Dr. Joana Vitkutė
joana.vitkute[at]vda.lt
Researcher
Research interests: Lithuanian and Western secular art of the 16th–19th centuries.
Joana Vitkutė (born in Vilnius in 1996) is a Lithuanian art historian who lives and works in
Vilnius. Her field of research is the Lithuanian and Western secular art of the 16th–19th century.
In 2019, she graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts with a BA in art research, in 2020
from the Groningen University, the Netherlands, with an MA in art history. In 2021, she became a junior researcher (since 2026 – a researcher) at the Institute of Art Research at the Vilnius Academy of Arts and a curator of expositions and exhibitions at the Vilnius Picture Gallery of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. In 2026, she defended a doctoral dissertation in the humanities (art history) at the Vilnius Academy of Arts entitled ‘The Expression of the Concept of Childhood in Lithuanian Art from the Mid-18th Century to the First Half of the 19th Century.’
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Researcher and text author in the “Cultural route: via Jagielloniaca”, supervised by the Lithuanian Department of Cultural Heritage and the Vilnius Academy of Arts and held between May and December of 2017. The aim of the project was to create a list of the surviving cultural heritage objects or important places connected with the Jagiellonian dynasty and its descendants in the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (present-day Lithuania, Belarus, most of Ukraine, part of eastern Poland and part of the western Russia) for both – an academic and a tourism usage. During the project, the list more than 100 objects and prepared comprehensive descriptions for each item was compiled.
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
Exhibtion “Senses and Sensations” curated together with Gabija Kasparavičiutė-Kaminskienė (Vilnius Picture Gallery, 2024 12 05 – 2025 01 04, see: https://www.lndm.lt/jusles-ir-jausmai/?lang=en).
Exhibition “(Non)academic. Boleslovas Ruseckas (1824–1913)” curated together with Aistė Bimbirytė, Dalia Tarandaitė and Gabija Kasparavičiutė-Kaminskienė (Vilnius Picture Gallery, 2024 05 07 – 2024 10 20, see: https://www.lndm.lt/neakademikas-boleslovas-ruseckas-1824-1913/?lang=en).
Exhibition “A Foreigner Turned Native: The Multifaced Artistic Vilnius” curated together with Aistė Bimbirytė and Gabija Kasparavičiutė-Kaminskienė (Vilnius Picture Gallery, 2023 10 25 – 2024 04 21, see: https://www.lndm.lt/svetimas-tapes-savu-daugialypis-meninio-vilniaus-veidas-2/?lang=en).
Exhibition “Florentem” curated together with Aistė Bimbirytė, Dalia Tarandaitė and Ramunė Savickaitė (Vilnius Picture Gallery, 2023 05 16 – 2024 01 04, see: https://www.lndm.lt/florentem-kunstkamera/).
Exhibition “Old Masters at the Ukrainian Museums. The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts. Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery” curated together with Aistė Bimbirytė, Anna Lehedza , Anastasia Matselo, Skaistis Mikulionis, Ramunė Savickaitė, Dalia Tarandaitė and Olena Zhivkova (Vilnius Picture Gallery, 2023 04 18 – 2023 09 17, see: https://www.lndm.lt/senieji-meistrai-is-ukrainos-muzieju-nacionalinis-bohdano-ir-varvaros-chanenku-dailes-muziejus-ir-lvivo-nacionaline-boryso-voznyckio-dailes-galerija/?lang=en).
Exhibition “Vibrant Old World Profiles. 16th to 19th-Century Western European Painting from the Collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art” curated together with Tojana Račiūnaitė (Radvila Palace Museum of Art, 2023 03 16 – present, see: https://www.lndm.lt/gyvastingieji-senojo-pasaulio-profiliai-xvi-xix-a-vakaru-europos-tapyba-is-lietuvos-nacionalinio-dailes-muziejaus-rinkiniu-2/?lang=en0).
Exhibition “From the Collections of Samogitian Manors. Collection of the Samogitian Museum “Alka”” curated together with Dalia Tarandaitė and dr. Aistė Bimbirytė (Vilnius Picture Gallery, 2022 06 30 – 2023 03 05, see: https://www.lndm.lt/is-zemaitijos-dvaru-kolekciju-zemaiciu-muziejaus-alka-rinkinys/?lang=en).
Exhibition “The Worst of All Sinners”: Repentant St. Mary Magdalene by Władysław Niewiarowicz” (Vilnius Picture Galery, 2022 04-26 – 2022 12 31, see: https://www.lndm.lt/is-nusidejeliu-didziausia-vladislovo-neveraviciaus-paveikslas-atgailaujanti-sv-marija-magdaliete/?lang=en).
