Petras Rimša

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Stamp of Lithuania, 2006

Petras Rimša (

Vilkaviškis district – 2 October 1961 in Kaunas) was one of the first professional Lithuanian
sculptors and medalists.

Biography

Rimša was born to a family of farmers in

Lithuanian SSR, one of the republics of the Soviet Union. Rimša was acceptable to Soviet authorities and he continued to create, though his works often had to reflect Soviet symbolism and ideology. In 1954, he was awarded the title of People's Artist. He died in 1961 and was buried in Petrašiūnai Cemetery.[7]

Works

Sculpture

Rimša's early works are highly patriotic and

rearing horse in an act of resistance, and Final (Finalas, 1910), which depicted a fallen horse. The two works were not well received and it seems that Rimša himself was not satisfied with them.[11]

While in Smolensk, Rimša created In Torment (Skausmas) in 1916. This work, inspired by the hardships of World War I, depicts a suffering woman dressed in complex ornamented clothes.[4] It is a stark departure from his earlier realistic works as it is symbolic, stylized, and heavily decorated with fine detail. It exhibits features of decorative design borrowed from graphic arts and ornamentation from traditional Lithuanian art. The overly complex and decorated style distracts the viewer from the intended message of pain and grief.[2] This new style was later used for The Thinker (Satyras or Mąstytojas, 1921), Night and Day (Diena ir naktis, 1922), Tale of Spring and Autumn (Pavasario ir rudens pasaka, 1922), The Knight (Riteris or Karžygys, 1931).[1] These works departed from strictly patriotic themes and became more Romantic.[12]

Medals and other

From 1923, Rimša created various medals. Most of them are patriotic, created to mark anniversaries. At least five medals were minted in 1920s that supported Lithuania in its conflict with the

Soviet propaganda. However, 1947 medal for Martynas Mažvydas and the first printed Lithuanian book display lyrics from the banned national anthem Tautiška giesmė. His last medal, created in 1959, was a self-portrait (obverse) with an exhibition of his works, including The Lithuanian School and The Ploughman (reverse).[6] Rimša also created portraits (busts and reliefs) of Motiejus Valančius (1904), Jonas Basanavičius (1906), his mother (1910), diplomat Tomas Naruševičius (1924), Žemaitė (1926), and numerous others. He illustrated books by Vydūnas (1912–1913) and Pranas Mašiotas (1920 and 1922).[1]

References

  1. ^
    LCCN 86232954
    .
  2. ^
    OCLC 7819428
    .
  3. ^
    LCCN 74-114275
    .
  4. ^ a b c Stasiulis, Arnoldas (2010-11-10). "Petras Rimša". Metskaitlius (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 2011-07-08.
  5. ISBN 978-1-56518-236-3
    .
  6. ^
    ISSN 0029-6090. Archived
    from the original on 2010-11-19.
  7. ^ "Petras Rimša". Žymūs Kauno žmonės: atminimo įamžinimas (in Lithuanian). Kauno apskrities viešoji biblioteka. 2004. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  8. ^ Saulius A. Suziedelis, Historical Dictionary of Lithuania, Scarecrow Press, 2011 p. 326
  9. ^ "The Plougman". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  10. OCLC 7819428
    .
  11. OCLC 7819428
    .
  12. OCLC 13600356
    .

External links

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