Exhibition of the reproductions
of Lithuanian painter M.Chiurlionis
 |
M.K.Chiurlionis |
Exhibition held from 30.10.2004 till 28.04.05 at the new exhibition hall in ‘At Hall Estate’ building.
Reproductions of M.Chiurlionis’s paintings were donated to the IRMT by the Lithuanian Roerich Society. Exhibition was inaugurated by Hon. Chief Minister of H.P. Sh.Virbhadra Singh in the newly constructed building at the IRMT, on 30 th October 2004, during the Centenary Celebrations of Svetoslav Roerich.
PHOTOGALLERY:
Mikalojus Konstantinas Chiurlionis: A Life
By Alfred Erich Senn
Mikalojus Konstantinas Chiurlionis, known in his family as "Kastukas", was born on September 22 (new style), 1875, in Varna , Lithuania , in what was then the Kaunas province of the Russian Empire. His father, Konstantinas Chiurlionis, was a church organist; in his time the organ had been almost the only instrument with which one could hope to become a professional musician and, in any case, he had been fascinated by the organ's capacity to 'sing' in several voices at the same time. Chiurlionis mother, Adel Radmanait, had met his father when she, a Calvinist, had visited a Catholic church and had been struck by both the sound of the organ and the appearance of the organist. In 1878 the family moved to Druskininkai, a resort town in the Gardinas province.
Life was difficult for the family. Chiurlionis was the first of ten children born to the couple; nine survived into adulthood. Soon after their arrival in Druskininkai, his father succumbed to wanderlust and disappeared; he apparently went off to Siberia . His mother had to fend for herself for about a year, and when her husband returned, she rejoined him, though hesitantly. Despite this inauspicious beginning, the family held together and grew ever closer with the years. To supplement the salary of ten rubles per month he received as a church organist, his father copied official documents for local people - he knew Russian well and had excellent handwriting - while his mother sewed and gave private lessons.
As was natural at this time for a family with ambitions of upward mobility, the Chiurlionis family spoke Polish at home. Although both parents knew Lithuanian, his father considered it the language of the peasantry. He taught the children some Lithuanian folk songs, but he himself had to speak Polish to keep his job as church organist in Druskininkai. A few Lithuanian intellectuals were now spearheading a campaign to win new respect for Lithuanian language and culture; his father looked on such activities with skepticism. To him Polish was the language an ambitious person had to know in order to get ahead.
Druskininkai had been a resort for about a century. Its mineral waters were said to be curative for internal disorders, and during the summer season it could expect some 20.000 visitors. Its quiet and remote locale also made it a popular spot for artists and writers, mostly from Vilnius and Warsaw , who wanted to get away from the tumult of city life. In particular they seemed to like the woods that dominated the region. As a result, for a town its size, it had a cultural life far beyond what one might have expected.
M. K. Chiurlionis showed considerable musical talent at a very early age. His father, a stern but loving man, instilled in all his children a strong appreciation for music; as the size of the household grew, it became necessary to post a schedule for the use of the piano. Being the oldest, however, Chiurlionis had the piano to himself during his early years; he played by ear at three and could sight-read music freely by seven. His major difficulty was the unending struggle to find good new sheet music for the piano. Nevertheless, when he was not serving as his mother's 'right hand' in taking care of the family, he worked diligently at the piano, making do with whatever music he could get from his father, friends, and regular summer visitors.
Eventually, three years out of elementary school, M. K. Chiurlionis was sent to Plung to study at the orchestral school of Prince Micha Ogiski . A friend, Dr. Józef Markiewich, who came every summer from Warsaw , underwrote his expenses. For four years, 1889-1893, M. K. Chiurlionis studied the instruments of the orchestra, and upon his graduation he stayed on for a while as a flutist, receiving five rubles per month in addition to room and clothing.
