Muzeum Starożytności w Wilnie: historia i rekonstrukcja zbiorów malarstwa i grafiki

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Vilniaus senienų muziejus (1856-1865); Vilniaus archeologinė komisija; Eustachijus Tiškevičius; Tapybos kolekcija; Grafikos kolekcija; Maskvos viešasis muziejus; Rumiancevų muziejus; Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus; Museum of Antiquities in Vilna (1856-1865); Archaeological Commission at Vilnius; Eustachy Tyszkiewicz; Painting Collection; Graphics collection; Moscow Public Museum; Rumyantsev Museum; National Museum of Lithuania.

ENThis publication presents the short and turbulent history of the establishment and activities of the Museum of Antiquities in Vilna (1856-1865) and, where possible, carefully retraces the events surrounding the transfer of a large part of its collection to the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum during the years 1868-1869. The Vilna Museum of Antiquities and Archaeological Commission came into being in 1855. Like many other institutions of the nineteenth century, this museum was made possible through private initiative, founded by Count Eustachy Tyszkiewicz, who dedicated his skills and fortune to researching the history of his native country and the creation of a communal public museum. Along with the Vilna Archaeological Commission, it served a unique function in the so-called Western Territories of the Russian Empire and constituted, after the liquidation of University of Vilna along with the closing of the Medical-Surgical Academy and Theological Academy, virtually the only centre of cultural and scientific life in this area. It was also one of the first regional public museums in the Russian Empire, whose collections were composed in such a way that they could present a comprehensive picture of the history of the people living in this part of the empire. The basis of the museum was the idea of the continuity and community of historical and cultural traditions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, linking the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Polish Kingdom. As a result of changes in the political situation, this idea underwent some major transformations as far as even the complete denial of everything other than native Russian traditions and influences on these lands.In 1865, after the suppression of the January Uprising, the collections of the Museum of Antiquities were completely reworked by a special committee set up to identify and disable all monuments testifying to a historical relationship with Poland. Exhibits that did not meet the requirements applicable in terms of representing the past of the country were transferred to the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum. Where possible, the intricate history of the Vilna exhibits (painting and graphics) has been traced following the closure of the Rumyantsev Museum in the 20th century. They were mainly to be found within the collections of the State Historical Museum and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, and in the 1950s-70s some of the pieces were transferred to the National Museum of Lithuania in Vilna. Retracing the fate of the Vilna collection was made possible thanks to finding and then examining a huge resource of source materials: documentation and official correspondence, reports on academic activities and collecting, the notes and opinions of the members of the Archaeological Commission and, above all, the lists and directories of museum exhibits made in different periods. These inventories were compiled along with the objects originating from the Museum of Antiquities that had been preserved, as well as works presumably associated with the institution of Vilna. During this research, the authorship of various works was clarified and the characters depicted in certain portraits were identified. It was determined, inter alia, that the portrait of Maciej Radziwiłł was associated with Józef Peszka, whom we may also link to the portrait of the rector of the University of Vilna - Hieronim Stroynowski. The portrait of King Stanislaus Augustus on horseback can be associated with the work of Michał Stachowicz. Józef Wall can be linked to the full-figure portrait of primate Michał Poniatowski.The portrait of Count Michał Walicki, recognised for a long time as the image of the last Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Joachim Litawor Chreptowicz and considered to be a copy by Jan Darnel from an original portrait by Josef Grassi, was recognised as a copy by Marcin Januszewicz of a portrait of Walicki made by Johann Baptist Lampi. Several portraits of previously anonymous figures have been identified as a result of this research. The rider on the white horse is the Lithuanian hetman Ludwik Tyszkiewicz. The scholar in a uniform with a loop motif is Jean de Vierrier Pinabel, professor of French literature at the University of Vilna. The cleric is the Canon of Smolensk Józef Katenbringk, the confessor of Prince Karol Radziwiłł. The priest in the black habit is Tomasz Hussarzewski, professor of history at the University of Vilna. The man with an Italian landscape in the background is the famous composer Michał Kleofas Ogiński etc. The location of several portraits known from photos could not be determined, although in some cases it was possible to identify who is presented in them (including the portrait of the great Lithuanian treasurer Jerzy Detloff Fleming (Georg Detlev von Flemming), portraits of King Sigismund the Old and King Sigismund Augustus with an unusual iconography). A set of drawings and prints was elaborated, including some which proved to be rare and valuable such as engravings by Antoni Lubliński, Erik Dahlberg, Izaak Saal, Romeyn de Hooghe and others. The end of the book provides some annexes of sources - extracts from correspondence regarding transportation of the collections to Moscow as well as acts of delivery and acceptance for the transferred exhibits. Many of the objects listed in the acts have been identified, as evidenced by the inventory numbers attached to individual items in the inventory. [From the publication]

• Menotyra / Arts
• Istorija / History