RESEARCH TRIPS
A research visit to the Warburg Institute in London, The United Kingdom, 2023 02 06–03 06.
PRESS / MEDIA
Interview for LRT’s programme „Labas rytas, Lietuva! [Good Morning, Lithuania!] (2025/03/01; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000395386/labas-rytas-lietuva-sestadienis-i-d – the presentation of the exhibition „Senses and Sensations“ and its educational programme.
Interview for LRT’s programme „Panorama“ (2025/01/02; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/12/2451473/simtmeciai-bandymu-ir-eksperimentu-kaip-menininkai-ismoko-jusles-perkelti-i-kurini) – the presentation of the exhibition „Senses and Sensations“.
Participation in the LRT Plius’ programme „Dėmesio! Ieškome meno“ [Attention! We’re Looking for Art] (2024/10/05; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000363220/silikono-lelininke-petruliene-mykolaicio-putino-muziejus-ir-rusecko-zmogaus-portretas?fbclid=IwY2xjawFuDQdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXJDEjS60KPy9VW1WDtSRC12jC_mvSxfAjEqOz4IZ8XPo40MI3Nkdqtmww_aem_zdp30S15tEhNTWS4gdnqSg – a presentation of Bolesław Rusiecki’s painting „Portrait of a Wife (Stefania z Karpowiczów Rusiecka)“ .
Interview for a portal bernardinai.lt (2024/07/03); internet access: https://www.bernardinai.lt/gyvenimas-daile-boleslovo-rusecko-jautrumas-ir-mecenatyste/) – the presentation of the exhibition „(Non)academic. Bolesław Rusiecki (1824–1913)“.
Interview for a portal lrt.lt (2024/06/02); internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/12/2277028/tevo-seselyje-boleslovas-ruseckas-sieke-tapybos-olimpo-nors-talentas-gludejo-kitur) – the presentation of the exhibition „(Non)academic. Bolesław Rusiecki (1824–1913)“.
Interview for LRT’s programme „Panorama“ (2024/05/10; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000340066/vilniaus-paveikslu-galerijoje-paroda-dailininko-boleslovo-rusecko-200-osioms-metinems) – the presentation of the exhibition „(Non)academic. Bolesław Rusiecki (1824–1913)“.
Participation in the LRT Plius’ programme „Dėmesio! Ieškome meno“ [Attention! We’re Looking for Art] (2023/10/07; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000296316/demesio-ieskome-meno-tapytoja-goda-lukaite-jei-visa-salis-svencia-krepsinio-pergales-sveskime-ir-kulturos-pergales) – a presentation of an unknown 18th century Polish-Lithuanian painter’s painting “A Boy with a Rose”.
The presentations of an exhibition “Vibrant Old Word Profiles” (2023/03/15-16; internet access: https://tv.lrytas.lt/zinios/lietuvos-diena/2023/03/20/news/naujas-etapas-radvilu-rumu-dailes-muziejuje-atidarymo-proga-dvi-isskirtines-tapytoju-parodos-26487988; https://fb.watch/k3Lnb_bb4T/ or https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000263789/pakeliui-su-klasika-kaip-siandien-suvokiame-knygnesio-diena-ir-knygnesystes-reiskini?fbclid=IwAR1ufN_lmZMCNbKDsOXVecO3CGMWur5QGtxCtehGn0JjKAX8xN9feUt1T18).
Participation in the LRT’s programme „Istorijos detektyvai‘‘ [The Mysteries of History] (2022/09/26; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000232803/istorijos-detektyvai-kaip-xix-a-vilniuje-atsirado-papugos-ir-patiekalai-lietuvoje-gaminti-pries-3-tukst-metu) – a presentation of the fragment from Kazimierz Bachmatowic’s lithography cycle “The Memory of Vilnius”.
Participation in the LRT’s programme „Istorijos detektyvai‘‘ [The Mysteries of History] (2022/09/04; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000230888/istorijos-detektyvai-danielius-lupshitzas-sunkiausias-dalykas-kariuomeneje-laukimas) – a presentation of Wincenty Smokowsky’s painting “The Rebel of 1830–1831’s Uprising Receives a Pilgrim’s Staff from the Angel”.
