Secrets of the Monoliths

Marija Mačiulienė (born 1929). Mosaic Evening, 1982. Smalt. 24 sq. m.

Building exterior 

Marija Mačiulienė, a Lithuanian artist and creator of monumental art, graduated from the Vilnius Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1955. She studied under Stasys Ušinskas (1904-1975), the pioneer of modern stained glass and animation, and was influenced by the sculptor Vladas Mikėnas (1910-1992). For a long time, Mačiulienė taught at Vilnius Children’s Art School (now the Justinas Vienožinskis Art School of Vilnius).

She has created portraits of cultural figures, figurative compositions and mosaic murals. The works are characterised by expressive drawing and decorative colour treatment. The early works are characterised by a decorative quality, while the later works use a softer colour palette. 

The mosaic ‘Evening’ (in the former rehabilitation room of the ‘Elfa’ factory) was created in the mature period of the work. It is the only completed work; the other projects, ‘Morning’ and ‘Day’ for this site, were not realised for financial reasons. The work occupies the entire western wall of the building and is characterised by a clear structure and an expressive, generalised solution. The evening theme is created by the monumental forms and the blue shades. 

Mačiulienė has created portrait and figure compositions, including ‘Kipras Petrauskas’ (with M. A. Mackėlaitė, 1957), ‘Barbora’ (1971), ‘Portrait of a Girl’ (1976), ‘Teodoras Grotus’ (1979), ‘Pranciškus Norvaiša’ (1979), ‘Jeronimas Stroinovskis’ (1983), and the gate mosaic in the Wellness Park in Druskininkai (1962), ‘Joy of Work (Women of Alksniupiai)’ on the exterior of the administrative building in Alksniupiai (1978), one of the largest mosaics in the central post office in Lida (1990, Belarus).

Faculty of Health Care, Vilnius College. Main entrance, side part, 2nd-floor lobby, changing rooms

• Unknown author. Ceramic mural, 1983

Canteen, 1st floor 

In 1983, the 10th Vocational Technical School was moved from Žvėrynas to a new building on Didlaukio Street, training specialists for the ‘Lelija’ sewing factory and the P. Eidukevičius Leather and Footwear Association. Thanks to the management of these companies, the interior of the building and this and other works were purchased. 

The ceramic mural is one of the largest ceramic works in the public space, created in the 1980s. Although no documentation of authorship has survived, contemporaries recall the intense creative process (and the artist’s dark curly hair). Several versions of authorship have been proposed by art historians, but none has yet been confirmed. 

The whole composition resembles a giant horn of plenty made up of individual elements. The light coming from the upper part of the room reveals and emphasises the diversity of the different elements of the composition, the organic and geometric shapes, and the soft textures. The different components are arranged diagonally on the sides and vertically in the centre. Natural pastel colours are used on the panel: beige, grey, brown, etc. The work organically complements and humanises the rather frosty asceticism of the basement space of the canteen, which is dominated by a huge rectangular volume and the planes of the walls. 

• Jūratė Stanevičiūtė-Ugianskienė (born 1941). Tapestry ‘Oh Heart, Sing Life’, 1986-1987. 8.4 sq. m (2.10 x 4.00). Linen, wool, half-wool

2nd floor

Jūratė Stanevičiūtė-Ugianskienė studied textiles at the Lithuanian Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) from 1960 to 1967.

The artist prepared fabric projects for textile companies and wove tapestries for public interiors: ‘Obelėlė’ (1978-1979) was designed for the Zarasai Civil Registry Office, ‘Versmės’ (1984-1986) for the Vilnius Radio Components Factory, and the ‘Spring Dawn’ (1986-1987) for the Institute of Cultural Workers’ Qualifications Development in Vilnius. 

The tapestry ‘Oh Heart, Sing Life’ is characterised by the tactile relief and warm, earthy colour palette (rich yellow, deep brown, cool blue), creating the allusion to an autumnal Lithuanian landscape. 

