Apie Marijampolės valstybinę amatų mokyklą

LTŠio straipsnio tikslas – pateikti Marijampolės valstybinės amatų mokyklos (1926–1945/6) istorijos apžvalgą: pristatyti mokyklos struktūros raidą, stalių (baldžių) ir drožėjų amato mokymo ypatumus, mokytojų ir praktikos meistrų personalą, aptarti mokinių parodas ir dirbinius. Reikšminiai žodžiai: amatų mokyklos, baldžiai, drožėjai, baldai, tarpukaris. [Iš leidinio]

ENUntil the First World War, only a few craft schools operated based on private or societal initiatives. Therefore, the craft of furniture-making in Lithuania was studied mainly by working with an experienced master. The Republic of Lithuania had to create a new system of craft training. The State School of Crafts in Marijampolė, which operated between 1926 and 1945/6, was one of the first three government schools established to train cabinetmakers. The school in Marijampolė was distinguished by the fact that in the second half of the 1920s (from the beginning of its activities), the basics of cabinetmaking and carving were founded here by the most famous altar masters in Sūduva, Adomas Karalius (1854–1946) and Vincas Penčyla (1855–1930). A workshop of Vincas Penčyla, with all the equipment and tools, located on Bažnyčios Street, was rented for practical training. The absence of owning a building was an acute problem for the school. The rooms that were not suitable for woodworking were rented in different parts of the town. For example, in 1938, the school was scattered across seven locations. Despite the inconvenience and a constant shortage of teaching staff, the institution was successful, productive, and it grew. A family hierarchy prevailed: A. Karalius and V. Penčyla were replaced by their sons as the heads of the cabinetmakers’ workshop and the craft teachers. Male members of the Karalius family (Kazys and Vytautas) and the Penčyla family (Antanas, Vytautas and Juozas) regularly worked there. In addition to Kazys, and Vytautas Karalius, who worked at the school from 1929 to 1934 and 1934 to 194[4], respectively, the following school craft teachers and heads of sections received state support to study abroad: Ambraziejus Šepetys (1931–1934), Petras Vebras (1932–1936), Viktoras Ūsas (1932–1937) and Petras Babeckas (1938–194[5]).These highly qualified furniture and carving teachers who had studied in Czechoslovakia, mainly at the Chrudim State School of Woodworking, had an extensive teaching load. Juozas Pautienius (1926–1929) and Vincas Košuba (Kašuba, 1929–1938), Kaunas School of Art graduates, taught artistic and technical drawing. The director, Juozas Barkauskas (1929–1944), was an experienced pedagogue and administrator who knew the problems of the Lithuanian craft education and the craft teaching processes of Western Europe, led the teaching practices. In addition to the cabinetmaker classes, a carving class, led by P. Vebras, was active from 1932 to 1936. The pupils had to study for eight hours a day: they practised for four hours in workshops in the morning and taught theoretical lessons for another four hours in the afternoon. The theoretical lessons were divided into two hours of general education subjects (a shortened four-year gymnasium course) and two hours of specialised theory: artistic drawing, technical drawing, accounting, construction, design, and technology basics. The first group of students graduated in 1930. On that occasion, the first exhibition of students’ work was organised. Thereafter, the public exhibitions of work and graphics were organised every year. The exhibitions, which lasted for several days, were a significant event in the life of Marijampolė and the school. They attracted many visitors (there were about 5,000 in 1934) and helped to consolidate the students’ achievements. Furniture made according to teachers’ projects shaped the fashion trends of the time, at least locally. Luxuriously veneered furniture was exhibited. Although the sets of furniture were not cheap, they were in great demand by intellectuals in Suvalkija.It is thought, the school in Marijampolė produced the widest range of wood products and had the largest turnover of all the craft schools that trained cabinetmakers. Contemporaries admired the students’ graphic works, such as interior design projects, alongside the artistic quality and excellent work produced by the carving classes. Prestigious orders received from the state were evidence of the recognition accorded to the school. Examples of such orders included the wayside shrine in memory of S. Darius and S. Girėnas in Soldin, equipment for the Officers’ Club in Kaunas and furniture for the International Exposition in Paris in 1937. During the interwar period, the State School of Crafts turned Marijampolė into a furniture centre, and it became representative of the art school that was lacking in the city. It yielded a substantial output that was installed in the homes of the residents. Moreover, this furniture stimulated the modernisation of private interiors. It is not yet possible to summarise the predominant style of furniture from the extremely poor iconography. However, the stylistic tendencies of both historicism and art deco can be traced, especially the latter. Unfortunately, the full potential of the school was never met. The base of craft technology and applied arts created by the teachers who were master craftsmen failed to be further developed; less than half of the graduates worked in the field. Keywords: craft schools, cabinetmakers, carvers, furniture, the interwar period. [From the publication]