Participation in the LRT Plius’ programme laidoje „Dėmesio! Ieškome meno“ [Attention! We’re Looking for Art] (2022/09/03; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000230315/demesio-ieskome-meno-paslaptis-saugantis-vilniaus-namas-uzupyje-ir-meniniam-gyvenimui-prikeltas-laivas) – a presentation of Władysław Niewiarowicz’s painting “Repentant St. Mary Magdalene”.
Interview for LRT’s programme „Panorama“ (2022/04/26; internet access: https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/12/1681600/vilniuje-ypatingam-paveikslui-skirta-paroda-kartais-net-pavadinamas-lietuviskaja-mona-liza) – the presentation of the exhibition “The Worst of All Sinners” : Repentant St. Mary Magdalene by Władysław Niewiarowicz”.
Interview for a news portal “15 min” (2018/11/18; internet access: https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/istorija/per-lietuva-jogailaiciu-keliu-zinomos-vietos-nustebins-atradimais-582-1060944) – the presentation of a project “Cultural route: via Jagielloniaca” and its findings.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles
„Tarp meno ir mokslo: augalijos pasaulis kaip XIX a. moters saviraiškos erdvė“ [Between Art and Science: The World of Vegetation as a Space for the Artistic Expression of a 19th-Century Lithuanian Woman], in: Florentem, edited by Aistė Bimbirytė, Joana Vitkutė (Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2025), 150–171.
„Buduaras“ [„Boudoir“], in: Florentem, edited by Aistė Bimbirytė, Joana Vitkutė (Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2025), 148–149.
„The Romanticism of Family Life in Lithuanian Portraiture of the Early Nineteenth Century“, in: Depicting Emotions in Eastern and Central Europe (1200–1900), edited by Silvia Marin Barutcieff, Pisa: Astarte edizioni, 2024, p. 93–110; https://www.academia.edu/117684457/The_Romanticism_of_Family_Life_in_Lithuanian_.
Summary: The sociocultural changes driven by the Enlightenment, Biedermeier and Romanticism periods that rolled over Europe in the late 18th–early 19th century anchored the concept of childhood as one of the main stages in a person’s life and caused a shift in the model of family itself. The expansion of a more private small family was inevitably having an impact on the art of portrait capturing this particular home idyll. The article deals with four family pictures made by Lithuanian artists in the first half of the 19th century which serve as a sensitive illustration of the period’s family relations in Lithuania.
„Kasdienos dalyviai ir valstybės ateities kūrėjai: vaiko vaizdinys Pranciškaus Smuglevičiaus kūryboje“, [The Participants of Everyday and the Creators of the Future of the State: The Image of the Child in the Works of Franciszek Smuglewicz] in: XVIII amžiaus studijos, t. 9, Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė. Parlamentarizmas. Konstitucija. Visuomenė [Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 9: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Parliamentarianism. Constitution. Society], edited by Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė, Vilnius: Lietuvos istorijos institutas, 2023, p. 261–289; https://www.academia.edu/114240650/Kasdienos_dalyviai_ir_valstyb%C4%97s_ateities_.
Summary: The history of art in Vilnius at the turn of the eighteenth-nineteenth century is unimaginable without the person of Franciszek Smuglewicz (1745–1807). His creative and educational activities attracted a great deal of attention, but one aspect of his artistic work – the depiction of the child in his secular paintings – has not been really discussed. The main aim of this article is to identify and define more precisely the directions and nature of the depiction of secular childhood that emerges in Smuglewicz’s work. The works, relevant to this study, are divided into four thematic categories – mythological, historical, reflecting the artist’s period of life, and images of the characters of the little ones, relevant to the theme of citizenship. Although children were not the main object of Smuglewicz’s artistic studies, he often captured them as auxiliary figures, giving additional meanings to the plot. The educational, didactic aspect of childhood as an essential stage of human life was particularly important for the artist. In the canvases that capture the history of the past and the painter’s lifetime, more than one character of the little one draws fundamental values from his environment and thus creates the potential for a bright future for the state. For Smuglewicz, the child is not only an integral participant in myths, history, and civic processes, but also in everyday life, and thus in life in general. Because children have always been, are, and will always be around us.
„Prakalbinti aplinką: XVII a. – XVIII a. pabaigos vaikų portretų atributika“ [Let the Environment Speak: Attributes in Children’s Portraiture of the Seventeenth – Late Eighteenth Century], in: Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, t. 110–111: Vaizdas ir daiktas: ištakos, funkcijos, pėdsakai [Vol. 110–111: Image and Thing: Origins, Functions, Traces], edited by Giedrė Mickūnaitė, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademijos leidykla, 2023, p. 363–397; https://leidykla.vda.lt/lt/leidinys/1293521618/acta-academiae-artium-vilnensis-110e28093111?fbclid=IwAR1SqJx4_BVClR7qz4TO1m_Va8GqEdVMKGhPoMMoUuz3vCmTzLAb-A9cey0.