• Unknown artist(s). Vytis, date unknown

The fundamental symbols of Lithuania – the flag, the national anthem, the coats of arms of the state and towns, the Pillars of Gediminas, and the Double Cross of the Jagiellonians – are frequent motifs in works commissioned by the state after Lithuania regained independence in 1990. This tapestry, which has been exhibited for a long time on the premises of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, is no exception. The main symbol of the state, Vytis, the mounted knight, dominates the composition of the work. The rich, dramatic colouring of the tapestry, which consists of many shades of red and brown, and the dashing silhouette of a knight in the upper part of the tapestry, symbolise the state’s struggle for freedom.

Algirdas Dovydėnas (1944-2015). Stained glass, 1989. Coloured glass, lead. 11.2 sq. m. 

2nd floor 

Algirdas Dovydėnas is one of the most important Lithuanian stained-glass artists. In 1971, he graduated from Vilnius Institute of Arts (now Vilnius Academy of Arts), where he studied stained glass art under the stained-glass masters Algimantas Stoškus (1925-1998) and Kazys Morkūnas (1925-2014). From 1990 to 2003, he was a lecturer at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. In 1994, Algirdas Dovydėnas was awarded the National Prize for Culture and Art. 

Dovydėnas used thin glass solid slab 3D glass techniques in his works. The stained-glass window in the lobby of the building was created in the mature period of his work using the classical technique of thin stained glass. It is characterised by an abstract composition, highlighting the upward-sloping broken planes, with the space between them filled with repeating ornamental motifs. Colour plays an important role: dramatic purple seems to frame the stained glass and the individual windows, creating an illusion of depth and spaciousness while contrasting with the red of the lines and the light white tones. The stained glass organically fills the rear wall of the lobby, casting a mysterious glow on the dark space. 

The artist created more than 50 stained glass works for public and sacred buildings: the sanatorium ‘Lietuva’ in Druskininkai (1975), the ‘Green Pharmacy’ in Klaipėda (1975), the Lithuanian Press Palace (1990), the Vatican Nunciature in Vilnius (1993), the Chapel of the Suffering, in Rainiai (1994), the Church of St. Nicolas, and the Church of Lithuanian martyrs in Domeikava (2003 and 2005), etc.

• Gerardas Raitas Šatūnas (born 1964). The Pillars of Gediminas, 1998. Thin stained-glass. 22 sq. m.

Building 2, staircase

Gerardas Raitas Šatūnas studied stained glass at the Tallinn Academy of Fine Arts from 1985-1990. He created stained glass windows in public and private buildings in Lithuania: the Beatified Jurgis Matulaitis and St. Casimir in the Church of the Virgin Mary’s Scapular in Druskininkai (1988), in the Evangelical Church in Kybartai (2002), in the interior of the restaurant ‘Etno dvaras’ (2020), a mural in the basketball academy of Šarūnas Marčiulionis, etc. Some of the artist’s works are also in the Netherlands. 

The ‘Pillars of Gediminas’, a thin, stained-glass piece, is the largest work by G. R. Šatūnas. It is characterised by its clear structure, the rhythm of verticals and horizontals, and the play of colours and geometry. The shimmering and intertwining rich colours contrast with the white glass. The motif of the Pillars of Gediminas, used in the stained-glass window, is not particularly prominent. The composition is dominated by a sphere, the shape of which is echoed in lines in the upper and lateral parts of the work. The work occupies the entire window area of the staircase and organically integrates into the space, visually expanding and complementing it. 

• Unknown artist. Classical stained-glass technique, circa 1990 

Room 101 (former library)

The three-part abstract, vertical stained-glass window takes up the entire window area of the room, and its theme is not related to the use of the room. The abstract dynamic structures are composed in search of the dynamics of colours and shapes and their relationship to each other. They seem to float in the air, creating the illusion of an infinitely changing and soaring space. In the centre of the composition, the shapes and colours are more varied and complex, with a fragment of dramatic red interspersed among pastel tones, while the colours towards the edges are lighter and more solid. 

