20th June at 2 p.m. Vaida Ragėnaitė, doctoral student of Art History and Theory, will defend her dissertation "Motives of Patriotism and Civic Resistance in the 19th Century Lithuanian Art: The Case of Kanuty Rusiecki" (Art History and Theory H 003) at Vilnius Academy of Arts, 102 auditorium (Malūnų str. 3, Vilnius).
The dissertation defence meeting will be held in Lithuanian.
The institution where the dissertation was prepared: Vilnius Academy of Arts
Doctoral supervisors:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė (2017-2023) (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003);
Prof. Dr. Helmutas Šabasevičius (2023-2024) (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003).
The dissertation will be defended in front of the Joint Academic Board of Art History and Theory of Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuanian Culture Research Institute and Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre:
Chairperson:
Dr. habil. Rūta Janonienė (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003)
Members:
Prof. dr. habil. Aleksandra Aleksandravičiūtė (Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aušrinė Cemnolonskė (Vytautas Magnus University, Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003)
Dr. Reda Griškaitė (Lithuanian Institute of History, Humanities, History H 005)
Dr. habil. Ewa Manikowska (Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Art (Poland), Humanities, Art History and Theory H 003)
Abstract
The hope to restore the former state – the Republic of Both Nations – persisted throughout the 19th century, fueling civil resistance in both Polish and Lithuanian societies. Efforts to regain independence escalated into the uprisings of 1794 led by Tadeusz Kościuszko, the 1830–1831 and 1863–1864 uprisings. These armed struggles did not liberate either Poland or Lithuania, but they fostered patriotism and unwavering resolve to regain freedom.As the repressive actions of the occupying powers intensified, the role of art only grew. Poems and paintings became weapons in the fight against the imperial policy of Russification.
Vaida Ragėnaitė's dissertation highlights, through the case study of Kanuty Rusiecki, how artworks created after the suppression of the 1830–1831 uprising encoded secret symbolic meanings that represented the ideas of patriotism and civic resistance.
__________
Credits: Kanuty Rusiecki. Reaper. 1844. Oil on canvas. 45x33. LNDM