Summary: It is difficult to imagine early secular portraits without one of their key constituent elements – attributes. Objects, animals, wardrobe elements, and other details that were depicted in representational and intimate compositions had to express as accurately as possible the social status, hobbies, or even character traits of the portrayed person, thus testifying to how that person sought to present themselves, and at the same time to record how others wished to see them. The latter circumstance is particularly evident in children’s portraits. For many centuries, children’s portraits, commissioned by their parents, guardians or other relatives, and usually modelled after adult portraits, primarily performed the functions of consolidating the family status and embodying the expectations placed on the offspring. Today, attributes seen in portraits can help us to trace these expectations. The subject of the article is six characteristic portraits of children from the seventeenth to the late eighteenth centuries by local and international artists held in the collections of Lithuanian museums. Examining their iconography and, above all, their attributive symbolism, the author of the article seeks to verbalise the gradually changing image of interpretation and representation of childhood captured in these paintings.
„Miegas, mitai ir alegorijos paveiksle Amūras iš Lietuvos nacionalinio dailės muziejaus kolekcijos“ [Sleep, Myths and Allegories in the Painting “Amor'” from the Collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art], in: Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, t. 106: Vizijos, legendos ir sapnai mene [Vol. 106: Visions, Legends and Dreams in Art], edited by Rūta Janonienė, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademijos leidykla, 2022, p. 45–77; https://leidykla.vda.lt/lt/leidinys/1293521618/acta-academiae-artium-vilnensis-106.
Summary: Enveloped in mystery and provoking imagination, the world of sleep and dreams has been a rich source of inspiration for artists since the earliest times. The cornerstones of the secular iconography of sleep in Western art were laid by classical Greek and Roman culture. In the course of centuries, quite a few adventures of gods, goddesses and heroes described in classical myths and other works of literature of that time inspired many artworks interpreting the mythological heritage, which were in some way related to rest or dreams. There is an example of such work in Lithuania as well – the collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art (hereinafter referred to as LNMA) boasts an image of the sleeping mythical god of love Amor, created by an unknown artist after the 1729 painting by the French painter François Lemoyne (1688–1737) possibly in the 18th century or the first half of the 19th century, and the search for the history and meaning of the iconography of this work is the main subject of this article.
„Guide me so that I can imitate you“: Revisiting the Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s Julie Le Brun Looking in the Mirror“, in: International Journal of Arts, Humanities & Social Science, Vol. 03 Issue No. 1 (January 2022), pp. 68–79; https://www.ijahss.net/paper/238.
„Pavidalas ar kūnas? Dailėtyrinės Berniuko su rože ištarmės“ [Shape or body? The art theoretical reflections on “Boy with a Rose”], in: Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, t. 96: Kaukė ir veidas: atvaizdo istorijos aspektai, sudarė Tojana Račiūnaitė, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademijos leidykla, 2020, p. 141–162; http://leidykla.vda.lt/lt/leidinys/1293521618/acta-academiae-artium-vilnensis-96 or https://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/object/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2020~1598126652922/.
Summary: As we look into the classical portraits of the old, we can never be certain of the true identities of the depicted figures. Not only was the portrait meant to represent client’s social status, it often had to act as a substitute – i.e., it had to be a time-defying medium that offered the future generations a particular form of self-representation. Such pictorial representations that were extending the no longer living subjects into the future were nothing short of masks determined by their social environments and constructed with the help of the artist’s brush. Back then, these masks were also worn by the minors. “Boy with a Rose” depicts an unidentified infant nobleman of the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania, and is one such example. Held in the collection of the Samogitian Museum “Alka” and acquired from the Plateliai estate archives, the portrait by an unknown painter dates back to the second half of the 18th century. The clothing of the noble child combines both Western and local elements; carabella, a nobleman’s sword hanging from the waist, is a distinct example of the latter and is part of the social mask imposed on the boy. Although the specific purpose of “Boy with a Rose” remains unclear, it appears that, apart from being merely representational, the portrait might have functioned as a memorial portrait for the family. This is supported by the absence of inscriptions, which implied that the family were able to identify the child through the main element of a portrait – namely, boy’s face. In this context, “Boy with a Rose” leaves us pondering whether the portrait was made while the boy was still alive.
