NIGHT VISIONS: Paintings from Mykolas Žilinskas (1904–1992) Collection

Dedicated to the Museum Night event, this exhibition introduces Western European paintings of the 18th – 20th centuries donated to Lithuania by an art collector Mykolas Žilinskas (1904–1992). Actually, artworks inspired by charms and mysteries of the night are rarely displayed in the gallery halls.
As a background, a motif of the night in Western European art dates back to the 14th century, but as a separate and independent genre, the nocturne spread widely in Dutch art of the 17th century. A proper illustration of this is Landscape of the Night by a follower of one of the most famous and subtle painters of night views Aert van der Neer. In the 19th-century art, the night was an important source of inspiration for romanticists who were liable to impart on their images tunes of sublime, dreamy, mystical, sometimes even sacred mood.
Worth mentioning in this context are symbolists – another group of the nocturne worshippers active at the junction of the 19th – 20th centuries. However, the motif of the night in their works usually embodies the connotation of mystery, darkness, fear, evil or sorrow. Whatsoever, the representatives of both trends – transcendental romanticists and striving to escape from the reality symbolists interpret the night as a perfect means to create an imaginary world of dreams, presentiments or fairy tales. Contrary to them, the image of the night for artists realists of the 19th – 20th centuries served to convey its spontaneous beauty.
These engaging night views not only reveal the multi-faceted nature of the night, they illustrate M. Žilinskas’ personal taste. Whatever piece of art – an impressive canvas by a famous painter or a small-format painting created by an anonymous or little-known author – it surely excited the collector’s heart and soul.


Irmantė Šarakauskienė