Haymaking

The late 1930s marked a turning point in the career of Adomas Galdikas (1893–1969). The artist, who by then was recognised as a national classic, suddenly felt a duty to his compatriots. He curbed his Expressionist brush strokes and his inclination towards dramatic moods, and began to paint figure compositions, supporting the efforts to form a modern Lithuanian identity. The picture Haymaking was probably used as preliminary material for the large-format panel Lithuania to decorate the country’s section in the Baltic pavilion in the 1937 Paris World Fair. In fact, Haymaking is more dynamic and more interesting than the final version of the panel; but the winner of the competition was the project by Antanas Gudaitis, because of its compliance with scenic standards. The younger artist painted a cemetery on a hill with carved wooden crosses in the centre, and beyond it a lake, a view of the Lithuanian landscape that was typical of those times. In the opinions of contemporaries, the idyllic ‘peasant theatre’ by Galdikas was more suitable for the presentation of Lithuania’s image for export.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES II (2013). Compiler and author Nijolė Tumėnienė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius, (curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė); "Lithuanian Traditional and Folk Costumes: Textiles, Graphic Art, Painting", 11 May – 5 November 2017, Museum of the Radvilas Palace, Vilnius (curator Dalia Bernotaitė-Beliauskienė, Rima Rutkauskienė)

The late 1930s marked a turning point in the career of Adomas Galdikas (1893–1969). The artist, who by then was recognised as a national classic, suddenly felt a duty to his compatriots. He curbed his Expressionist brush strokes and his inclination towards dramatic moods, and began to paint figure compositions, supporting the efforts to form a modern Lithuanian identity. The picture Haymaking was probably used as preliminary material for the large-format panel Lithuania to decorate the country’s section in the Baltic pavilion in the 1937 Paris World Fair. In fact, Haymaking is more dynamic and more interesting than the final version of the panel; but the winner of the competition was the project by Antanas Gudaitis, because of its compliance with scenic standards. The younger artist painted a cemetery on a hill with carved wooden crosses in the centre, and beyond it a lake, a view of the Lithuanian landscape that was typical of those times. In the opinions of contemporaries, the idyllic ‘peasant theatre’ by Galdikas was more suitable for the presentation of Lithuania’s image for export.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album MORE THAN JUST BEAUTY (2012). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė, THE WORLD OF LANDSCAPES II (2013). Compiler and author Nijolė Tumėnienė
Expositions: “More Than Just Beauty: The Image of Woman in the LAWIN collection”, 12 October – 11 November 2012, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius, (curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė); "Lithuanian Traditional and Folk Costumes: Textiles, Graphic Art, Painting", 11 May – 5 November 2017, Museum of the Radvilas Palace, Vilnius (curator Dalia Bernotaitė-Beliauskienė, Rima Rutkauskienė)