Ferdynand Ruszczyc: Civis Vilnensis Sum

This book by Lithuanian art historian Algė Andriulytė is dedicated to one of the most prominent artists from the early 20th century – Ferdynand Ruszczyc, who earned acclaim both in Lithuania and the rest of Europe. The publication is richly illustrated and features a wealth of iconographic material: drawings, paintings and graphic art works, prints and archival photographs. The monograph duly received the Vilnius Club prize in 2019, and it also received a prize from the Lithuanian Art Historians Society for being recognised as the year’s most fundamental scientific study. Now its English translation is being presented to the public, supplemented with new iconographic material.

This publication presents a comprehensive discussion of the artist’s biography and work, highlighting his connections with Saint Petersburg’s Mir iskusstva and Poland’s Sztuka societies, and describes his travels around Western Europe and his ‘golden age’ of painting at the Bogdanov Estate. The book accentuates the artist’s special bond with Vilnius, which for him was more than just a city, rather, an entire country, whose citizen he proclaimed to be.  Ruszczyc’s artistic and cultural activities in this city are outlined, describing the event-filled religious and political context of the day. Thus, this is not only a comprehensive and involving narrative about Ferdynand Ruszcyc, but also a panorama over the most important public events in Vilnius from the first half of the 20th century – a reflection of an entire Vilnius epoch about which so little is known. The book is aimed at everyone with an interest in Vilnius, its history, culture and visual arts. 

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“The best-known of Ruszczyc’s mature works, such as Nec Mergitur (1904–1905), immediately strike you with the knowledge that this is the artist we know so well, but the large number of his other works show that we hardly know anything about him. Then you feel gratitude to the author of the book for providing us with the chance to get acquainted with this important artist, an acquaintance that is full of surprising stories. You open the book expecting to find the story of the life of one person, but you get another ten stories: a story about the search for the Royal Crypt in Vilnius Cathedral, a story about the coronation of the painting of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn, and a story about the design and use of graphics at Stephen Báthory University. Such deep and broad studies are important not only to art historians but to everyone who opens the book, if only to help us understand how art is connected with everyday life.“

Monika Krikštopaitytė
Art critic, editor-in-chief of the Lithuanian cultural weekly 7 meno dienos (7 Days of Art)

“A large number of books and catalogues have been published on Ruszczyc in Poland, but few compare with the new Lithuanian monograph in terms of scale, depth and thoroughness.