‘Vilnius in the Year of War 1916’, front and back covers

The book Wilna im Kriegsjahr 1916 (Vilnius in the Year of War 1916) was compiled by the young German artist Walter Buhe (1882–1958). He studied graphic art under Emil Orlik at the school of the Museum of Applied Arts in Berlin, and between 1912 and 1915 worked in the school as a teacher. During the First World War, he served in the German army on the Eastern Front. He lived in Lithuania, and visited Poland, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. He was a professor at the Leipzig Academy of Graphic Art and Book Art from 1920 to 1945, and won a gold medal at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris for his series of woodcuts ‘People of Rosendorf ’. He made etchings, woodcuts and lithographs, and illustrated books, favouring rural and folklore themes. Between 1916 and 1918, Buhe worked as an artist for the newspaper Wilnaer Zeitung (Vilnius Newspaper) and its illustrated supplement Bilderschau der Wilnaer Zeitung, which were published in Vilnius. He made hundreds of pictures of architecture and views of the city for the paper, using ink, charcoal and gouache. He compiled the book ‘Vilnius in the Year of War 1916’ from his ink drawings that had appeared in the paper, which was published by Wilnaer Zeitung. Wandering around the city, he examined it closely: the book shows life in Vilnius during the occupation.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė

The book Wilna im Kriegsjahr 1916 (Vilnius in the Year of War 1916) was compiled by the young German artist Walter Buhe (1882–1958). He studied graphic art under Emil Orlik at the school of the Museum of Applied Arts in Berlin, and between 1912 and 1915 worked in the school as a teacher. During the First World War, he served in the German army on the Eastern Front. He lived in Lithuania, and visited Poland, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. He was a professor at the Leipzig Academy of Graphic Art and Book Art from 1920 to 1945, and won a gold medal at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris for his series of woodcuts ‘People of Rosendorf ’. He made etchings, woodcuts and lithographs, and illustrated books, favouring rural and folklore themes. Between 1916 and 1918, Buhe worked as an artist for the newspaper Wilnaer Zeitung (Vilnius Newspaper) and its illustrated supplement Bilderschau der Wilnaer Zeitung, which were published in Vilnius. He made hundreds of pictures of architecture and views of the city for the paper, using ink, charcoal and gouache. He compiled the book ‘Vilnius in the Year of War 1916’ from his ink drawings that had appeared in the paper, which was published by Wilnaer Zeitung. Wandering around the city, he examined it closely: the book shows life in Vilnius during the occupation.

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album VILNIUS. TOPOPHILIA II (2015). Compiler and author Laima Laučkaitė