M. K. Čiurlionis in 10 Artworks—The Lithuanian Visionary

M. K. Čiurlionis (1875–1911), the famous Lithuanian artist, was a Renaissance man—he became a professional composer in 1901, got his music teacher license in 1902, and then turned to painting, developing a style that combined Symbolism, Abstraction, and Neo-Romanticism. Starting from 1892, Čiurlionis created over 400 musical pieces, more than 200 paintings (most made in the short span of 1903–1909), left around 40 photos, 30 graphic works, 20 fluorine etchings and monotypes, and over 600 sketches. Being fascinated with all that life had to offer, he delved not only into the arts but also explored history, numismatics, astronomy, and theology. So, if we would choose just 10 artworks to get to know this polymath, these are the best ones to start with.

1. Profiles with Accolades, 1903

M. K. Čiurlionis, first and foremost, was a composer, a musical prodigy. Starting from playing the piano by ear at the age of five to sight-reading music at the age of seven, his talent for music was quickly discovered. He first studied in the Mikolas Oginskis Orchestra School in Plungė, then pursued a degree of composer at the Warsaw Institute of Music (1849–1899) and later received his music teacher’s license from the Royal Conservatory of Leipzig (1902).

While he started to paint soon after his musical studies (professing that no career can tie down a free-spirited person), music was still very important to him. The testament to this is his symphonic poem The Sea, which he started after his painting studies in 1903 and finished in 1907. Čiurlionis composed two symphonic poems—In the Forest (dedicated to his best friend from Warsaw—Eugeniusz Morawski) and The Sea, dedicated to his sponsor Bronisława Wolman. Čiurlionis’ music is dreamlike, inviting us to rethink traditional forms, bringing awe from listeners all over the world.

Finished in 1907, this version of The Sea features accolades (painted faces on the sides of the notes) that change depending on the mood of the music. It is proof that Čiurlionis was set on combining his talents, and, by some musicologist accounts, transferred picturesqueness into his musical compositions as well.

2. Serenity, 1903–1904

Ever since Čiurlionis started painting, he delved into Symbolism. One of his most mysterious works is Serenity, which has three painted variations (two are kept in the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Arts, and one is lost, with the last known location in Ukraine). Čiurlionis talked about silence and how it could be refreshing but also threatening, as in the quiet hours, it can become like a looming monster waiting to attack. He has transferred these feelings into a psychological landscape using an island with two fires reflecting in the water. The fires remind us of eyes, always present on the viewer, following every move, while the whole island reminds us of Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead, a beloved painting from one of Čiurlionis’ artist followers.

3. Rex. Diptych for Stained Glass, 1904

As Čiurlionis started to paint, some of his projects were dedicated to stained glass projects, most of which were dedicated to religious themes—Jehovah, Rex, and Moses. An interesting twist comes from the cycle Rex. Diptych for Stained Glass, as the creator is molding a human figure, and later, the man is sculpting a God-like figure from the stone. The topic of human creation and the relation of humanity to Rex—the overall mystical ruler of the world—interested Čiurlionis from the start of his painting career.

The projects for stained glass differ from later Čiurlionis works as they employ stark contrasting colors, which soften in the further creations. As his symbolic style developed, Čiurlionis stopped relying on bright colors to get the message across and instead placed deliberate symbols. He also preferred painting in cycles, as one painting was often not enough to express his ideas.

4. Steps in the Rocks, 1905

Čiurlionis was a curious person, so it’s no wonder that when photography became available, he was quick to try it out. As it was customary at the time, he not only took pictures but developed them himself, later cutting out and arranging fragments of the developed photos artistically. He is considered to be one of the first representatives of artistic photography in Lithuania for his album from Anapa (a seaside resort in Russia), created in 1905.

He visited Anapa because of his sponsor Bronisława Wolman, who invited him and a few of his friends to rest at the seaside with her family. Čiurlionis explored the city and spent hours painting the sea and hiking mountains, which he became fascinated with. After Anapa, we can find a lot of mountain motifs in Čiurlionis’ paintings.

5. Sketch for the Curtain of the Opera Jūratė, 1908

In 1907, Čiurlionis met his future wife—Sofija Kymantaitė (later Čiurlionienė-Kymantaitė). It was love at first sight, producing not only many letters and creative discussions but also projects. While he was working on music and painting, Sofija was working on her writing—she wrote articles for the press about Lithuania and creative pieces. The couple would not only discuss each other’s work but also critique it and uplift each other.

They dreamed of creating an opera together about Jūratė—a Baltic sea goddess who fell in love with a fisherman. Čiurlionis loved the story as he was keen on presenting Lithuanian myths in a modern way. Not only that, he started projecting himself and Sofija as the protagonists of the story. He was set on creating the melody and the decorations for the set while Sofija was busy with the libretto. The project never came to fruition, but we can get a few glimpses of the artwork in the sketches, as well as some melodies written in the letters.