In 1894, at Prince Ogiski suggestion and with the prince's financial support,
M. K. Chiurlionis set off the conservatory in Warsaw , where he entered the six-year piano program. Three years later, while studying under the noted composer Zygmunt Noskowski, he transferred to the composition program. While still in Plung, he had already apparently decided not to pursue a career as a performer; he preferred to compose and conduct.
His student years in Warsaw passed happily. The program allowed him to study anything he felt he needed, and he delved deeply into philosophy, ancient history, cosmology, and the natural sciences. His favorite composers included Beethoven, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and, of course, Chopin, whose work was very popular in Warsaw . Among his favorite authors were Dostoevsky, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, and Émile Zola. Under Noskowski's tutelage, he wrote a cantata for mixed chorus and symphony orchestra, De Profundis, for his graduation in 1899.
He found the atmosphere of Warsaw stimulating, and he made fast friends there, in addition to the Markiewicz family who, of course, had taken him into their embrace. He cared little for dancing, preferring to play music for others, and he found his recreation primarily in walks. His closest friend during his student days was Eugeniusz Morawski, later a well-known musician in his own right. It was to Morawski that M. K. Chiurlionis first revealed his growing desire to paint. Morawski expressed concern that Chiurlionis would abandon his music, but Chiurlionis felt he could maintain both interests.
The Morawski family also figured in Chiurlionis' greatest disappointment of this period. The young Lithuanian's first love was Eugeniusz' sister Maria, but their romance was not meant to be. Maria's father already disapproved of Eugeniusz' musical studies, and he would not even consider permitting Maria to plan a life with an impoverished musician. Denied in love, Chiurlionis suffered a depression, but Eugeniusz helped him out of it.
Upon his graduation from the Warsaw Conservatory, Chiurlionis received an offer to be director of the new conservatory in Lublin , but he declined. He preferred his freedom. He supported himself by giving private lessons, while he worked on his first major composition, a symphonic poem significanty called In the Forest. Music critics have called this work the beginning of professional Lithuanian music.
In order to continue his musical education, Chiurlionis entered the conservatory in Leipzig in the fall of 1901. Again, Prince Ogiski supported him, and the musical life of the city furthered his education. His experiences as a student, however, were not as happy as they had been before. The man with whom he had been studying, Salomon Jadassohn, died on February 1, 1902 , and Chiurlionis found it difficult to work with Carl Reinecke, who favored the "golden mean" and insisted on following traditional musical models. Chiurlionis acknowledged the value of first studying the old masters, but he argued heatedly that the student should then be allowed to move on to musical experimentation.
Adding to his troubles in Leipzig was the death of Prince Ogiski and the loss of his major source of support. Chiurlionis faced the possibility of having to curtail his studies, but Eugeniusz Morawski came to his aid, sending money he had earned giving private lessons in Warsaw. Thanks to him, Chiurlionis managed to survive the year in Leipzig , and he returned home in 1902 with his second conservatory diploma.
After his summer vacation in Druskininkai, in the fall of 1902, Chiurlionis chose to return to Warsaw , taking two of his younger brothers with him. He declined a position offered him at the conservatory and again supported himself by giving private music lessons. He also earned money from private performances.
A growing passion for painting was now taking hold of him. He had done some painting while a student in Plung, and he had depicted his surroundings in Druskininkai, but his family had considered this as something he did just for amusement. As a student in Leipzig he had begun spending whatever extra money he had on painting supplies. Many friends, and especially his father, advised him against this new passion. Markiewicz vigorously opposed his spending his time this way, and Chiurlionis' relations with the doctor began to cool significantly. Chiurlionis could not resist the urge to paint. In Warsaw he began to attend private classes, and he completed his first serious painting, Music of the Forest, in the fall of 1903.
When the School of Fine Arts opened in Warsaw in March 1904, Chiurlionis and his friend Eugeniusz Morawski both enrolled. The school's director, Kazimier Stabrowski (Stabrauskas), just six years older than Chiurlionis, was himself from Lithuania . The faculty members of the school all belonged to the Sztuka [Art] group of Cracow ; Chiurlionis studied under Konrad Kryzanowski.
