Everything about Mikalojus Konstantinas Iurlionis totally explained
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (in
Old Varėna— in
Pustelnik near
Warsaw) was a
Lithuanian
painter and
composer and perhaps the most famous Lithuanian artist of all time. Čiurlionis contributed to
symbolism and
art nouveau and was representative of the
fin de siécle epoch. During his short life he composed about 250 pieces of music and created about 300 paintings. The majority of his paintings are housed in the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, in
Kaunas,
Lithuania. His works have had a profound influence on modern Lithuanian culture. The asteroid
2420 Čiurlionis is named after him.
Biography
Čiurlionis was the oldest of nine children of his father, Constantine, and his mother, Adele. In 1878 his family moved to
Druskininkai, where his father became the town organist. Čiurlionis was a musical prodigy: he could play by ear at age three and could
sightread music freely by age seven. Three years out of primary school, he went to study at the musical school of Prince Michał Origiski where he learned to play several orchestral instruments, in particular the flute, from 1889 to 1893. Čiurlionis studied piano and composition at the
Warsaw Conservatory from 1894 to 1899. For his graduation, in 1899, he wrote a
cantata for mixed chorus and symphonic orchestra titled "De Profundis," with the guidance of the composer Symgund Noskowsky. Later he attended composition lectures at the
Leipzig Conservatory (1901 to 1902), and studied drawing at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts from 1904 to 1906.
He was one of the initiators of, and a participant in, the
First Exhibition of Lithuanian Art that took place in
1907 in
Vileišis Palace,
Vilnius. Soon after this event the
Lithuanian Union of Arts was founded, and Čiurlionis was of its nineteen founding members. In 1911 at the age of 35 Čiurlionis died of pneumonia in Pustelnik sanatorium. He was buried in
Vilnius'
Rasos Cemetery.
Čiurlionis felt that he was a
synesthete; that is, he perceived colors and music simultaneously. Many of his paintings bear the names of musical pieces:
sonatas,
fugues, and
preludes.
Posthumous recognition
In 1911 the first posthumous exhibition of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis' art was held in
Vilnius and
Kaunas. During the same year an exhibition of his art was held in
Moscow, and in 1912 his works were exhibited in
St. Petersburg. The
National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art was founded in Vilnius in
1945; soon afterwards the Lithuanian community in
Chicago opened
The Čiurlionis Art Gallery, hosting collections of his works. In 1963 the Čiurlionis Memorial Museum was opened in Druskininkai, in the house where Čiurlionis and his family lived. This museum holds biographical documents as well as photographs and reproductions of the artist's works.
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis inspired the Lithuanian composer
Osvaldas Balakauskas' work
Sonata of the Mountains (1975), and every several years junior musical performers from Lithuania and neighbouring countries take part in
The Čiurlionis Competition. Čiurlionis' name has been given to cliffs in
Franz Josef Land, a peak in the
Pamir Mountains, and to
asteroid #2420, discovered by the Crimean astrophysicist
Nikolaj Cernych.
Čiurlionis' works have been displayed at international exhibitions in
Japan,
Germany,
Spain, and elsewhere. His paintings were featured at "Visual Music" fest, an homage to synesthesia that included the works of
Wassily Kandinsky,
James McNeill Whistler, and
Paul Klee, at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2005.
Musical works
Some of his most-performed musical works include:
- Prelude in F Sharp major
- String Quartet in C minor
- Prelude in A major
- Karalaitės kelionė: Pasaka (The Princess' Journey, A Fairy Tale)
- Seven fugues for organ / String Quartet in C minor
- Folk songs for choir
- Miške (In the Forest), a symphonic poem for orchestra (posthumous)
- Jūra (The Sea), a symphonic poem for orchestra (posthumous)
Paintings
The most famous Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis paintings include:
Cycle Winter (1906-1907)
Cycle The Zodiac (1907)
Sonatas (1907-1908)
Cycle Fairy-Tale (1909)
Creation of the World
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_I.jpg|I
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_II.jpg|II
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_III.jpg|III
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_IV.jpg|IV
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_V.jpg|V
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_VI.jpg|VI
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_VII.jpg|VII
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_VIII.jpg|VIII
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_IX.jpg|IX
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_X.jpg|X
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_XI.jpg|XI
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_XII.jpg|XII
Image:Pasaulio_sutverimas_XIII.jpg|XIII
Sonata of the Spring (1907)
Image:Pavasario sonata.Allegro.jpg|Allegro
Image:Pavasario sonata.Andante.jpg|Andante
Image:Pavasario sonata.Scherzo.jpg|Scherzo
Image:Pavasario sonata.Finale.jpg|Finale
Sonata of the Summer (1908)
Image:Vasaros sonata.Allegro.jpg|Allegro
Image:Vasaros sonata.Andante.jpg|Andante
Image:Vasaros sonata.Scherzo.jpg|Scherzo
Image:Vasaros sonata.Finale.jpg|Finale
Sonata of the Sun (1907)
Image:Saules_sonata.Allegro.jpg|Allegro
Image:Saules_sonata.Andante.jpg|Andante
Image:Saules_sonata.Scherzo.jpg|Scherzo
Image:Saules_sonata.Finale.jpg|Finale
Sonata of the Sea (1908)
Image:Juros_sonata.Allegro.jpg|Allegro
Image:Juros_sonata.Andante.jpg|Andante
Image:Juros_sonata.Finale.jpg|Finale
Sonata of the Pyramids (1908)
Image:Piramidziu_sonata.Allegro.jpg|Allegro
Image:Piramidziu_sonata.Scherzo.jpg|Scherzo
Sonata of the Stars (1908)
Image:Zvaigzdziu
sonata.Andante.jpg|Andante
Sonata of the Serpent (1908)
Diptych "Prelude and Fugue" (1908)
Triptych "Fantasy" (1908)
Other Preludes and Fugues
Image:Angelas.Preliudas.jpg|Angel. Prelude
Winter - Cycle of Eight Pictures (1906-7)
Image:Ziema_IV.jpg|IV
Spring - Four Pictures (1907-8)
Summer - Cycle of Three Pictures (1907-8)
Gallery
Image:Laivas.Debesys.jpg|Cloud Boat
Image:Praeitis.jpg|The Past
Image:Zemaiciu_koplytstulpiai.jpg|Crosses in Žemaitija
Image:Karaliu pasaka.JPG|Kings' Fairy Tale (1908-1909)
Image:Ramybe.JPG|Tranquility (1904-1905)
Image:Angelas.Preliudas.jpg|Preludes and Fugues. Angel. Prelude
Further Information
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