Until 1990, a stained-glass window dedicated to the police by Henrikas Kulšys (1944-1991) had been installed here. The author of the current stained glass is unknown. 

• Skirmantė Žemaitytė (b. 1970). Stained glass, 1997. Classical technique. 1.7 sq. m. 

Šatūnai Workshop

2nd floor

 Skirmantė Žemaitytė studied stained glass at the Vilnius Academy of Arts from 1992-1998. In 1993 she won the 1st prize in the stained-glass ensemble competition, and in 2019 she was awarded ‘The Rhine Prize’ (Bonn, Germany). Among the most significant works of the artist for public and private spaces are the stained-glass ensemble in the café ‘Raitelių klubas’ (2007, Harmony Park, Vazgaikiemis, Prienai district, Lithuania), the spatial composition ‘The Light of the Cross’ (2011) at the Museum of Blessed George Matulaitis in Marijampolė (architect: R. Petrokas), and the glass sculptures’ Wind of Change’ and ‘Letter from the Bottom of the Sea’ (both 2015, in a private property in Kaunas). 

The stained-glass window was created for the chapel of Mykolas Römeris University (architect: Gintautas Survila). During the reconstruction of the chapel, it was moved to another location. ‘When the sharp lines reach the water layer like arrows, they soften, and the surfaces reveal their colours when touched by light. A stop for meditation”. (S. Žemaitytė)

• Regimantas Midvikis (1947-2015). Dedication to Martynas Mažvydas, 1981-2011. Epoxy resin, brass. 116 x 82 x 52 cm

Central entrance, 1st floor 

Regimantas Midvikis graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture of the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1971. From 1975 he lived in Klaipėda, and in 2000, he moved to Tauragė. In 1994 he was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts. 

The artist created many monumental sculptures: in commemoration of the Martyrs of Rainiai and the Kražiai massacre (1991), Simonas Daukantas (1993, in Lenkimai), Martynas Mažvydas (1980, in Klaipėda), King Mindaugas (2003, in Vilnius), Partisans of the Samogitian District (1994, in Telšiai), Juozas Miltinis (2007, Panevėžys), for the partisans of the Kęstutis District (2008, Tauragė), for the millennium of the name of Lithuania (2009, Klaipėda), as well as a composition for the ancient gods Patrimpas, Perkūnas, Patulas (2011, Rambynas), the Oginski family in Rietavas, and others. Midvikis sculpted a monument to the Vileišiai brothers that was erected in Vilnius in 2017.

Sigutė Valiuvienė (1931-2021). Motherhood, 1975. Wall painting. Chipboard, synthetic tempera 

Central entrance, 1st floor 

Book illustrator Sigutė Valiuvienė graduated from the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1956. 

‘Motherhood’ is the only monumental work by S. Valiuvienė created in the then 4th Board Republican Hospital under the 4th Department of the Ministry of Healthcare. The work occupies almost the entire wall of the first-floor corridor. 

The central part shows a mother embracing her children, with figures facing her at large intervals. The illusion of space and lightness is created by stylised architectural and natural elements and white planes. The work is dominated by pastel colours, a serene and slightly fairy-tale mood as if it had come from S. Valiuvienė’s illustrations. The theme of womanhood and motherhood is revealed in the generalised, easily recognisable style of the artist’s illustrated books. 

Since the 1970s, the artist has illustrated more than 40 books, all of which have become classics of Lithuanian children’s books. These include ‘Eglė, Queen of Grass Snakes’ by Salomėja Nėris (1961), ‘The Cursed Monks’ by Antanas Vienuolis (1961), ‘The Song of the Skylarks’ by Paulijus Širvys (1965, 1975), ‘Sunny Songs’ by Janina Degutytė (1972, 1979), ‘Oh, little mouse, bring sleep (1973, 1979), etc. S. Valiuvienė’s illustrated books reveal themes of happy childhood and motherhood.

• Eglė Valiūtė (b. 1953). Poppies, 1987. Stained glass. 217 x 179 x 4 pieces. 

Raigardas, 1987. Stained glass. 217 x 179 x 3 pieces. 

