poems, The Sea and In the Forest, and many compositions for piano create an unforgettable atmosphere within the walls of the museum. Visitors eager to partake of it can do so until Nov. 27.