Books
Florentem, sudarė / edited by Aistė Bimbirytė, Joana Vitkutė, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2025.
Summary: From May 2023 to January 2024, the Vilnius Picture Gallery of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art hosted the exhibition 'Florentem', which invited visitors to immerse themselves in the colourful and mysterious world of nature. Drawing together over 150 exhibits from 17 Lithuanian and foreign institutions and private collections, the exhibition unfurled into a blooming and verdant narrative, weaving together the 16th to the early 20th centuries. The companion publication 'Florentem' goes beyond the confines of a conventional exhibition catalogue. Within its pages, next to the list of exhibits, four curators have cultivated scholarly articles that delve deep into the exhibition’s central themes: the origins of botanical science in Lithuania, the aesthetics of manor and city parks, flora in religious and secular art, and nature as a sanctuary for women’s creative expression. It is hoped that even after the exhibition’s conclusion, the book will remain an evergreen and engaging companion for everyday studies of nature, art and science.
Gyvastingieji senojo pasaulio profiliai. XVI–XIX a. Vakarų Europos tapyba iš Lietuvos nacionalinio dailės muziejaus rinkinių, leidinio sudarytojos Tojana Račiūnaitė ir Joana Vitkutė, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2023. / Vibrant Old World Profiles. 16th to 19th-century Western European Painting from the Collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, edited by Tojana Račiūnaitė and Joana Vitkutė, Vilnius: Lithuanian National Museum of Art, 2023.
Summary: The book is dedicated to the analysis and representation of some of the most valuable Western European paintings in the collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, that make up the renewed exposition at one of the museum’s branches the Radvila Palace Museum of Art. The display and the structure of the book consists of ten thematic sections: Choices and Oaths, Labour, Feasts, Fights, Journeys and Discoveries, Religious Passion, Lust and Temptation, The Natural Elements, Visions and Meetings, and Sleep, Vigil, Death. The main expectation of the book and the display itself is that these iconographically and intuitively assembled groupings will enable paintings to speak to the viewer more directly, loudly and suggestively and will provide a new view of old, yet still living, world profiles.
„Iš nusidėjėlių didžiausia“: Vladislovo Neveravičiaus paveikslas „Atgailaujanti šv. Marija Magdalietė“ / „The Worst of All Sinners“. Repentant St. Mary Magdalene by Władysław Niewiarowicz, publication editor and text author Joana Vitkutė, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2022, ISBN 978-609-426-166-4.
Summary: Very few works of the old Lithuanian art are known for such immense popularity and enthusiastic response by the contemporaries as the “Repentant St. Mary Magdalene” by Władysław Niewiarowicz. The depiction of the saint created following the work of the Belgian painter Jean Baptiste Lodewijk Maes (1794–1856) was not just a mere copy. Niewiarowicz’s painting is a masterfully executed interpretation that fascinates the viewers even today. The book presents the history of the work and the biography ofits author and is divided into six parts: “Władysław Niewiarowicz”; “About the Painting”; “The Creation of the Painting”; “The Reception of the Painting by the Contemporaries”; “Repentant St. Mary Magdalene in Vilnius” and “A Painting that Inspired the Artists”.
Scholarly publications in non-peer-reviewed journals
Aistė Bimbirytė, Ramunė Savickaitė, Dalia Tarandaitė, Joana Vitkutė, „Projektas „In natura veritas“: parodos „Florentem“ ir „Kunstkamera“ Vilniaus paveikslų galerijoje“ [The “In natura veritas” Project: the Exhibitions Florentem and Kunstkamera at the Vilnius Picture Gallery], in: Lietuvos nacionalinio dailės muziejaus metraštis, t. 25, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2024, p. 43–51.
Aistė Bimbirytė, Dalia Tarandaitė, Joana Vitkutė, „Iš Žemaitijos dvarų kolekcijų. Žemaičių muziejaus „Alka“ rinkinys“ [From the Collections of Samogitian Manors. Collection of the Samogitian Museum “Alka”], in: Lietuvos nacionalinio dailės muziejaus metraštis, t. 24, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2023, p. 261–267.