1st floor 

The stained-glass artist Eglė Valiūtė (b. 1953) graduated from the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1977. She was awarded the Government Art and Culture Prize of the Republic of Lithuania in 2004, and in 2016, she won the Golden Badge of the Lithuanian Artists’ Association. 

The artist’s work is characterised by rhythmic beauty and the echoes of rich colours. The stained-glass windows in the interior of the polyclinic were reconstructed and adapted in 2004-2007 (previously, they were in Druskininkai). Both works are arranged around an enclosed courtyard: ‘Poppies’ on one side and ‘Raigardas’ on the other.

Valiūtė’s stained glass works have been used in both public and private interiors: the Children’s Hospital in Vilnius (1979-2005), the Tourism and Commercial School (1980), the Ministry of Transport and Communications (1982), the Municipality Building and the Culture Centre in Kupiškis (1983-1985), the Church of the Holy Trinity in Panevėžys (1991-1992), and the three-dimensional stained-glass window for the interiors of the Jungtinės Architetektų Dirbtuvės (‘Joint Architects’ Workshop’).

• Marija Švažienė (b. 1930). ‘Tapestry Flight’, 1974. Author’s technique

Café, 1st floor 

Marija Švažienė graduated from the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1955. In 1980, the artist was awarded the State Prize.

M. Švažienė entered the artistic life in the mid-1960s and left a distinct imprint on the history of Lithuanian textiles. Thanks to the interest in the tapestry technique, which came from Western Europe, and thanks to the effort of the artist and her colleagues Danutė Kvietkevičiūtė, Medardas Šimelis (1938-2014), and Zinaida Kalpokovaitė, textiles split away from the traditions of crafts.

She has created knotted carpets and planar tapestries using a special original technique. 

‘Flight’, one of the 20 large-format tapestries created for the public interior, is an integral part of the architectural space. ‘Flight’ is the idea of drive, of the endless desire to reach a goal – light, distance. […] Lines of various lengths and thicknesses converge on the centre of the tapestry, where they dissolve as if in the sunlight,’ wrote art critic Laima Cieškaitė in the early 1980s. The conditioned image and expressive geometric shapes fill the entire wall, dominating the room and becoming its main focus. Expressive rhythms and bright, rich and yet earthy colours create an impression of space, and the interior space decorated with wooden panels is complemented by the expressive texture of the tapestry. The tapestry is created with an original hand technique. 

Other works by the artist include ‘Rings of the Sun’, I-III (1978, National Cancer Institute), ‘Tree’ (1980, Vilnius Maternity Hospital), ‘Sun Path’ (1981, Vilnius University Santaros Clinic), and ‘Space Roads’ (1984, Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant Culture House). 

Unknown artist. Unknown title. Unknown year. Ceramic accent

• Vincas Kisarauskas (1931-1988). Mosaic, circa 1967. Vilnius City Clinical Hospital West and South wing connection, central entrance

The painter, graphic artist, and stage designer Vincas Kisarauskas (1931-1988) graduated from the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1959 and was awarded the State Prize in 1988 (after his death).

V. Kisarauskas boldly broke the canons of visual art; his work is dramatic and multi-layered, and the theme of a man broken by a totalitarian regime, which he often develops, is exceptional in the context of Lithuanian art.

The mosaic composition is a prominent feature of the building’s entrance (covering the entire entrance area). The mosaic is stylistically linked to the author’s paintings by the combination of contrasting colours. Pieces and areas of coloured opaque mosaic glass (smalt), marble, granite and other stones form an impressive relief; as a counterbalance to the predominantly cold colours, red squares (incidentally, also often used in paintings to emphasise the dramatic nature of the work) are placed in the upper part of the composition. The large pieces of stone, seen up close, merge into a single abstract drawing when viewed from afar.

It is the only monumental work created by the artist on the exterior; the work in the interior of the café of the Vilnius department store (1974) has not survived. 

