Ekspozicijų estetikos kaita XIX - XX a. sandūros Vilniaus dailės parodose
Changes in the aesthetics of art expositions in Vilnius at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries

Summary/Abstract: The central topic of the article is changes in art expositions in Vilnius at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, A comparison of the exhibitions held in the early 20th century with those in the 2nd half of the 19th century, apart from quantitative changes show certain qualitative differences as well. The survived exhibition photographs serve as the basis for the comparison of the 1897 and 1899 art exhibitions with the 1903 ARS exhibition in Vilnius. The 1897 and 1899 exhibitions were initiated by lawyer S. Bulharowski. They featured works by a great many of Polish and Lithuanian artists of the period; their stylistics was diverse - from academic, realistic art to symbolism. The ARS exhibition presented works by the artists of the Cracow modern art group "Sztuka". It was organized by F. Ruszczyc, a member of the group, a descendant of the Vilnius region. The exhibition presented the elite, newest Polish art and became one of the most splendid exhibitions held in Vilnius in the early 20th century.A typical picture of exhibitions offered in the late 19"' century was as follows: the painting covered all the waits, the display of exhibits was several-tiered, embellished with heavy draperies, lit by theatrical illuminations. The character of ARS exposition was contrary: the hall seemed to become empty, fewer works were put on display, however, each of them was given its proper space, heavy velvet draperies gave place to a light, while mantle under the ceiling, softening the light of the dormers. A comparative analysis of exposition aesthetics unfolds how the artistic flavour of historicism and eclectics in the 2nd half of the 19th century was replaced in the early 20th century by new aesthetics born of aestheticism, symbolism and secession. The early 20th-century exhibitions in Vilnius demonstrated some features of early modernism as well.

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