Summary: An exhibition opened on June 30, 2022 at the Vilnius Picture Gallery dedicated to the collections of Samogitian manors, which became possible due to the large scale modernisation of the Alka Samogitian Museum’s exposition and buildings currently underway. This exposition was the first time the art treasures from Samogitian manors were presented in Vilnius. The works were displayed according to seven thematic segments, the manors and owners to whom they belonged, in an attempt to highlight the character and value of this collection. It included treasures from the manors of the Ogiński, Plater, Choiseul-Gouffier, Górscy and other magnates and nobles in Samogitia (Žemaitija). During the course of organising this exhibition, we managed to clarify the titles of a number of paintings and explain the narratives more consistently in the accompanying labels. The exhibition was an excellent opportunity to use photographs and memoirs as part of the art history research alongside the exhibits themselves, thereby not only enriching the exhibition material but to also provide greater context to staff and viewers, re-establishing a type of communication with Lithuanian manor culture and the people who played a part in its creation and development.
Aistė Bimbirytė, Joana Vitkutė, „Iš Nusidėjėlių didžiausia“: Vladislovo Neveravičiaus paveikslas atgailaujanti šv. Marija Magdalietė“ [‘The Worst of All Sinners’: Repentant St Mary Magdalene by Władysław Niewiarowicz], in: Lietuvos nacionalinio dailės muziejaus metraštis, t. 24, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2023, p. 268–272.
Summary: The Vilnius Picture Gallery realised a two exhibition project funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture in 2022 titled “llusorium. Connection of the Epochs”, which presented work by authors from different epochs – Władysław Niewiarowicz (1814–1891) and Patricija Jurkšaitytė (b. 1968). The exhibition The Worst of All Sinners, housed in four chamber-like temporary exhibition spaces, was formed as a narrative about one of the Niewiarowicz’s most famous works, Repentant St Mary Magdalene. Surviving material about the period of its creation and exposition became key threads in this narrative, along with the fact that the painting was a replica of another author’s work – it was painted after a work by the same name by a famous Belgian artist of the day, Jean Baptiste Lodewijk Maes (1794–1856). A bilingual publication by curator Joana Vitkutė accompanied the exhibition, which presented a comprehensive account of the story behind the painting’s creation and reception. This was a very successful project which not only attracted a large number of visitors but also received positive reviews in the press and public space.
„„Gyvastingieji senojo pasaulio profiliai“: parodos idėja ir netikėtos eksponatų istorijos“ [‘Vibrant Old World Profiles’: The Idea for the Exhibition and Some Unexpected Stories Behind the Exhibits], in: Krantai, 2023, Nr. 3, ISSN 0235–6384, p. 16–19; https://www.academia.edu/103769232/Gyvastingieji_senojo_pasaulio_profiliai_parodos_id%C4%97ja_.
Summary: On 16 March 2023, the Radvila Palace Art Museum inaugurated the exhibition ‘Vibrant Old World Profiles’, the long and eagerly awaited display of Western European paintings from the collection of the Lithuanian National Art Museum, in the southern wing of the palace built by Jonušas Radvila (Janusz Radziwiłł, 1612–1655, a former voivode of Vilnius and hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania). In this article, one of the curators, talks about the idea behind the exhibition, and presents an intriguing aspect of it, a series of landscapes depicting the four seasons that are exhibited together here for the first time.
„Vincento Smakausko pėdsakas Latvijoje“ [Vincentas Smakauskas’ Footprint in Latvia], in: Krantai, 2022, Nr. 4, ISSN 0235–6384, p. 20–25; https://www.academia.edu/93553676/Vincento_Smakausko_p%C4%97dsakas_Latvijoje_Vincentas_Smakauskas_Footprint_in_Latvia.
Summary: Visiting Latvia at the beginning of August, I had a pleasant surprise at the Ģederts Eliass (1887–1975) Museum of History and Art in Jelgava (until 1917, Mituva/Mintauja, in German Mitau). On entering the main hall of the handsome building, visitors were greeted unexpectedly by the large-scale battle canvas “Surrender at Vilagos in 1849'' by the famous Lithuanian painter, graphic artist and physician Vincentas Smakauskas (Wincenty Smokowski, 1797–1876)! How did this impressive work, which had weathered much over the years but was later restored, end up in Jelgava? What is its story? The article tries to find the answers using a careful study carried out by Saiva Kuple, a restorer at the Ģederts Eliass Museum, and her colleagues, which, although published in 2018, has not yet reached all lovers of old art in our country.
„Iššūkiai ir atradimai: vienam paveikslui skirta paroda“ [Challenges and Discoveries. An Exhibition of a single painting], in: Krantai, 2022, Nr. 3, ISSN 0235–6384, p. 30–35; https://www.academia.edu/87565496/I%C5%A1%C5%A1%C5%ABkiai_ir_atradimai_vienam_paveikslui_.
