Exhibitions archive

Exhibition of Jonas Buračas’ Paintings

15.05.2019 – 16.06.2019

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania invite you to attend an exhibition of paintings by Jonas Buračas, one of the greatest Lithuanian painters and a master of landscape painting of the inter-war and post-war periods. His works focused on the studies of Lithuanian nature, architecture and small towns. While his oil and watercolour paintings are realistic, they also show hints of impressionist techniques and are based on meticulous studies of light and nature as well as observations of seasonal change.

The architecture of this exhibition has been inspired by the Lithuanian exhibition tradition of the inter-war years.

Painter Jonas Buračas was born in 1898 in Sidariai village, Radviliškis district. Together with his brother Balys, he travelled around Lithuania collecting folklore and folk art examples. Between 1919 and 1923 he compiled a collection of ornamental drawings of Lithuanian crosses and sashes. From 1920 to 1921 he studied at Šiauliai Teachers’ Seminary and attended teachers courses. From 1921 to 1927 he was enrolled in Kaunas Fine Art Painting Courses (later known as Kaunas Art School). He was the pupil of A. Galdikas, J. Vienožinskis, and K. Šklėrius. Between 1929 and 1930 he perfected his skills in Paris, Berlin and Riga. He started participating in exhibitions in 1936. Besides painting, Buračas also created sketches for state and bank documents, awards, Lithuanian passports, revenue and postage stamps, vignettes and illustrations for books and magazines. He died on 15 January 1977 in Kaunas.

The following are some of the series of paintings created by Buračas: Ethnographic Monuments (Etnografiniai paminklai), 1925–1970; Baltic Coastline (Baltijos pajūris), 1926–1943; Landscapes of Towns and their Surroundings (Miestelių ir jų apylinkių vaizdai), 1926–1975; Lithuanian Hill Forts and Castles (Lietuvos piliakalniai ir pilys), 1930–1972; This will be a Place for Kaunas Sea (Čia bus Kauno jūra) etc. ; portraits (G. Petkevičaitė-Bitė, 1928; A. Smetona, 1934; M. Petrauskas, 1937; P. Rimša, 1955); a linocut series (the series of the portraits of Lithuanian cultural figures, 1920s–1930s)

The opening of the exhibition will take place on the 15 May in the Atrium of the National Library. Among the attendees of the event will be Antanas Buračas and Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, Director General of the National Library, who will give the welcome address. The exhibition will run until the 16 June of this year.