Kretinga Photo Chronicle from the Beginning of the Last Century – in Town Hall Square
Kostas Jagutis was a photographer from Kretinga whose photo studio operated in Kretinga at the beginning of the 20th century. Many people and their occasions were immortalized there. The photographer’s archives also preserved many images of Kretinga from that era, which became “golden material” for researchers of the past. An exhibition, whose stands display images of old Kretinga, individual buildings, or postcards created by the photographer, will be exhibited in Town Hall Square throughout the summer. The historical material was summarized and presented to the public by museologist Jolanta Klietkutė.
The exhibition “Kretinga of the Last Century in Kostas Jagutis’ Photographs” arrives at Town Hall Square on June 10th. It will be available for exploration until the end of August.
In the One-Exhibit Exhibition – a Reconstructed Curonian Warrior’s Sword
On June 10th at 6 PM, the Kretinga Museum will present a one-exhibit exhibition “The Sword of Kretinga Castle”. Its epicenter is a reconstructed 12th-century double-edged sword. It is like a symbolic key, opening the gates to the rich past of the Curonian tribe.
The reconstruction of the weapon presented in the exhibition was carried out based on findings preserved in the Kretinga Museum’s collections from archaeological excavations conducted in 1988 by archaeologists Ignas Jablonskis, Donatas Butkus, and Julius Kanarskas at the Ėgliškiai-Anduliai cemetery.
The reconstruction of the Curonian warrior’s rich weapon was initiated by local historian and journalist Denisas Nikitenka, who grew up in Kretinga. The mission of bringing the sword back to life was entrusted to blacksmith Adomas Sviklas, who studies the ancient craft of weapon-making. Both “culprits” of the exhibition will attend the presentation event and share their knowledge about the Curonian past of this region, and the military traditions whose picture they strive to recreate from artifacts discovered by archaeologists or surviving historical testimonies.
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In the “Winter Garden” Gallery – P. Domšaitis’ Africa, Seen and Unseen
Until autumn, visitors to the Lithuanian seaside tropics – the Winter Garden – will have the opportunity to feast their eyes on the canvases of Pranas Domšaitis, a coryphaeus of Lithuanian émigré art, and his observed African landscapes and people. Works by the artist, preserved in the collections of the Lithuanian National Art Museum (LNDM), are arriving at the Kretinga Museum, some of which will be shown for the first time.
Pranas Domšaitis (1880–1965) was an expressionist painter, a representative of 20th-century modern art, one of the most famous Lithuanian artists, about whom only a few knew in Soviet Lithuania. According to the exhibition curator Aurelija Malinauskaitė, this exhibition includes the painter’s works created during his African period of life.
Pranas Domšaitis and his wife arrived in South Africa from Europe in the spring of 1949, settled in a suburb of Cape Town, and quickly established themselves in the country’s art scene, creating many works and participating in exhibitions. “The artist explored the exotic world, admired the people of Africa, their environment, and captured everything with pencil on paper, and paints on cardboard. Traveling through the country’s regions, the artist was greatly impressed by the landscapes of Karoo and Transkei and the tribes living there. According to the artist, he felt at home. The painter’s works depict dancing, standing, posing figures, children grinding corn, and water carriers. Figures are grouped rhythmically, creating a clear structure and emphasizing bright clothing colors. Some figures are depicted very generally, almost geometric in form, and black broken contours further highlight them,” – Aurelija Malinauskaitė, curator of the LNDM Pranas Domšaitis Gallery exhibition and exhibitions, presents the exhibition “Pranas Domšaitis’ Africa: Faces and Figures”.
Africa and its people, immortalized in P. Domšaitis’ paintings, will await visitors in the Kretinga Museum’s “Winter Garden” gallery until September 13th. The exhibition will be presented to the public on Friday, June 12th, at 6 PM.
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