Michał Baliński, ‘A History of the City of Vilnius’, vol. II, 1836.
The illustrations to Baliński’s ‘A History of the City of Vilnius’ were made by the lithographer and painter Jan Rypiński, who studied in the art department at Vilnius University in 1828 and 1829. The book was printed at the printing press of Antoni Marcinkowski, and the illustrations were printed at the printing press of Antoni Klukowski. Rypinski’s approach is distinguished by its romanticism, asymmetrical compositions, strong chiaroscuro and dynamically interspersed greenery. The second volume contains three illustrations of Vilnius. The selection of images was taken as an example for further visual presentations of the capital in books. The Upper Castle and the Lower Castle are shown in the book: the ruins of the former emerge against a picturesque landscape, with Gediminas Hill and a bend in the River Neris; while the latter is pictured as it had been before it was pulled down (the lithograph was based on a drawing by Pietro de Rossi). The Church of St Anne, described by Baliński as a ‘small but beautiful and uncommon example of Gothic for our country’, also found its place in this ground-breaking selection of views (Historya Miasta Wilna, vol. II, 1836, p. 123). There are not many illustrations, and still fewer views of the city, in ‘A History of the City of Vilnius’, and so the selection of them was carefully chosen.
Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album
VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė
Michał Baliński, ‘A History of the City of Vilnius’, vol. II, 1836
