Vesuvius

Author: Stabrowski Kazimierz, 1869 - 1929

Created: before 1913.

Material / technique: paper, pastel.

Dimensions: 48x64 cm.

When Stabrowski was visiting Italy, architectural wonders and parks were not the only things that the artist was feasting his eyes on. In the pastel entitled Vesuvius, one can see one of the most spectacular volcanoes in the world. By creating the majestic visual of the volcano, the artist contradicts it with the fragility of the human life. The pastel with its comfy and warm light expresses a search for a revelation of ideal beauty that are revealed in the Italian natural landscape.

Reference: ‘Kazimierz Stabrowski, the Teacher of M. K. Čiurlionis’. Kaunas: M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, 2016, Kat. Nr. 40, P. 116.  

Like a true son of the symbolism period, Kazimieras Stabrauskas saw Vesuvius crowned by the halo of the sun’s radiance, turning the massive volcano into the mythological dwelling of Greco-Roman gods. Seen through the eyes of the painter, the waves in the bay colour the grey-brown mountainsides with shades of lazurite, and the rocks are painted to be bluer than the sea itself. Presumably, this pastel by Stabrauskas is a sketch for a larger painting. Still, it is valuable in and of itself, conveying a romantic fin de siecle artist’s look at nature, transforming a common sight, refining it and shrouding it with imagination-inspiring mystery. 

Reference: “Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists' works from the 18th–first half of the 20th century”; Album, Part II, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius, 2019, p. 167. 

Exhibitions: "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries", 1 December 2017 - 26 August 2018, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius Picture Gallery.

Published: Kazimierz Stabrowski, the Teacher of M. K. Čiurlionis’. Kaunas: M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum, 2016, Kat. Nr. 40, P. 116; "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries" Historical Review, Catalogue,  Part I, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius,  2019, P. 350, Cat. 445; "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries" Album, Part II, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius,  2019, P. 166.

Photograph: Kazimierz Stabrowski (1869–1929); display in the exhibition "Under Italian Skies. Lithuanian artists’ works from the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries", 1 December 2017 - 26 August 2018, Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius Picture Gallery.