SOFIJA ČIURLIONIENĖ (KYMANTAITĖ). THE LIFE OF VALUE

The exhibition “Sofija Čiurlionienė (Kymantaitė). The Life of Value” is on view at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art (V. Putvinskio St. 55, Kaunas).

This is the year of Sofija Čiurlionienė-Kymantaite‘s 140th aniversary. Writer, teacher, prominent social activist had life neither simple nor easy: people of her generation vitnessed three historical eras divided by the two world wars. That wasn‘t very favorable background to pursue personal visions; choices often had to be made forcibly, complicated situations needed uneasy solutions. On a brigh side of life – daughter Danutė‘s harmonious family, like-minded friends, generous mutual support and persistent optimism.

Sofija recolected her life‘s beginings with nostalgia: „how beautiful my youth was!”.. It culminated in acquaintance and marriage to genial Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. Their happiness together was short-lived and abrupted tragicaly. Sofija – young widow and lonely mother -  survived fate’s cruel blow, she was able to reinvent herself. Her understanding that “there are others in need more than I am, I can be helpful” – became her own lifeline. Once decission made, Sofija remained true to her life’s most important credo: take care of your fellowship, serve your Country and be a person of value – to the last of her years.

Having created a set of 14 artistic vignettes for the exhibition, the great-grandson of Sofija Čiurlionienė, Džiugas Palukaitis, recalls that already at the beginning of the year, together with his cousin Rokas, he was considering what kind of family contribution could mark the anniversary of their great-grandmother Sofija. That was when the idea emerged to try to present well-known, and perhaps some rarer, photographs in a new way – to give them a voice. Not telling everything about everything; fragments of texts should emerge from silence and return to it, having hinted, reminded. Let us add color – through flowers. Sofija loved flowers: “... those mysterious eyes of white lilies... Do you remember?”

The exhibition was prepared by Džiugas Palukaitis, Danutė Gruzdienė, Jonas Vaikšnoras, and Čiurlionis House in Vilnius.