‘Recollections of Vilnius’ (Przypomnienie Wilna), 1837, portfolio of lithographs, cover

Vilnius. The city cordon.

Kazimierz Bachmatowicz (1803/8–1837) studied art at Vilnius University between 1823 and 1829. After graduating, he lived sometimes in Vilnius, and sometimes on the Dabraulėnai estate of his patron Count Adam Günther. He became famous as a lithographer in 1837, the last year of his life, when he created his Przypomnienie Wilna (Re collections of Vilnius), a series of lithographs printed at the printing press of Józef Oziębłowski in Vilnius. The series does not portray the city’s architecture, but consists of skilful depictions of its population in the 1830s: people of different social strata, of various ages and professions, in various settings in public spaces in the city. The cover invites the viewer into the city through the toll gate on the road towards Kaunas and Paneriai, with its two tall stone columns. They are decorated with cast-iron sculptures of Vytis, which was the official coat of arms of Vilnius during the Imperial Russian period (the sculptures were removed in 1888). It is a typical scene at the toll gate: guards are inspecting a stagecoach that has just arrived.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė

Vilnius. The city cordon.

Kazimierz Bachmatowicz (1803/8–1837) studied art at Vilnius University between 1823 and 1829. After graduating, he lived sometimes in Vilnius, and sometimes on the Dabraulėnai estate of his patron Count Adam Günther. He became famous as a lithographer in 1837, the last year of his life, when he created his Przypomnienie Wilna (Re collections of Vilnius), a series of lithographs printed at the printing press of Józef Oziębłowski in Vilnius. The series does not portray the city’s architecture, but consists of skilful depictions of its population in the 1830s: people of different social strata, of various ages and professions, in various settings in public spaces in the city. The cover invites the viewer into the city through the toll gate on the road towards Kaunas and Paneriai, with its two tall stone columns. They are decorated with cast-iron sculptures of Vytis, which was the official coat of arms of Vilnius during the Imperial Russian period (the sculptures were removed in 1888). It is a typical scene at the toll gate: guards are inspecting a stagecoach that has just arrived.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė, RES PUBLICA (2018). Compiler and author Rūta Janonienė