Facing the new myths: on Lithuanian art in 1940–1941 ; Naujų mitų akivaizdoje: apie 1940-1941 m. Lietuvos dailę

Abstract

Research into the artistic culture of Lithuania during the time of the first Soviet occupation is interesting in itself. At the same time, it helps one to grasp the particularities that art and politics had in common throughout Western culture in the 20th century. The topic is also relevant in terms of other research regarding Lithuanian history. Without the period 1940-1941, the mosaic of the mid-20th century remains incomplete. The first Soviet occupation of Lithuania left a distinctive mark on the life of the country, and it is impossible to comprehensively analyse the much longer period of the second Soviet occupation without evaluating the cultural consequences of the former. An overview of Lithuanian art in 1940-1941 could allow one to say that both the modernists, and the bards of patriotism collaborated with the occupying Soviet authorities. Both chose a path of compromise. The first gave up their artistic ideals and professional ambitions, and the second resolved to reform their historical memory and civic consciousness for the sake of a career. All the same, it must be acknowledged that with the arrival of the second Soviet occupation, the majority of the most talented and ambitious Lithuanian artists chose the fate of an emigrant. In Soviet Lithuania, the work of Jonynas, Kašuba and Petravičius was seen as an example of free art, as a source of the vitality of the nation's culture feeding those who were suffering oppression.