Market Yard in Vilnius

The longing for lost Vilnius. The Second World War and the Holocaust destroyed the rich Litvak world, and the fate of the Jerusalem of Lithuania echoed the fate of old Jerusalem: it turned into a ruin and a place of mourning. However, not all artists could accept the loss of the Jerusalem of Lithuania, a symbol of the traditions and the longevity of the Jewish community. Images of the city before the war remained in the hearts and minds of the Vilnius residents Rafael Chwoles and Samuel Bak, despite being filled with tragic overtones. Their work became a requiem for the lost city and its old way of life.

Rafael Chwoles survived the Holocaust through luck, but the tragedy claimed the lives of his parents and three of his five sisters. The artist left Soviet Lithuania, settled in Warsaw, and later moved to Paris; but he kept returning in his work to a city where the Great Synagogue was still standing and the Jewish quarter was bustling with activity.

Text author Vilma Gradinskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album STORIES OF LITVAK ART (2023). Compiler and author Vilma Gradinskaitė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Laima Laučkaitė) "Vilnius Time", 5 June 2023 – 1 May 2024, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Ieva Burbaitė and Emilija Vanagaitė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2026

The longing for lost Vilnius. The Second World War and the Holocaust destroyed the rich Litvak world, and the fate of the Jerusalem of Lithuania echoed the fate of old Jerusalem: it turned into a ruin and a place of mourning. However, not all artists could accept the loss of the Jerusalem of Lithuania, a symbol of the traditions and the longevity of the Jewish community. Images of the city before the war remained in the hearts and minds of the Vilnius residents Rafael Chwoles and Samuel Bak, despite being filled with tragic overtones. Their work became a requiem for the lost city and its old way of life.

Rafael Chwoles survived the Holocaust through luck, but the tragedy claimed the lives of his parents and three of his five sisters. The artist left Soviet Lithuania, settled in Warsaw, and later moved to Paris; but he kept returning in his work to a city where the Great Synagogue was still standing and the Jewish quarter was bustling with activity.

Text author Vilma Gradinskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album STORIES OF LITVAK ART (2023). Compiler and author Vilma Gradinskaitė
Expositions: “Vilnius. Topophilia. Views of Vilnius from the collection of the law firm Ellex Valiunas”, 5 October – 26 November 2017, National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (curator Laima Laučkaitė) "Vilnius Time", 5 June 2023 – 1 May 2024, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curators Ieva Burbaitė and Emilija Vanagaitė.
© LATGA, Vilnius 2026