• Unknown author(s). Thin stained glass. Without year

1st floor

• Arūnas Rutkus (born 1961). Folk medicine, 1985. Sgraffito. Diploma work supervisor: Romualdas Dalinkevičius (1950-2001) 

1st floor

Arūnas Rutkus graduated from the State Institute of Art (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1985, where he studied under the guidance of the fresco artist Antanas Kmieliauskas (1932-2019) and stained-glass artist Kazys Morkūnas (1925-2014). 

The room dedicated to the fresco is small and, at the time, housed the hospital museum. The artist based the story on authentic material specially collected at the Pauls Stardins Museum of the History of Medicine in Riga, one of the oldest in Europe. The work tells the story of folk healing methods and customs. The images are composed as mis-en-scenes: here, a sick man’s leg is amputated with the whole family present, but only the child and the woman are turned away from the drastic image. In another episode, the patient is lying on a board holding a pot with his face distorted by pain, surrounded by worried people, while the heads of nearby imps suggest that the sick had been affected by the Devil, while a woman nearby is preparing food for the animals, a man is finishing emptying a jug, a woman is checking the freshness of the fish in the well with a ring, and children are whispering (one of them is standing in a bowl of water, so one can guess that this is his treatment for the common cold). In the third episode, a tooth is being pulled with pliers.

The realistic drawing, with scenes linked by a solid brown colouring, emphasises old events that are far removed from the present, and the narrative is enhanced by soft chiaroscuro.

A. Rutkus created the fresco ‘Fairy Tale’ in the Vilnius Youth and Children’s Centre, as well as the stained-glass windows in the Vidmantai State-owned farm, but for the last couple of decades, he has been focusing mainly on painting.

• Ina Budrytė. ‘The Medics of Vilnius’, 1983-1984. Sgraffito. About 100 sq. m. 

Great Auditorium, 1st floor 

Ina Budrytė (b. 1957) studied fresco and mosaic at Vilnius State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) from 1977 to 1982, under the guidance of artist Sofija Veiverytė (1926-2009). 

The fresco in Vilnius Clinical Hospital was created in 1984 using the sgraffito technique, i.e. decorating the wet surface of the walls with different coloured plaster. 

‘The Medics of Vilnius’ fresco is composed of three intertwining layers: the mythical, the historical, and the contemporary. Hippocrates (460-377 BC), physician, philosopher and patron saint of physicians, is depicted against the backdrop of an ancient Greek landscape with the figure of a centaur passing in the distance (the right-hand side of the front part). The other figure (with a serpent-entwined staff) represents the god of medicine, Asclepius, from whom Hippocrates derived his name. Famous Lithuanian physicians are commemorated on the left side of the mural: Andrew Sniadecki (1768-1883), Jacques Briôtet (1746-1819), a French physician, surgeon, and professor and Rector at Vilnius University, Wacław Pelikan (1790-1873), a surgeon and professor of Vilnius University (1824-1832), as well as Joseph Frank (1790-1873), a VU Professor. Their figures are set against the backdrop of the VU Central building and in the company of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, a symbol of medicine and renewal known in mythology for her magical power to raise the dead. Above the arch is the symbol of a rooster, associated with light, revelation and new beginnings. 

In the major part of the work, the artist has immortalised famous doctors who worked at the clinics (from left to right): Algimantas Jonas Marcinkevičius (2021-2014), Vytautas Jonas Sirvydis (b. 1935), Chackelis Kibarskis, Zofija Ona Markienė (b. 1931), Mečislovas Vitkus (1923-2012), Pranas Norkūnas (1908-1992), Augustas Pronckus (1922-2012), Liubomiras Laucevičius (1905-1993) and others (the identities of all the medics are not confirmed). Many of them posed for the fresco themselves; others were painted from photographs. The figurative composition skilfully incorporates parallel reality scenes, elements of medical equipment, etc., ancient, old (the northern facade of the VU) and modern architecture, as well as interior and exterior elements of the clinics. One part of the work incorporates a building with the year the mural was created. 

