Darius and Girėnas

As the sculptor and head of the Sculpture Department at the Kaunas Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts, Professor Bronius Pundzius (1907–1959) played a significant role in the artistic life of interwar Lithuania. A graduate of the Kaunas Art School, he participated actively in the burgeoning artistic scene after the first exhibition of work by young artists in 1930. During this period, there was a strong emphasis on the role of monuments and commemorations developing civil society and strengthening the national identity in Lithuania. Competitions began to be held for the construction of monuments honouring famous individuals, and sculptural images and commemorative medals were also created. One notable project was the monument dedicated to the Atlantic flight by Darius and Girėnas, for which Pundzius won a competition in 1937. However, due to the outbreak of the war, the monument never materialised. Instead, in 1943, Pundzius sculpted bas-reliefs of the pilots on the Puntukas stone. The monument was eventually erected in Kaunas in 1993, albeit with some modifications to its original design. Even before his involvement in the monument project, Pundzius created a bronze bust of the Lithuanian aviation heroes as a commission for the Aeroclub of Lithuania. Additionally, in 1935 he crafted a relief depicting the pilots, capturing their dynamic and lively portraits with remarkable vigour and vitality. Plaster versions of these compositions also gained popularity. Bronze and plaster busts of the pilots served as interior decorations that were popular with interwar intellectuals, reflecting the growing national self-awareness of the time.

Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

One of the most popular early works by the sculptor Bronius Pundzius (1907–1959) is a composition portraying the Lituanica pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas. Bronze busts of the heroes of Lithuanian aviation, created for the Lithuanian Flying Club, could be purchased for 35 litas, a considerable sum in those days, and people who could not pay the full price were given the possibility to pay by instalments ( Jo Leo, ‘A Befitting Commemoration of the Heroes Darius and Girėnas’, Karys, 1934, No 42, p. 865). Plaster versions of the composition were cheaper. Both bronze and plaster busts of the pilots could often be found in the homes of interwar intellectuals.

The heroic story of the conquerors of the Atlantic Ocean recurred in Pundzius‘ work several times. In 1933 or 1935, he created the plaster bas-relief Eternal glory to Darius and Girėnas in the Art Deco style; and in 1937, while studying sculpture, he won a competition for a monument to Darius and Girėnas in Kaunas. Unfortunately, because of the Soviet occupation, the project did not see the light of day. In 1943, the sculptor carved portraits of the Lituanica pilots into the Puntukas stone in the Anykščiai district.

Text authors Dovilė Barcytė and Ieva Burbaitė

As the sculptor and head of the Sculpture Department at the Kaunas