Summary: Since 26 April 2022, the Vilnius Picture Gallery (Vilniaus paveikslų galerija) has hosted an exhibition ‘The Worst of All Sinners: Repentant St. Mary Magdalene by Władysław Niewiarowicz”. In this article, the curator Joana Vitkutė reviews the ideas, aims and public response to the exhibition.
„Įamžinti vaikystę: vieno Jeano-Baptiste’o Greuze’o paveikslo istorija“ [To Capture Childhood: the Story of a Painting by Jean-Baptiste Greuze], in: Krantai, 2022, Nr. 2, ISSN 0235–6384, p. 8–13; https://www.academia.edu/81550228/%C4%AEam%C5%BEinti_vaikyst%C4%99_vieno_Jeano_Baptiste_o_Greuze_o_paveikslo_istorija.
Summary: In the rich collection of historic paintings at the “Alka” Samogitian Museum, the painting “Children”, attributed to the famous 18th-century French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805), stands out by its special subtlety and luminosity. A deeper look by the art researcher Joana Vitkutė, at the artist and this work, which once hung in the Oginskis family’s mansion in Rietavas, not only helps to clarify the name and the theme of the composition, but also reveals changes in the concept and the iconography of childhood reflected in the work
„Šiek tiek apie „ruisdeliškus“ krioklius, Arba vieno peizažo iš Lietuvos nacionalinio dailės muziejaus kolekcijos rebusai“ [A Little Bit about the “ruisdaelian” waterfalls, Or a Riddle of One Landscape from the Collection of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art], 2021-06-25, in: 7md.lt, Nr. 25 (1390); https://www.7md.lt/tarp_disciplinu/2021-06-25/Siek-tiek-apie-ruisdeliskus-krioklius.
„Postmoderni Nyderlandų Šiaurės Simfonija, arba Apie Groningeno muziejų“ [Postmodern Symphony of the Northern Netherlands, Or about the Groninger Museum], in: Krantai, 2020, Nr. 4, ISSN 0235–6384, p. 22–25; https://kranturedakcija.lt/zurnalas-krantai/2020-nr-4/.
Summary: The city of Groningen in the north of the Kingdom of the Netherlands hosts the Groningen Museum, which is one of the most impressive examples of postmodern public architecture of the end of the 20th century. Joana Vitkutė, who graduated this year with an MA in History of Art from the University of Groningen, takes a close look at the history of this extraordinary building, and talks to Andreas Blühm, the director of the museum, about the everyday challenges confronting this impressive institution.
„Pijaus Tiškevičiaus portreto intriga“ [Pius Tyszkiewicz’s Portrait Intrigue], in: Krantai, 2019, Nr. 1, ISSN 0235–6384, p. 17–21; http://kranturedakcija.lt/krantai-2019-nr-1 or https://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/object/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2019~1593756025050/.
Summary: The most distinctive members of the 19th-century Tyszkiewicz family are possibly the brothers Konstanty (1806–1868) and Eustachy (1814–1873), historians, writers, collectors, and pioneers of professional Lithuanian archaeology and museology. However, the art historian Joana Vitkutė does not write about the famous brothers here. Instead, she writes about their father, Count Pius Tyszkiewicz (1756–1858), and his portrait by Jan Rustem (1762–1835), which is now held in the Vilnius Picture Gallery.
„Ką pasakoja Vilniaus vaikai“ [What Vilnius children says], in: Krantai, 2018, Nr. 1, ISSN 0235–6384, p. 47–49; https://kranturedakcija.lt/zurnalas-krantai/2018-nr-1/ or https://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/object/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2018~1592665600231/.
Summary: How did people in Vilnius live just over a hundred years ago, when Lithuania was exhausted by the First World War, and the historic date of 16 February 1918 was fast approaching? It turns out that quite a lot is said by “Vilnius Children (Famine in Vilnius)”, painted in 1917 by Stanisław Bohusz-Siestrzeńcewicz (1869–1927), who loved the city dearly. The painting is now on display at the National Gallery of Art, and is analysed by the young researcher Joana Vitkutė.
„Lietuviškoji Mona Liza“ [The Lithuanian Mona Lisa], 2018-05-18, in: 7md.lt, Nr. 20 (1257); https://www.7md.lt/daile/2018-05-18/Lietuviskoji-Mona-Liza or http://m-puslapiai.7md.lt/daile/2018-05-18/Lietuviskoji-Mona-Liza.
