Sitters at Vilnius Art Institute

Author: Mackevičius Vytautas, 1911 - 1991

Created: before 1953.

Material / technique: oil on canvas.

Dimensions: 120x88 cm.

Signature: VMack  (in the bottom-left corner of the painting).

When he was teaching at Vilnius Art Institute, Vytautas Mackevičius (1911–1991) sometimes tried his hand alongside the students. In this composition with sitting and standing models, we can recognise the painting studio at the institute: a veneered cupboard, a podium covered with bleached drapery, and an easel pushed against a wall. Mackevičius did not give up painting from life, even after he was appointed director of the institute in 1953. His study of a reclining model (1958) from those times was reproduced by Pranas Gudynas in his work Vytautas Mackevičius (Vilnius, 1971). Mackevičius’ colleagues who did not have the chance to draw or paint at the institute, or who felt embarrassed at doing so in the presence of the students, attended evening drawing classes at the Lithuanian Artists’ Association on T. Kosciuškos Street (now the Papal Nunciature).

Reference: "More Than Just Beauty. The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection." Compiled by G. Jankevičiūtė. Vilnius, LAWIN, 2012, P.252.

Exhibitions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art; Vilnius.

Published: "More Than Just Beauty. The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection." Compiled by G. Jankevičiūtė. Vilnius, LAWIN, 2012, Cat. No. 252, P. 251.