1970s "The Pilgrims," Bronze Sculpture by Vladas Vildžiūnas (Lithuania)

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Description

Title: "The Pilgrims," Bronze Sculpture.
Artist: Vladas Vildžiūnas (1932-2013).
Origin: Vilnius, Lithuania.
Production/copyright year: 1977.
Limitation: No. 3 of 7.
… Read more Title: "The Pilgrims," Bronze Sculpture.
Artist: Vladas Vildžiūnas (1932-2013).
Origin: Vilnius, Lithuania.
Production/copyright year: 1977.
Limitation: No. 3 of 7.
Type: Chamber sculpture.
Art movement: Modernism.
Material: Bronze (sculpture), base (black marble).

Description: Patinated bronze sculpture, "The Pilgrims, 1977' richly textured and applied with traces of brown acid patina; signed, dated and numbered 3/7.

Measures: 13.75 (34.925 cm) H x 5.5 (13.97 cm) L x 5.5 (13.97 cm) W inches. [Base - 1.75 (4.445 cm) H inches].

About the artist: In Vladas Vildžiūnas lifetime, the "quiet modernist" was considered one of Lithuania’s National Living Treasures and pioneer of local Modernism. He received numerous honors, awards and citations in his home country in the Baltic States and represented Lithuania in several prestigious international exhibitions in Salzburg, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Russia, Japan, the UK and Italy (The Venice Biennale).

A survivor of Soviet occupation in the decades of Soviet politicisation of the arts, Vildžiūnas rose to national claim and prominence with the sculpture Barbora, created to mirror the medieval Queen of Lithuania, fanning the flames of Lithuanian nationalism and claim for independence.

Vladas Vildziunas’ primary inspirations are the folk-art carvings and religious wooden sculptures rich in peasant folklore that surrounded him in his native Dabuziai, a scenic rural region of Lithuania, where he was born in 1932.

It is there that Vildziunas developed his own personal style and symbolic vocabulary. Indeed, his early works carried on the traditions of his ancestors in his strong wooden carvings of peasants, children, and madonnas, transmitting a feeling of the total human experience: friendship, warmth and humor, as well as sadness and suffering.

As a representation of the artist's work, this piece is celebrated and recognizable. "The Pilgrims" (1989) is present in the Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE Collection, Vilnius. The sculpture on display at the museum is a subsequent edition (1989), whereas this piece is a 1st edition (1977) of a small specified limitation, thus considered more rare. Quite an exceptional opportunity indeed! See less