Painting now consumed him. For ideas and for help with interpretations he read widely: Nietzsche, Indian philosophy, and Rabindranath Tagore. He studied hypnotism - and even practiced it to help friends and family overcome minor ailments. He carried his musical concepts over his art, finding support for this in contemporary trends of Polish and Viennese art. The regimen of the school allowed him the freedom he wanted. Although he did not seriously compose music during this period, he found time to organize a school chorus.
The year 1905 brought revolution to Russia , and Chiurlionis, viewing the events from the perspective of happenings in Warsaw , came to a new understanding of his Lithuanian heritage. Lithuania had always been dear to him as a region, and he celebrated it in his art. While a student in Warsaw he had received the nickname "the Lithuanian bear". During his stay in Leipzig he composed the overture Kestutis [ruler of Lithuania ].
Chiurlionis' new consciousness passed from a celebration of Lithuania to an active concern for the development of Lithuanian culture and for helping his fellow Lithuanians.
According to the memoirs of Chiurlionis' sister Jadvyga, he brought his new national feelings into his home. His father resisted, criticing the litwomany. In a dramatic confrontation in front of the family, Chiurlionis recounted the course of Lithuanian history, and he argued, "it is absolutely necessary to learn to speak Lithuanian properly". To cap the discussion he sat down at the piano to play Lithuanian folk songs. His father was converted; the elder Chiurlionis subscribed to Lithuanian newspapers - Vilniaus Zinios, Viltis, Lietuva - and soon paid for his enthusiasm by losing his position as church organist.
Chiurlionis found Vilnius beckoning to him. The lifting of the Russian government's ban on the printing of Lithuanian works in Latin letters opened the way for a new stage of development in the Lithuanian national movement, culminating in late 1905 in the Great Assembly of Vilnius. Vilnius , Lithuania 's historical capital, was fast becoming a new vital center of Lithuanian intellectual activity. Jonas Basanaviius, the "patriarch of the Lithuanian National Renaissance", himself now settled in Vilnius and made this home for the rest of his life. The year 1906 saw the first Lithuanian national opera, Birute by Mikas Petrauskas, staged in Vilnius .
By the fall of 1907 Chiurlionis found the pull irresistible. He was becoming increasingly interested in the advancement of Lithuanian culture, and he felt that he could make a distinctive contribution.
In January 1907 Chiurlionis and other Lithuanian artists organized the First Lithuanian Art Exhibition in Vilnius . Twelve artists exhibited their creations; Chiurlionis alone showed thirty-three works. The artists went ahead in the spring to organize the Lithuanian Fine Arts Society. At the urging of Chiurlionis, who became the society's vice-president, the group included a section for music.
In the fall of 1907 Chiurlionis moved to Vilnius . His fame preceded him, and the Lithuanian community in the city looked forward eagerly to his coming. Even before he arrived, they had extended him an invitation to participate in a celebration planned for November to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Vilcas Kudirka's birh. People went out their way to catch a glimpse of him. Sofija Kymantait later recounted how she and Felicija Bortkevin went to a play rehearsal in the expectation that he would be there.
Sofija Kymantait had been born in 1885. After graduating from the gymnasium in Ryga, she had studied for three years in Cracow . She was now working for the newspaper Viltis and already had a good reputation as a writer, specializing in social, cultural, and literary questions. In her artistic taste she favored Symbolism and condemned Realism as harmful for Lithuanian art. She had to find Chiurlionis' work sympathetic.
Their romance developed quicly. For the first few months they were engaged in Lithuanian lessons and in planning for the Second Lithuanian Art Exhibition, scheduled to open in Vilnius at the end of February 1908. Then, at the close of the third day of the show, Chiurlionis and Sofija sat by a window as he quietly whistled a tune.
