The Pensive Christ: From a Religious Image to a National Symbol

The understanding of the concept of the Pensive Christ, originally derived from folk sculpture, changed many times. Some consider it a symbol of the entire nation or Lithuanian character, some think that it is a small sculpture carved by a folk artisan, some claim that it is the protector and patron of the family, while others assert that it is a pagan god. However, very few among us could say where this image comes from, how, when and where it was formed. A similar tradition of the representation of the Pensive Christ can be seen in the depiction of deities or human figures of various countries. It existed in Etruscan, Greek, Roman, ancient Indian, Siberian or Polynesian art. However, the concept of the Pensive Christ reached Lithuania along with Christianity and does not go back to pre-Christian times.

Lithuanian god carvers (dievdirbiai) adopted this plot from images of the contemplative Christ seen in churches or religious pictures. Alongside, the concept was adopted through the teachings of the Church. Later, when the movement of national liberation gained momentum in the late 19th – early 20th century, folk art was given prominence as the basic source of the nation’s individuality and existence. In the context of active search for Lithuanian spirit of that time, the “national” Pensive Christ appeared as a result of folk creativity and ingenuity.

The aim of the exhibition “The Pensive Christ: From a Religious Image to a National Symbol” is to present the sources of the Lithuanian Pensive Christ and the close relation between professional art that mainly functioned in churches and folk art. The exhibition includes works of art that were or still are held in churches and chapels, created from the 17th century to the first half of the 20th century, representing the Pensive Christ (17 works), as well as an abundant collection of religious folk sculptures from various museums of the country (77 works).

The exhibition seeks to reveal the traditions of primitive religious art through the history of the image of the Pensive Christ and the influence of official church art on this image, as well as to destroy the myth formed in the Soviet period that sculptures carved by folk masters were merely a fruit of their imagination. The exhibition is centred around three major themes: 1) a Catholic image of the Pensive Christ from the 17th century to the first half of the 20th century, 2) primitive carvings by god carvers, 3) the process of formation of the image of the Pensive Christ as a national symbol in the first half of the 20th century and its consequences.

Banned in the Soviet period, the research into religious art gained momentum since the restoration of Independence and created the conditions to hold several memorable exhibitions in Lithuanian museums. The first exhibition (1999–2003) titled “Christianity in Lithuanian art” (Lithuanian Art Museum) was followed by exhibitions at the National Museum of Lithuania devoted to the representation of Saint Casimir as well as Franciscan and Jesuit art. The Church Heritage Museum held exhibitions presenting the goldsmith’s craft and the history of liturgical textiles in Lithuania. Although all these exhibitions also included folk art, “The Pensive Christ: From a Religious Image to a National Symbol” is extraordinary and the first of its kind in this context. This exhibition explores the links between religious and secular art, emphasises the forgotten layers of church art and draws parallels between probably the most important symbol of 20th century Lithuania, an icon of the nation and the state – the Pensive Christ, and its sources – the early Catholic image of the Pensive Christ.
 
The works in this exhibition are courtesy of the following dioceses and churches:
Church of the Holy Trinity in Daugai
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Joniškis
Curia of the Kaišiadorys diocese
Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew in Krakiai
Church of Saint John the Baptist in Paluknys
Saint Theresa’s Church of the Infant Jesus in Raudondvaris
Church of Saint George in Skaistgirys
Church of the Holy Trinity in Tverečius
Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vidiškiai

Museums
Kaunas Archdiocesan Museum
Kaišiadoriai Diocesan Museum
Lithuanian Art Museum
National Museum of Lithuania
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art
Rokiškis Regional Museum
Šiauliai “Aušra” Museum
Vytautas the Great War Museum
Utena Museum of Regional Ethnography

The exhibition will be open until 30 January 2016

Exhibition curator – Gabija Surdokaitė-Vitienė

Organiser – Church Heritage Museum
Architect – Ieva Cicėnaitė
Designer – Gedas Čiuželis

A press conference will take place 8 October 2015 at 12.00.





FUNDING FOR THE MUSEUM IS PROVIDED BY

Vilniaus Akivyskupija          
 
   

Informational sponsors

                   bernardinai.lt
         

Sponsors

       Domus Maria