ANTANAS ŽMUIDZINAVIČIUS EXHIBITION "PALETE AND LIFE"

Antanas Žmuidzinavičius – artist, social activist, pedagogue, a coeval of M. K. Čiurlionis, organizer of the first Lithuanian art exhibition, long-time chairman of the Lithuanian Art Society, head of the Lithuanian Rifleman Union, scout, passionate traveller. A diplomatic, charismatic person, meticulously precise, had a great sense of humour and organizational skills, mastered not only the brush, but also the quill.

Painting took a special place in the life of A. Žmuidzinavičius. From the first student works to the 90^th anniversary, a legacy of more than two thousand works was accumulated: paintings, graphics, watercolours, drawings, etudes and sketches. Love for nature, sensitivity to the environment determined the path of A. Žmuidzinavičius as a representative of the direction of realism. In his soul lay the need to capture soul-stirring images of the environment, to be a true romantic, and sometimes a symbolist. Studies in Warsaw in the private art studio of the famous Polish historical genre artist Voiciech Gerson became fateful. And later, a few years later, being in the capital of the arts in Paris, that sensory French experience, however, did not shape the final decision to change the nature of self-expression. As he said, his vagabond character, his passion for travel, unknown lands and hunger for painting was like writing a diary with oil paints. In the landscape, that moment of mood, the captured impression poured with colours, and on a white sheet of paper, romantic images can be found in poetic lines, short stories, fables. The title of the autobiographical book "Palette and Life" (1961) was chosen as the leitmotif of the exhibition, which, like a key, unlocks the door to the artist's identity and creative path.

The museum visitors are presented with the artist's works from the Antanas Žmuidzinavičius works and collection museum funds, M. K. Čiurlionis house-museum funds. These are landscapes of various periods, plot compositions, delicate marine works of the artist, portraits.