• Jolanta Dovydaitytė (1952-2022). Modern Medicine, 1977. Sgraffito. Diploma project supervisor: Sofija Veiverytė 

Department of Internal Medicine, 5th floor

Jolanta Dovydaitytė is a Lithuanian artist, creator of monumental art, and an art teacher. From 1971-1977, she studied at the State Art Institute in Vilnius and acquired a specialisation in monumental and decorative art.

The artist divided the composition into smaller areas, incorporating individual storylines or figures, which are harmonised through the fresco’s homogeneousness determined by a soothing palette of cool blues; its dynamism is created by the figures and complementary elements (stylised medical equipment and images of the city of the time), and by the fluttering draperies. The figures are similar in size to the real ones. The influence of the diploma thesis supervisor, painter Sofija Veiverytė (1926-2009), can be seen in the work – the composition uses the flowing lines and human types typical of her paintings.

J. Dovydaitytė’s murals using the sgraffito technique can be found in the interior of Šilavotas Secondary School (‘The Classroom’, 1977), Kaunas Kindergarten No. 100 (1977), Kaunas Water Clarification Station (‘Water Festival’, 1978), Kaunas Heat Networks Hall (1979), Kaunas Association of Domestic Service Enterprises (‘The Oak’, 1983), and the interior of the cafeteria of the Kaunas Heat Networks (‘The Bird’, 1990; ‘Irises’, 1990; ‘Evening’, 1990).

• Šarūnas Miškinis (born 1963). Composition with seagulls, 1982. Sgraffito. Supervisor Romas Dalinkevičius, Technologist Petras Ibianskas

Department of Internal Medicine, 5th floor

Illustrator, graphic artist and musician Šarūnas Miškinis studied frescoes and mosaics at the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) from 1979 to 1988, and from the third year onwards – graphic design.

The seagull composition was created in the second year as part of the educational process. The creation of the work was initiated by the lecturer Romas Dalinkevičius. The work was selected as the best among other student projects. It is the only mural created by the author.

The laconic composition is created using the classical sgraffito technique, i.e. of three layers: dark, medium and white, with several colours. By combining symbolic and realistic elements and incorporating the colour green, a message of hope is created. 

Š. Miškinis illustrated a number of educational and history textbooks, ‘Introduction to Philosophy’ by Albinas Plėšnys’ (1996), ‘The Sacrifice of a Bull’ and ‘Lullabies and Games’ by Romualdas Granauskas (1999), ‘Cultural Depths in Fairy Tales: a four-part folklore and theological study’ (1992), and the fairy tale ‘Eglė, Queen of Grass Snakes’ by Vytautas Jonas Bagdanavičius (2006, 2007).

2nd floor

• Dalia Šalaševičiūtė-Žebenkienė (1960-2022). Untitled stained-glass window, circa 1986-1987. Thin glass, lead

The stained-glass artist Dalia Šalaševičiūtė-Žebenkienė graduated from the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1985.

The stained glass is closely linked to the site and symbolically reveals the idea of motherhood and eternal womanhood. The gynaecology, obstetrics and neonatal departments in this building date back to the 1960s and are staffed by female medical graduates. The ground floor of the building is now home to the Maternity Hospital. 

The figures of six moving women, grouped in pairs, fill the entire composition. They are standing on the ground and leaning against the sky. In the central part of the composition are women with babies. Each figure complements the movement of the others, and their rhythm echoes the rhythm of the balustrade. The figures are broken down into smaller elements, thus highlighting the lightness of the clothes and the fragile yet majestic silhouettes of the women. The white colour of the garments is probably chosen for its association with beginnings and cleanliness, but it may also be linked to the medical profession. 

The white, thin glass that dominates the composition splits the light, softens the room’s contrasts and creates an uplifting mood. 

The artist’s works can be found in both public and private buildings (a crèche-kindergarten on Konarskio Street). 

