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There were more such travelers: the writer Pranas Mašiotas and the painter Rimantas Kalpokas wandered through Lithuania as they walked through the fields, photographing villages and various monuments.
The latter was repeatedly captured in photographs somewhere in the countryside during the interwar period, carrying not only working tools but also wooden sculptures of saints.
From the 20th century. Cultural figures who traveled through Lithuania from the early 19th century occasionally brought home a more interesting display: to the museum of the future, or perhaps simply to impress the work of local masters. Some of them have even accumulated very large collections during their lifetime, which later complemented the museum’s holdings.
You can see some of the photos taken during these ethnographic expeditions in the gallery below.
Inspired by Basanavičius
Not a single one wanted to capture Lithuania alone when asked. After the publication of the first issues of the Aušra and Varpas newspapers, the authors of the articles, and especially dr. Jonas Basanavičius continued to appeal to Lithuanians to take an interest in its history, to search for ethnographic monuments, to write the stories and legends of the ancients, and to try to preserve it as much as possible.
Such incentives quickly “found a favorable environment – to defend their language and national dignity, and the majority of the nation – rural people,” wrote Libertas Klimka, who researched local history.
Basanavičius himself spent an important part of his life in libraries in Russia, Germany and other European countries, where he tried to gather as much information as possible on the subjects of Lithuanian ethnography, linguistics and history.
After returning from Bulgaria, he wrote fairy tales and songs in his hometown, continued archaeological excavations, and collected, described, and accumulated exhibits, which are still preserved in the National Museum.
Photo from archivesofculture.com/P. Lukošius, R. Kalpokas, A. Tamošaitis collected exhibitions of folk art in 1926. In Samogitia, Plungė district.
Already before the war, history enthusiasts gathered in small groups. Once the societies were established, they carried out larger expeditions and not only recorded objects of cultural heritage, but also recorded legends, legends, songs, exhibited collections for museums, and were more organized than the artists, photographers, and architects discussed above. . And the activities of the societies covered a much wider area and had a very clear purpose.
Lithuania, which no longer exists
A little later, on interwar travel in the 1970s. R. Kalpokas, who participated in them, also reflected in Nemunas magazine: “While studying at an art school, I traveled a lot in Lithuania. I loved taking photos. Many years later, some of my photographs, reminding me of my youth, also proved to have ethnographic value. “
And indeed, after surviving the two world wars, occupations, emigration and migration, many of the objects that were successfully captured in the 20th century. In the early 19th century, they were unrecognizable demolished, abandoned, rebuilt / restored or used for other purposes (for example, churches and chapels became warehouses, community houses, grain depots, mansions in dwellings, warehouses or agricultural offices collective).
Photo from archivesofculture.com / Chapel, cross and roof pillar in the forest near Žarėnai in the 20th century. 5-6 Dec
After all, Lithuania, which was captured in various ways by its compatriots, was often made of wood. Chapel pillars, chapels, churches, caretakers, and other sculptures – if abandoned, they can easily be overcome by rain, wind, and sun.
And where are the world wars, the occupations, the disasters? People who moved to cities or other countries left the cabins, letting nature set the story for their backyards.
To this day, the pillars and crosses of the chapel are found at the ends of older abandoned courtyards, unfortunately often counting down the last few days.
“Several wooden sculptures dating from the 18th century have survived in the museum’s collections, and all the others were created as early as the 19th century. and the twentieth century. in the first half of the year, “wrote Marija Gimbutienė, emphasizing how many challenges the preservation of older cultural heritage objects poses.
photo from archivesofculture.com/R. A house and a roof pillar registered by Kalpok in 1930. during the expedition
Lithuanian heritage for an architect in Canada
“When there was no ‘Baroque Highway’ program in Lithuania, when many monuments were destroyed and cabbages were stored in churches, the architect-engineer dr. Alfredas Kulpavičius “, said Monika Baužienė, presenting the work done by the architect Alfredas Kulpa Kulpavičius.
A little-known Lithuanian living in Canada hired two photographers, probably the most well-known at the time: Antanas Sutkas and Mečislovas Sakalauskas.
These, like their predecessors, surfed Lithuania looking for and photographing heritage sites.
Today, the Kulpavičius Foundation, housed in the Lithuanian Archive of Literature and Art, has more than 5,000. XX a. 4-8 Dec photographs of parts of our cultural heritage that have not survived to this day or that have often changed significantly.
Why this?
The material from the first ethnographic expeditions is found in the museum and archives depots. In many cases, it is easily accessible not only for researchers, but also, and often, for anyone who wants to learn about their country’s history.
Photographs, sketches and drawings are often very useful in restoring degraded, damaged or naturally degraded cultural heritage sites, restoring destroyed monuments.
Visual material allows you to recreate finer details, elements, sometimes even shapes. For example, photographs collected by the aforementioned architect A. Kulpa Kulpavičius helped restore fragments of the pillar of the chapel at Pikeliai: wooden sculptures.
photo from archivesofculture.com / File photo from A. Kulpa-Kulpavičius. Pikeliai chapel of the 20th century. 5-6 Dec
And in Marijampolė, based on the surviving photographs, a monument to Duke Vytenis was restored. He, incidentally, remained in the city for only two years in 1938-1940. Furthermore, with the help of surviving images captured by J. Čechavičius, the Suzinai Chapel in Vilnius was restored. There are many such examples.
Expeditions for the preservation of ethnographic and ethnographic monuments are still carried out today.
Like its predecessors, Lithuania is captured and investigated not only by scientists and researchers, but also by individual travelers – you will be amazed at how much ethnographic Lithuania still awaits its discoverers.
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The series of articles marked with the mark of the Cultural Archive is an initiative of the Lithuanian Archive of Literature and Art, aimed at advertising and investigating documentary material stored in the archives.
You can find more information about Lithuania’s culture, art, history and heritage in the Lithuanian Archive of Literature and Art.
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