Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: drawings, sketches, graphic arts

This catalogue of drawings, composition sketches and graphics by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, compiled by Milda Mildažytė-Kulikauskienė, a long-time employee of the National M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art. The catalogue includes all known graphic works, drawings, composition sketches and postcards by Čiurlionis, which are in museums or owned by private individuals. They are divided into the following groups:

Compositions, ink (some are book graphics), 1902–1909.

This is the traditional name for thematic or ornamental compositions made with ink on paper with a pen or brush, often diluted with ink, sometimes with bronze or pencil texture. Very carefully executed and completed, although small in format, they are characterized by constructiveness and a monumental expression of a philosophical idea. Some ornamental compositions were created to decorate Sofija Čiurlionienė's book in Lithuania. The group of ink compositions consists of 17 works.

Postcards drawn by Čiurlionis, 1903–1904.

These are postcards sent to his brother Povilas from Warsaw to Vilnius, with philosophical thematic compositions drawn in pastel, tempera, watercolor, ink or pencil on the obverse. It is known that 10 of them were sent by post.

Fluorophores and monotypes, 1905–1908.

These are landscapes and philosophical works, printed with a glass cliche covered with wax, engraved and etched with hydrogen fluoride. Sometimes several prints were printed with the same cliche, often in color, some were also colored with a brush. At that time, this technique was a novelty, conceived by Professor Tadas Estreichers in 1902 in Krakow. It was cheap, but not durable, so it was short-lived.

Initials (book graphics), 1908.

This section of the catalogue describes 16 known initials. They were drawn for a book compiled by Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė in Lithuania, edited by both of them, but were not used.

Vignettes for Lithuanian Folk Songs (book graphics), 1909.

This group describes 10 such vignettes. Čiurlionis created them in 1909, when the Lithuanian Art Society planned to publish a collection of his harmonized Lithuanian folk songs, but the publication was not published. The vignettes were made with ink and thinned ink, pen and brush, a very diverse and unique interpretation of Lithuanian folk ornamentation.

Drawings and Compositional Sketches, 1902–1909.

Čiurlionis's collection of drawings and compositional sketches covers the entire period of his artistic creation and reflects its diversity. The 1902 album is dominated by portraits, drawings of human figures, and the later albums of 1903 and 1904 feature landscapes, compositions for postcards, stained glass windows, book covers, paintings and their cycles. Even later, the maturity of compositional ideas becomes apparent, the themes increase, visions of the cosmic world occupy a special place, reflecting the changing historical situation of Lithuania and the artist's attitude towards it. The compositional ideas are especially significant, clearly conveying the development of creative thought. Some of them are of a freer outline, others are executed with extreme care, often following a single line.

The catalog contains four articles: "Another Step to Understanding Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis" by Osvaldas Daugelis of bright memory, "The Horizons of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis' Universalism", "The Graphics of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis" by Antanas Andrijauskas, "A Little About the Life and Work of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis" by Nijolė Tumėnienė, "A Little About the Life and Work of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis". It provides an alphabetical list of Čiurlionis' sketches, from which the works were created, and an alphabetical list of these works, a list of exhibitions (1904–2020), a bibliography, and indexes of surnames, place names, and some subjects.

Catalogue compiled by Milda Mildažytė-Kulikauskienė
Consultants: Vytautas Landsbergis, Osvaldas Daugelis
Editor: Aldona Bendorienė
Artist: Albertas Broga

Publisher: M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Centre
Year: 2020
Pages: 440
ISBN: 978-5-420-01837-8
Dimensions: 24.4 × 29,6 cm, hard covers
Language: Lithuanian