• Haroldas Šatūnas (born 1967). Painted mural (I-III d.), 1991. Cardboard, oil 

Publicity, democracy, and pedagogical changes reached the Vilnius Academy of Arts in the 1990s. The work by Haroldas Šatūnas, a graduate of the Department of Monumental Art, was created during an important period of upheaval when a new concept of a national art school was being developed. It seeks a balance between abstract and figurative representation and a relationship with the architectural environment. Motifs of Lithuanian folk ornamentation, a rich colour palette, and contrasting colours are woven into the generalised fabric of the work and organically integrated into the space of the building.

Ina Budrytė (b. 1957). Morning, Day, Evening, Night, 1987. Sgraffito

2nd floor

Ina Budrytė studied fresco and mosaic at the Vilnius State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) from 1977 to 1982 under the guidance of the artist Sofija Veiverytė (1926-2009). 

The fresco was created using the sgraffito technique, i.e. by decorating the wet surface of the wall with different colour plaster. 

The fresco is installed in the former lounge area, a cramped space, and part of it is in the rooms. After the renovation, some parts of the fresco were covered after the change of use of the room in order to comply with the building safety requirements. 

The mural depicts life in a cosy and peaceful natural haven. The pastoral narrative radiates a sense of lightness and happiness, revealing moments of rest, peace or even laziness: people snacking, enjoying swinging (on swings), watering the grass, picking berries, smelling blossoms or simply resting. A dignified deer rears its head in the red of the evening, a bird calls in the morning twilight, a dog snoozes peacefully in the daytime, and a white sphinx with the face of a cat appears as night approaches. The four phases of the day – morning, day, evening and night – are highlighted not only by time-specific actions but also distinguished by standing, sitting or lying figures, other objects, and architectural and functional elements (e.g. doors). The symbolic figures above the door signify the passage from one part of the day to another. A horizon was drawn in the distance of the composition to accentuate the lightness and airiness of the work, optically enlarging the space of the room. To reveal the theme, Budrytė used transparent, warm, calm and translucent colours, watercolour-style layers that easily overlap one another. 

It is one of three murals created by the artist in public interiors. The others are in Jašiūnai Secondary School (1982) and Vilnius City Clinical Hospital (1983-1984).

• Henrikas Kulšys (1944-1991). Stained glass by Galileo Galilei. Undated. Thin glass, lead, drawing, painting

4th floor (Department of Foreign Languages)

Henrikas Kulšys studied stained glass at the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) from 1962 to 1970.

The beginning of Kulšys’ work coincided with the trends of change in Lithuanian architecture when stained glass began to abandon the laconic forms used in mirror stained glass and the technique of large ingots. The new generation of stained-glass artists (Konstantinas Eugenijus Šatūnas, Eglė Valiūtė, Algirdas Dovydėnas, Ginta Juodytė-Baginskienė) rediscovered the technique of thin stained glass used in the Middle Ages.

The artist’s work is characterised by ornamentation and a reserved colour palette. This is also characteristic of the stained-glass window dedicated to the astronomer Galileo Galilei. The scientist’s portrait is placed in the centre of the stained glass, in an oval, and is as if surrounded by cones of light.

H. Kulšys created stained glass windows in public buildings: in Kaunas café ‘Kaunas’ (1972), ‘Šventė’ in Vilnius Teachers’ House, in the ‘Amatininkai’ bar (1973, Vilnius), in the ‘Vyrgalė’ restaurant in Raudondvaris (1975), in Raseiniai Palace of Culture (1974), in the meeting hall of the pharmaceutical factory ‘Sanitas’ (1975, Kaunas), and in Vilhelmas Passage, Klaipėda (destroyed).

• Konstantinas Eugenijus Šatūnas (born 1939). Classical stained glass, 1972. Thin glass

The Grand Lobby

Konstantinas Eugenijus Šatūnas graduated from the State Art Institute (now Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1966. He was awarded the Council of Ministers’ Prize (1976) and the Lithuanian Artists’ Association’s Golden Badge (2018).

K.E. Šatūnas is a representative of the legendary generation of stained-glass artists who formed the modern Lithuanian school of stained glass. By not repeating himself and looking at each work in a new way, the artist developed the concept of stained glass.