Sybils (Prophetesses, Dream Readers) II

1">Vytautas Kašuba (1915–1997), a Lithuanian diaspora sculptor, was known for his diverse body of work, including small-scale and monumental sculptures, reliefs, figurative compositions, medals and medallions. Sibyls is a composition of three female sculptures, attributed to his high American period (1954–1988). The sculptures were inspired by his 1983 visit to Italy, where he encountered Italian sculpture first-hand, an art form he had long admired, but until then only seen in reproductions. The calm, refined plasticity of Romanesque and Early Renaissance sculpture particularly impressed him. Additionally, he gained a new-found appreciation for the potential of small-form sculptures. The influence of the Italian Modernist Marino Marini, whose work Kašuba admired, is also evident in his Sibyls. These sculptures are metaphorical representations of women endowed with mysterious knowledge, crafted in a Neoclassical style. Although the hand movements of the three figures vary, the sculptor leaves it to the viewer to interpret, perhaps suggesting that they depict the same woman in different stages of a single movement. There is a replica of these sculptures in the collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, exhibited in the permanent exhibition at the Pranas Domšaitis Gallery.

1">Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Vytautas Kašuba was inspired to create a series of three small statues of sibyls after a trip to Italy in 1983. While viewing great masterpieces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, he also became fascinated with the small-format figurines that adorned church portals, doors and altars. Kašuba reflected: ‘The size of the figurines, simplified to a poetically expressive movement, does not constrain the sculptor’s expressiveness; on the contrary, it frees him from heroic postures’ (Skulptoriaus Vytauto Kašubos darbai [Works of the Sculptor Vytautas Kašuba], Vol. Trys sienos. Tremtis 1983–1987 [Three Walls. Exile 1983–1987], compiled by Aleksandra Kasuba, edited by Elona Lubytė, Vilnius: Artists’ Union Publishing House, 2018, p. 1). His three sibyls, arranged subtly in a group, seem to murmur softly among themselves, gradually drawing the viewer into their dialogue. With their closed eyelids and meditative postures reminiscent of the lotus position, these prophetesses appear to be suspended in a moment of trance and divine revelation, poised to speak the will of the gods to humankind.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, THE ART OF MATERIALS (2024). Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė, ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius

1">Vytautas Kašuba (1915–1997), a Lithuanian diaspora sculptor, was known for his diverse body of work, including small-scale and monumental sculptures, reliefs, figurative compositions, medals and medallions. Sibyls is a composition of three female sculptures, attributed to his high American period (1954–1988). The sculptures were inspired by his 1983 visit to Italy, where he encountered Italian sculpture first-hand, an art form he had long admired, but until then only seen in reproductions. The calm, refined plasticity of Romanesque and Early Renaissance sculpture particularly impressed him. Additionally, he gained a new-found appreciation for the potential of small-form sculptures. The influence of the Italian Modernist Marino Marini, whose work Kašuba admired, is also evident in his Sibyls. These sculptures are metaphorical representations of women endowed with mysterious knowledge, crafted in a Neoclassical style. Although the hand movements of the three figures vary, the sculptor leaves it to the viewer to interpret, perhaps suggesting that they depict the same woman in different stages of a single movement. There is a replica of these sculptures in the collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, exhibited in the permanent exhibition at the Pranas Domšaitis Gallery.

1">Text author Jurgita Ludavičienė

Vytautas Kašuba was inspired to create a series of three small statues of sibyls after a trip to Italy in 1983. While viewing great masterpieces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, he also became fascinated with the small-format figurines that adorned church portals, doors and altars. Kašuba reflected: ‘The size of the figurines, simplified to a poetically expressive movement, does not constrain the sculptor’s expressiveness; on the contrary, it frees him from heroic postures’ (Skulptoriaus Vytauto Kašubos darbai [Works of the Sculptor Vytautas Kašuba], Vol. Trys sienos. Tremtis 1983–1987 [Three Walls. Exile 1983–1987], compiled by Aleksandra Kasuba, edited by Elona Lubytė, Vilnius: Artists’ Union Publishing House, 2018, p. 1). His three sibyls, arranged subtly in a group, seem to murmur softly among themselves, gradually drawing the viewer into their dialogue. With their closed eyelids and meditative postures reminiscent of the lotus position, these prophetesses appear to be suspended in a moment of trance and divine revelation, poised to speak the will of the gods to humankind.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, THE ART OF MATERIALS (2024). Compiler and text author Jurgita Ludavičienė, ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius