Published: 20260225
The National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania is constantly searching for and acquiring treasures that restore the heritage of the scattered Grand Duchy of Lithuania and expand the museum's collections. The gathering of exhibits began even before the museum was officially established. Since then, many acquired or donated items have been presented to the public.
This time, the museum invites visitors to the exhibition "HERITAGE COMING HOME", showcasing treasures acquired since 2018 from Lithuanian and international auctions, antique dealers, and private individuals, alongside gifts from patrons. While the collections have been supplemented by various historical artifacts, the exhibition highlights the most impressive part of the new acquisitions: paintings.
"The hardest things to find are portraits of Lithuanian rulers, as their number worldwide is very limited and most are already in museums. However, portraits of rulers or nobles occasionally appear on the art market. Therefore, in this exhibition, one can see an entire gallery of portraits of Lithuania’s sovereigns," says Dr. Vydas Dolinskas, author of the exhibition concept.
The themes of the acquired paintings range from reflections of palace life to historical battles and religious subjects, with a primary focus on the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, their spouses, and prominent nobles. The permanent exhibitions of the Palace of the Grand Dukes Museum still contain some copies of these portraits based on known surviving works; however, these copies are gradually being replaced by newly acquired originals.
"It is a long process because even with unlimited financial resources, the Palace of the Grand Dukes Museum could not buy everything quickly," explains exhibition curator Dalius Avižinis. "Lithuanian-themed artworks appearing at auction are often of interest to Polish museums as well due to our shared history, so we have to compete. Granted, before purchasing, we thoroughly verify the authorship, authenticity, and provenance of the artwork—this also takes time, but today we can boldly summarize that the works are valuable and interesting for their history."
The exhibition presents portraits of the King of Poland and Hungary and Prince of Lithuania Wladyslaw Varnensis, as well as the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Augustus, created after the originals by the 18th-century artist Marcello Bacciarelli. Also on display is a painting of the prince and future ruler of Poland and Lithuania, John Casimir Vasa, donated in 2018 by the museum's patron from the USA, Donatas Januta, whose authorship is attributed to the court painter Pieter Danckers de Rij. Alongside it is a portrait by an unknown 17th-century artist, which is believed to depict John Casimir's wife, Louise Marie Gonzaga de Nevers. In the exhibition, one can also see an 18th-century miniature by an unknown author depicting the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania John Sobieski, and next to it, a portrait of his wife Marie Casimire d’Arquien, painted by the Dutch artist of German origin Caspar Netscher. The gallery of royal portraits continues with paintings of both representatives of the Wettin dynasty who ruled the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III, created by the court painter Louis de Silvestre and masters of his circle. A portrait of the last ruler of Poland and Lithuania, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, painted after a portrait by the aforementioned creator M. Bacciarelli, is also on display.
A valuable painting by the Italian artist Saverio Dalla Rosa, "St. Casimir Adoring the Mother of God," was acquired at a Munich auction. Religious themes are also represented in the exhibition by a work of an unknown talented 17th-century Italian artist, "Christ and the Adulteress," and a work attributed to the Milanese painter Melchiorre Gherardini, known as Il Ceranino, depicting the miraculous appearance of St. James the Apostle in 844 at the Battle of Clavijo.
A painting attributed to Giulio Campi, a representative of a Renaissance painter dynasty, depicts a musician playing a viol. In the 16th and 17th centuries, this instrument was heard very often in the Palace of the Grand Dukes. Portraits of nobles and important officials of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, such as Princes Kazimieras Leonas Sapiega or Kazimieras Nestoras Sapiega, are exhibited in the exhibition together with paintings of historical figures of European lands directly related to the rulers of Lithuania and Poland and the Vilnius Palace.
According to Dr. V. Dolinskas, "This exhibition shows the results of invisible but complex daily work. I hope it will delight visitors and remind them of the cultural history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In my understanding, the essential task of a museum is to expand the field of public knowledge, cultivate historical memory and a sense of pride. Each of our projects only reaffirms our historical European identity once again."
Since 2018, the collections of the Palace of the Grand Dukes Museum were also supplemented by the magnificent old painting collection of patron Dr. Pranas Kiznis, which can be seen in the permanent exhibition. The exhibition "HERITAGE COMING HOME" will be open at the Exhibition Center until August 16.
