Lenin Avenue

Alfonsas Motiejūnas (1912–1979) had painted the main street in the city, which changed its name with every new political power: during the Imperial Russian period it was called St George’s Avenue (after the church on it), during the Polish period between the wars it was called Adam Mickiewicz Avenue, during the Soviet period it was called Lenin Avenue, and today it is called Gedimino Avenue. In the picture by Motiejūnas, the street with the cathedral and its bell tower sparkles with colour, and the branches of trees sway in the autumn breeze. The street is full of movement: crowds of pedestrians are hurrying past in the blue shadows on the right, and the faces of children appear in the foreground on the left. This colourful feast of shapes endows the picture with the drive and the optimism of the Soviet period.

Alfonsas Motiejūnas (1912–1979) had painted the main street in the city