6. Sonata no. 6 (Sonata of the Stars), 1908

From the beginning of his painting career, Čiurlionis searched for a way to incorporate music and rhythm into his artworks. Starting in 1907, he produced seven musical-visual cycles—Sonatas. These Sonatas followed the musical forms of actual sonatas,  having the four parts of allegro, andante, scherzo, and finale, and also incorporating the musical structure in the paintings. Sonata no. 6 (Sonata of the Stars) is the shortest cycle of the Sonatas, but one of the most colorful as it explores rhythm in the cosmos.

Čiurlionis was deeply interested in the cosmos and its research. He followed the writings of Camille Flammarion, Immanuel Kant, and Pierre Simon-Laplace and incorporated their findings and ideas in his paintings through his lens of mythology, Theosophy, and Lithuanian folklore. In Sonata no. 6 (Sonata of the Stars), he explored what happens beyond the Milky Way—a place which, according to Lithuanian folklore, spirits of the dead would travel to, following migrating birds in the autumn. Čiurlionis created a fantasy world in which the highest plane is guarded by angels who are listening to pleas. The subtle rhythm is a testament to his background in music, and while at first glance it seems to overflow with shapes and lines, a closer look reveals solid structure as if following musical notes.

7. The Offering, 1908

Fluorine etching, a technique developed and used mostly in Krakow and Warsaw, captured Čiurlionis’ attention regardless of its use of dangerous chemicals. This technique produced quite fragile results, but it didn’t stop Čiurlionis from trying to perfect it, as he did with other techniques and themes of his artworks.

The Offering could be a prime example of his search for the perfect medium to showcase his ideas. For this, he created sketches, a painting, fluorine etchings, and an Indian ink composition. Čiurlionis experimented with different compositions, changing the direction the angel is looking, the movement of the smoke, the number of steps, and other details in the rest of the painting. Once again, he placed an angel in the middle, as an intermediary between the mortal and divine—we can see that by the stairs on the left. The white and black smoke could be an allegory for Cain and Abel’s story or a choice for which the angel is being asked for help.

8. Vignette (Ships), 1909

At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was swept by a wave of Japonism. The Japanese woodcuts fascinated Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, and the art traveled to Poland, where it was collected by art benefactor Felix Jasieński. Looking at delicate Čiurlionis lines, especially in graphic works, we can be pretty sure that he was inspired by the engravings. Moreover, it is known that Felix Jasieński hosted quite a few exhibitions of his collections, some of which were in Warsaw, the city where Čiurlionis studied.

The graphic lines twirl as if they are producing a secret code, understandable only to the artist. Čiurlionis loved creating ciphers (he even created a special alphabet for his family) and hiding small symbols and messages in his sketches and paintings. The ships are one of the most common symbols used in Čiurlionis works, often symbolizing journeys, generally not physical, but spiritual and psychological.

9. Rex, 1909

Rex, the biggest painting Čiurlionis has ever made, is the epitome of his artistic journey and collected symbols, as proclaimed by the painter himself. Reminiscent of Camille Flammarion’s enigmatic engraving (an astronomer whose writing Čiurlionis read and mentioned a lot in his letters), the painting is divided into spheres, coinciding with Flammarion’s writings on different planes of ascension before reaching the highest self. In Čiurlionis’ work, the highest plane is reserved for the purest beings—angels who are guarding the world.

The painting, so full of details and symbols, could be studied for hours. It draws the viewer in with a burning altar, possibly the Altar of Art, which was mentioned in Čiurlionis letters as the place where all artists end up sacrificing themselves. The altar is surrounded by mountains and spheres, full of rivers, suns, and comets. In the middle, there are two figures on thrones, bringing us back to the questions of the Creator/Ruler/Rex that Čiurlionis searched for. To add to the mystery, the presence of two figures can have a few meanings. Is the dark figure just a shadow cast from the altar, or is it meant to imply something far more sinister?

10. Ships, 1909–1910

While Čiurlionis spent most of his time in Poland and Lithuania, he traveled to Czechia, Austria, and Germany, where he explored the works by Anthony van Dyck, Rembrandt, Arnold Böcklin, and others. We know from his letters that he knew about Impressionism taking over France, but as he said, he was still not sure about the future of this style. As Čiurlionis’ own style developed, in some of the artworks, we see a new technique emerging, like Pointillism, which formed following the laws of optics.

The first attempts at this style are visible in Fairytale (Fortress Fairytale), but the most prominent use of this technique can be found in Ships. In the painting, there are many symbols that Čiurlionis focused on in his art—forests, the sun, angels, ships, and geometrical shapes. The painting seems to return to the very bright and colorful roots of the artist as he explores creating the background with colorful dots. Since it was the last painting created by Čiurlionis, we cannot say for sure if this was just an attempt at a new technique, an advanced sketch, or perhaps a turn towards a new style.

It is almost impossible to convey Čiurlionis’ philosophy through only a few artworks as he explored a plethora of techniques, themes, and motives. But we can say one thing for sure—he was a visionary, a fruitful composer, and a painter who was not afraid to try new things. He had more ideas than he could realize, and the ones that came to fruition bring endless theories and interpretations.

Author’s bio:

Greta Katkeviciene is an employee of M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Arts, with a goal to introduce the undiscovered genius that was M. K. Čiurlionis to the world.