Amžininkų dailė nacionaliniuose rinkiniuose: Vilniaus dailės integravimas į Lietuvos meninį paveldą 1939-1944 m.

LTStraipsnyje siekiama rekonstruoti amžininkų dailės kūrinių įsigijimo dviem stambiausiems Lietuvos muziejams strategiją Antrojo pasaulinio karo laikotarpiu, t. y. 1939–1944 m., atskleidžiant politinių aplinkybių įtaką kūrinių pasirinkimą lėmusiems žiuri sprendimams. Aptartas 1940 m. Vytauto Didžiojo Kultūros muziejuje Kaune suformuotas vilniečių dailininkų kūrinių segmentas, žydų menininkų kūrinių pirkimai sovietinio režimo metais, stambesnieji Kauno ir Vilniaus muziejų pirkiniai sovietų ir nacių okupacijos metais. Atkreiptas dėmesys, kad nelietuvių vilniečių menininkų kūriniai jau 1940 m. buvo įvertinti kaip integrali Lietuvos kultūros paveldo dalis. Tai lėmė, kad lenkų dailininkų kūrinių įsigyta ne tik sovietų, bet ir nacių okupacijos laikotarpiu, tokiu būdu solidarizuojantis su marginalizuotais kolegomis ir suteikiant jiems bent minimalią materialinę paramą. Visgi tyrimo pabaigoje prieinama išvados, kad visą aptariamą laikotarpį prioritetas akivaizdžiai buvo teikiamas lietuvių dailininkų kūrybai. Vilniaus atveju šį prioritetą papildomai lėmė pastangos sulietuvinti istorinę sostinę. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Antrasis pasaulinis karas, dailė, kolekcionavimas, Lietuva, naciai, nacionalizmas, nacionalinis rinkinys, okupacija, sovietai, Vilnius. [Iš leidinio]

ENThe article deals with a topic that is totally novel from the historiographic viewpoint – the acquisition of artworks by Lithuanian and non-Lithuanian artists for the collections of Lithuanian museums in Kaunas and Vilnius during the Second World War: i. e., from 1939 to 1944. The article provides new information and aims to show that artworks of non-Lithuanian artists were perceived and assessed as part of the Lithuanian national cultural heritage, thus intending to integrate Vilnius art into the common cultural heritage. The process is seen and presented in the light of radical political changes that took place in the mid-20th century. A small nucleus of Vilnius art, created by Polish and Jewish artists, was formed in the Vytautas the Great Culture Museum in Kaunas in 1940. From the political perspective, it was a hugely significant act. However, it was a result of a sole acquisition campaign. The discussion of this case is followed by the analysis of the acquisition policy of the Vilnius Art Museum. Unlike the Kaunas Museum, the Vilnius Art Museum purchased artworks by local, primarily Polish, artists throughout the whole period under review. The purchase of Polish (and Jewish, as long as it was possible) works for the collection of the Vilnius Art Museum was prompted by the aim to bring together and represent the work of the city’s artists. Due to political conjuncture, works by Jewish, predominantly left wing, artists deposited in the museum were purchased or were about to be purchased in the period of Soviet occupation in 1940–1941. The acquisition of artworks by Polish artists for the collection of the Vilnius Art Museum during the period of Nazi occupation became a form of professional solidarity and material support for marginalised colleagues, as the rules of the National Socialist racial policy barred Polish artists from having a part in public artistic life.However in the years of the Nazi occupation, only few works by Polish artists were purchased; the main part of the acquisitions were mostly works of graphic art and architectural projects, and their prices were relatively low. From the viewpoint of quantity and prices, works by Lithuanian artists who moved to the historical capital in 1940 had priority in the acquisition policy of the Vilnius Art Museum. It could be explained by the fact that their works were crucial for building a canon of the national art heritage, which was extremely important under both the Soviet and Nazi regimes, but the price difference clearly shows that the museum’s board favoured Lithuanian artists also because of personal contacts and affinities. In the case of Vilnius, the special attention to Lithuanian art should also be related to the attempts to Lithuanianize the cultural life of the predominantly Polish city, which came back to Lithuania in the autumn of 1939. This fact is generally known and taken for granted. In this case it is interesting to note that the collection included a large number of non-Lithuanian works. Another noteworthy circumstance is the fact that these works have remained in storage up until nowadays. They did not exist in the Lithuanian art discourse up until the present time. Keywords: art, collecting, Lithuania, nationalism, national collection, Nazi, Second World War, Soviets, occupation, Vilnius. [From the publication]