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Calendar events > Ongoing events

An exhibition of two books by the poet dedicated to Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus and the Year of Baroque Literature.

Palace of the Grand Dukes

In Progress2025y.April0407 d. - 2025y.December1231 d.

The year 2025 has been declared the Year of Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus (1595–1640) and Baroque Literature, and thus the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania invites you to explore one of the most prominent poets of the Baroque era in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The museum’s baroque royal library (Route II) features an updated exhibition where visitors can become acquainted with the works of M. K. Sarbievijus preserved in the museum’s collections.
 
One of the publications on display is the poetry collection Lyricorum libri IV (in English: Four Books of Lyrics), published in 1632 in Antwerp. Another is Carmina, published in Paris in 1759, which was donated to the museum in 2014 by Prof. Dr. Kęstutis Paulius Žygas (USA).
Moreover, the title page of Four Books of Lyrics (Lyricorum libri IV) is adorned with an engraving by Cornelis Galle (1576–1650), an engraver from Antwerp. The artwork was created based on a drawing by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), which has been preserved to this day in the Plantin-Moretus Museum (Antwerp, Belgium).
 
Educated by the Jesuits in Lithuania, M. K. Sarbievijus rose to fame in 17th-century Europe due to his poetry collection Three Books of Lyrics (Latin: Lyricorum libri tres). This collection was published over 60 times by various European publishers, and his poems were translated into English, Czech, Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, French, and German!
 
The poet was called the “Christian Horace,” the “Sarmatian Horace,” and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the “Lithuanian Horace.” Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus served as the preacher to the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, Władysław Vasa. The ruler greatly valued him and often invited him to travel together.

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International exhibition “Pidhirtsi Castle. History And Art Collections”

Palace of the Grand Dukes

In Progress2025y.April0424 d. - 2025y.September0928 d.

The European diamond of Ukrainian heritage is being presented to the Lithuanian public and guests to the capital Vilnius at this international exhibition, Pidhirtsi Castle. History and Art Collections. The castle is an invaluable, geographically distant yet particularly significant cultural object of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania collectively – the Pidhirtsi residence and the immense treasures of its historical collections. Today, its contents have spread afield and are being protected at a number of museums in Ukraine and Poland. Probably the largest and most valuable part of the collection ended up in the Borys Voznytsky Lviv National Art Gallery and the Lviv Historical Museum. Both museums are long-standing partners of the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and have participated in many exhibition projects, however this is the first time a collection of such scale from one residence is going to be presented. Up until now, only single treasures from the Pidhirtsi colllections have been displayed at themed exhibitions in Lithuania. 

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Exhibition “Between the Threads of Time. The tapestry "Abduction of the Sabine Women” and the story of its restoration”

In Progress2025y.June0603 d. - 2025y.September0921 d.

The tapestry Abduction of the Sabine Women created at the Royal Aubusson Manufactory (?) (France) in the mid-18th century is part of the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania textile collection. This work was gifted to the museum in 2021 by Nathan Levi from Florence (Italy). The age of the tapestry was determined by analysis and historical sources – its composition echoes the narrative of the painting The Abduction of the Sabine Women (1672–1674) by the famous Italian Baroque painter Luca Giordano (1634–1705). The cartoon used in the weaving of this tapestry was created using an engraving (1762) by Firmin Beauvarlet (1731–1797)published by the Firmin Didot printing house which conveyed the composition of Giordano’s painting.
 

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Szymon Czechowicz. A Baroque Master at Pidhirtsi

In Progress2025y.June0612 d. - 2025y.September0928 d.

Szymon Czechowicz (1689–1775) is the most famous painter of the Baroque era in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – a pedagogue who educated a whole generation of artists. In his youth he was tutored under the future Polish treasurer, Duke Franciszek Maksymilian Ossoliński (1676–1756). In around 1710, this magnate sent Czechowicz to study in Italy and Rome. It was here that the youth gained immense influence from the work of famous artists such as Carlo Maratta (1625–1713) and Sebastiano Conca (1680–1764). He was also inspired by the work of earlier Renaissance and Baroque genuises, such as Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520) and Guido Reni (1575–1642). Czechowicz became a well-known artist in Rome, where he started creating paintings displaying religious themes, especially scenes from the lives of the saints. This theme remained relevant in his work right up to his death.

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