Exhibition "Palette and Life," October 27, 2016 – January 29, 2017

Antanas Žmuidzinavičius (1876–1966) was a prominent personality of the Lithuanian state. He was an artist, public figure, educator, and a person who lived in a period of radical changes in the history of Lithuania. He was the organizer of the first Lithuanian art exhibition, the long-time chairman of the Lithuanian Art Society, the rifleman, the head of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, a scout, in spirit and in life, and a passionate traveler. A diplomatic, charismatic person, pedantically precise, meticulously noting down the details, recording events in notes, having a great sense of humor and organizational skills, and knowing how to identify the essential events of life with the happy coincidence of fate. He virtuosically controlled not only the brush, but also the pen.

A. Žmuidzinavičius is one of the most famous landscape masters. However, it should not be forgotten that A. Žmuidzinavičius was an active public figure, a fighter, who stood at the foundations of the formation of the statehood of Lithuania, who experienced the vortices of the changing times (political systems). His like-minded people, colleagues, and friends were special personalities, a ring of the nation's intelligentsia: artist, composer M. K. Čiurlionis, writer and educator Sofija Čiurlionienė-Kymantaitė, painter Petras Rimša, President of Lithuania Antanas Smetona, archaeologist Tadas Daugirdas, founder of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union Vladas Putvinskis, naturalist Tadas Ivanauskas. He communicated with many politicians, diplomats, artists, writers, and musicians of that time.

Manifestations of patriotism and national identity in his work include paintings with national symbolism, depictions of Vytis. Important participation in commissions in determining the colors of the national flag, preparing projects for the uniforms of the army of the emerging state, creating projects of various ministries' insignia, leading the Art Department, as well as continuous long-term work with students.

Painting occupied a special place in the life of A. Žmuidzinavičius. From the creation of the first student works to the ninetieth anniversary, a legacy of more than two thousand works has been accumulated: paintings, graphics, watercolor, drawings, etudes and sketches.

Love for nature and sensitivity to the environment determined the path of A. Žmuidzinavičius as a representative of the realism direction. In his soul lay the need to capture images of the environment that touched the spirit. Not to experiment, to search, to fight in the new currents of art that are being born, but to feel and admire, to be a true romantic, and sometimes a symbolist. Maybe it was determined by the open character of Dzūki, or maybe by the authority of the first teacher. Studies in Warsaw in the private art studio of the famous Polish historical artist Voiciech Gerson became fatal. And later, a few years later, being in Paris, the capital of the arts, that sensual French experience, however, did not form the final decision to change the nature of self-expression. As the character of the "vagabond" used to say, the passion for travel, unknown lands and the hunger for painting was like writing a diary with oil paint. In the landscape, that moment of mood, the catchy impression flowed with colors, and on a white sheet of paper, romantic images are found in poetic lines, short stories, stories, and fables. The first book "On the Roads of Lithuania" was published in 1921 in the USA. Two books were published by the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union – a book of poems "Paths of Life" (1930) and a book of memoirs "To the Enemy and Homeland" (1931). Autobiographical book "Palette and Life" — 1961.

In the first floor exposition of the house of Antanas and Marija Žmuidzinavičius, visitors are presented with the artist's works from museum collections and private collections. Paintings stored in the National M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum, the Lithuanian Art Museum, and the Šiauliai Aušra Museum are exhibited. Valuable, exceptional and rarely seen works were kindly lent to the exhibition by the grandchildren and great-granddaughters of A. and M. Žmuidzinavičius. Special reflections of historical and cultural memory are immortalized in the works of the private collections of lawyers Dr. Jaunius Gumbys and Rolandas Valiūnas.

Thanks to Dr. Jaunius Gumbis, one of the most famous landscapes of the artist Antanas Žmuidzinavičius is exhibited in the house of A. Žmuidzinavičius – "Dzūkų nobles village II" (1910). For many years, the history of this painting was unknown. Artist A. Žmuidzinavičius named this work his best work. This is a rare and unique opportunity to see the village of Kurciniškės in the authentic early twentieth century. environment. The painting "Dzūkai Nobility Village I", created in 1906, is the property of the National M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum and is exhibited together with a famous repetition of the later period.

In total, you can see more than two hundred works by authors from different periods in the museum, and the famous small etudes are also exhibited.

The exhibition, commemorating the 140th anniversary of the artist's birth, is held not only on the first floor of the memorial house. The house, filled with authentic interiors and exteriors, speaks of the artist's life and work on all floors of the museum's expositions.

During the opening of the exhibition, an art album dedicated to the artist's work will be presented.