„Itališkojo juoko mįslė“ [The Riddle of the Italian Laughter], 2018-03-02, in: 7md.lt, Nr. 9 (1246); https://www.7md.lt/daile/2018-03-02/Italiskojo-juoko-misle or http://m-puslapiai.7md.lt/daile/2018-03-02/Italiskojo-juoko-misle.
„Apie istoriją Vincento Smakausko paveikslo istorijoje“ [About the History in the History of the Painting by Wincenty Smokowsky], 2018-01-05, in: 7md.lt, Nr. 1 (1238); https://www.7md.lt/daile/2018-01-05/Apie-istorija-Vincento-Smakausko-paveikslo-istorijoje or http://m-puslapiai.7md.lt/daile/2018-01-05/Apie-istorija-Vincento-Smakausko-paveikslo-istorijoje.
Other publications
Vilnius Picture Gallery, edited by Aistė Bimbirytė, Gabija Kasparavičiutė-Kaminskienė, Joana Vitkutė, translated by Raminta Bumbulytė, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2025.
Vilniaus paveikslų galerija [Vilnius Picture Gallery], edited by Aistė Bimbirytė, Gabija Kasparavičiutė-Kaminskienė, Joana Vitkutė, Vilnius: Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus, 2024.
„Ustronės Atsiskyrėlis: įamžinęs ir įamžintas“ [The Hermit of Ustronė: the One Who Depicted and the One Who Was Depicted], in: Laikraštis „Gyvenimas“, Nr. 58 (10601), 2023-07-29 (I part (p. 3–4: https://www.gyvenimas.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/gyvenimas_07_29.pdf) ir Nr. 60 (10603) 2023-08-05 (II part (p. 4, 6: https://www.gyvenimas.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/gyvenimas_08_05.pdf).
Joana Vitkutė, Sigita Maslauskaitė-Mažylienė, Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, Rokas Dovydėnas, Natalija Arlauskaitė, Agnė Narušytė, Monika Krikštopaitytė, „Kas įsiminė 2021-aisiais dailės ir fotografijos puslapių autoriams?“ [What Stuck in the Minds of the Art and Photography Pages’ Authors during the Year of 2021?], 2021-12-24, in: 7md.lt, Nr. Nr. 42 (1407), https://www.7md.lt/tarp_disciplinu/2021-12-24/Kas-isimine-2021-aisiais-dailes-puslapiu-autoriams.
Conferences
A presentation „Lietuviškasis maternité atvejis: Sofijos Jelskytės-Terebešienės su dukrele Kotryna portretas“ [The Lithuanian case of maternité: The portrait of Zofia z Jelskich Terebeszowa, with her daughter Katarzyna], presented at an academic conference “The Perception and Depiction of Age in Culture”, organized by the Vilnius Academy of Arts’ Institute of Art Research and held on the 16-17th of May 2019.
A presentation „Vaiko vaizdinys Pranciškaus Smuglevičiaus kūryboje“ [The Image of a Child in the oeuvre of Franciszek Smuglewicz], presented at an international academic conference “Vilnius – the Capital City of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania”, organized by The National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Institute of History and held on the 1st-2nd of December 2022.
A presentation (“Shape or body? The art theoretical reflections on “Boy with a Rose””) prsented in an academic conference “A Mask and a Face: The Aspects of the Theory and History of an Image”, organized by the Vilnius Academy of Arts’ Institute of Art Research and held on the 16-17th of May 2019.
Open Lectures
An open lecture „Švenčių džiaugsmai ir rūpesčiai, arba apie nežinomo XVIII a. vokiečių dailininko diptichą iš Lietuvos nacionalinio dailės muziejaus kolekcijos (paveikslai „Gegužinė“ ir „Muštynės prie smuklės“)“ [The Joys and Troubles of the Feasts, or about the Diptych “May Feast” and “Brawl at the Tavern” by the Unkown 18th Century German Artist], read at the Radvila Palace Museum of Art in Vilnius on the 28th of July 2023.
A presentation „Ustronės Atsiskyrėlis: įamžinęs ir įamžintas“ [The Hermit of Ustronė: the One Who Depicted and the One Who Was Depicted], presented at the 18th Readings of Stanisław Morawski “Stanisław Morawski and Art” held in Birštonas on the 21st of July 2023: https://www.birstonasvb.lt/stanislovas-moravskis-ir-daile/.
An open lecture „Prancūzų dailė Lietuvoje: vieno paveikslo istorija“ [French Art in Lithuania: the History of One Painting], read in Vilnius Picture Gallery together with dr. Aistė Bimbirytė on the 22nd of March 2022.