In the fall of 1908 Chiurlionis went off to St. Petersburg . He felt he had to taste and try the artistic life in the Russian capital. Vilnius had not completely satisfied him. Although he threw himself into Lithuanian activities, he found some of the people frustrating to work with. The public could not yet appreciate his art; even at the Second Lithuanian Art Exhibition his work had met with sharp criticism. He hoped to find kindred souls and a better reception in St. Petersburg . He had once declared to Morawski that he wanted to study in St. Petersburg , then go to America , subsequently visit Africa , and finally settle in Lithuania forever.
Chiurlionis found St. Petersburg intimidating. He looked at expensive rooms and chose a cheap one. He had no income, and he hesitated to impose on people whose names he had been given. He composed without a piano; he painted without an easel, attaching his paper to the wall. He mixed his own colors. The weather dreadful, and it only became worse, as the days shortened into winter.
Chiurlionis was immediately accepted by the Union of Russia Artists, which welcomed him into its ranks and took four of his paintings for a show scheduled in 1910. At the same time he entered the St Petersburg musical scene; one of his compositions was performed publicly in February.
In December 1908 he returned to Lithuania for his marriage to Sofija. He spent Christmas with his family in Druskininkai, and the wedding took place on January 1 in Plung. His wife then accompanied him back to St. Petersburg for a stay of about two months. Chiurlionis found this new style of life delightful; their stove, he declared, sounded like "a symphonic poem by Liszt".
In March the couple returned to Druskininkai, where they stayed for several months. Sofija gave Lithuanian lessons to the entire Chiurlionis family.The couple also indulged in Chiurlionis' passion for photography; he enjoyed taking pictures of the countryside around Druskininkai and then amazing his family with the miracles of the developing process. Chiurlionis' younger sister Jadvyga suspected that Sofija found the slow pace of life here difficult; Chiurlionis spent a great deal of time his wife and relatively little with the rest of the family. When the resort season began, the couple had to give up their house, and they eventually moved on to Plung for the rest of the summer.
In September he returned to Druskininkai for his sister's wedding; his family was disturbed by Sofija's failure to accompany him, but there was no money. He also felt that he was taking on new responsibilities; his wife was now expecting a baby.
By the end of November he was again in St. Petersburg . His wife, because of her condition and because of the state of the family finances, had remained behind for the moment; she would arrive just before Christmas, by which time he hoped to have affairs in the capital in order. St. Petersburg , however, seemed even less hospitable than it had been the year before. He felt penned uo in this "porridge of two million". He still could not afford an easel, but only here could he hope for success.
The pressures and strains proved too much for him. A friend came to visit, and Chiurlionis sold him a painting for a kopeck. When his wife arrived, he was apathetic. On Christmas Eve a visitor found him sitting by the window, smoking, oblivious to the world around him. A Russian doctor diagnosed his condition as the result of "overwork" and advised that he taken back to Druskininkai for a rest. Upon arriving he seemed well again, but he soon lapsed again into apathy.
In February Sofija declared, "It is bad with us. Worse than it was in St. Petersburg ." She found a sanatorium near Warsaw for him. His brother Stasys, then studying in the Polish capital, visited him every Sunday. At times Chiurlionis seemed to improve; at other times he would lapse into a catatonic state and scarcely recognize his brother. Doctors insisted that his problems were psychological and not physical. At one point he was allowed to paint, but when he began working at night his supplies were taken away. Later he destroyed the paintings he had produced.
He seems to have had little understanding of the acclaim his work was beginning to receive. When Russian artist revived the World of Art group in 1910, they elected him to membership. Artists and admirers sent his wife money to help pay for his care. His works appeared at a number of shows in Vilnius and St. Petersburg .
Although all concerned continued to hope for his recovery and to seize on every positive sign, it was not to be. In the winter he caught cold while walking in the woods, and, in his weakened condition, this developed into pneumonia. He died on April 10, 1911 . He never saw his daughter, Danut, born in May 1910. He was just thirty-five years old when he died; he was buried in Rasos cemetery in Vilnius .
