The Great Courtyard of Vilnius University and the Church of St. Johns

The Society of Modern Art and The Department of Modern Art, Faculty of Fine Arts, Nicolaus Copernicus University
ul. Sienkiewicza 30/32, 87-100 Torun
tel. +48-56-611-38-47 www.zhsn.umk.pl

The Polish Society of Oriental Art
ul. Warecka 4/6 – 10, 00-040 Warszawa
tel. + 48-601-31-36-91 www.sztukaorientu.pl

The Centre for Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Identity Research, Faculty of Arts, Vytautas Magnus University
Laisves al. 53,  LT – 44309 Kaunas
tel. +370 37 327 858 fax. +370 37 203 858 www.vdu.lt

 

have the honor to invite to the Jubilee International Conferences on the occasion of the

200th Anniversary of the First Lecture on History of Art at the Vilna / Vilnius University (15 IX 1810)

  • The History of Art History in Central-Eastern and Southern-Eastern Europe
    Toruń, The Center of Modern Art, September 14-16, 2010
  • The Landmarks of Art History
    Kaunas, The Vytautas Magnus University, October 14-15, 2010

 

Supporting institutions and co-organizers:

 

 

 

Historical background
On September 15, 1810, professor of „etching and literature of fine arts” Joseph (Józef) Saunders (London 1773 – Krzemieniec / Kremenets on Volhynia 1845) delivered a first lecture on history of art at the Faculty of Literature and Art of Vilna University, entitled: Discours sur l’influence ou l’utilité des arts imitatifs / On the Influence and Use of Mimetic Arts (given in French, it was published in Polish in „Pamiętnik Magnetyczny”, 1815). Saunders also prepared the academic curriculum for teaching of art history and published the text of his other lecture, Information about Life and Works of Szymon Czechowicz (a Cracow born painter from 18th century), which was the first scientific article devoted to art of the territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (published in Polish in „Dziennik Wileński”, 1815).

The tradition of art history of the former Vilna University is upheld by Polish and Lithuanian universities: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, where the Faculty of Fine Arts of Stefan Batory University in Vilna was transferred after the Second World War; Lublin Catholic University; Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas; Academy of Fine Arts in Vilnius.

 

Conference in Torun
The Jubilee Celebrations of the 200th anniversary of this first lecture will include an international conference organized in September 14 – 16, 2010 in Toruń entitled: The History of Art History in Central-Eastern and Southern-Eastern Europe, with the reconstruction of the Prof. Joseph Saunders’ lecture on September 15.

The conference will be devoted to the history of art history seen as a field of scientific study and its contribution to the creation of national and esthetic awareness of the nations that in the 19th century were devoid of independence and subdued to occupational powers of: Protestant Prussia (Germany), Catholic Austria, Orthodox Russia and Muslim Turkey, while in the 20th century under the pressure of totalitarian Germany and the Soviet Union.
The starting date is set by the collapse of the last independent state of the region: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795); the ending date – by the fall of the communism and entering of the some former communist states into the structures of the European Union.
As regards the territory, the conference is to encompass the states of Central Europe, the Baltic states and Finland, the Balkan states, Greece, then Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, the Caucasian states, national minorities such as Jews, Armenians and Tatars and also German population in the former eastern part of Prussia and in Central-Eastern Europe. In the 19th century many nations shared a common fate fighting for element of national cultures, from the antiquarianism of the first half of the 19th century, through establishment of scientific and cultural institutions (scientific societies, artistic schools, museums, scientific journals) to the creation of academic history of art.

Thus, the conference program will include:

  • the issues concerning opinions on the genesis of national art and its distinctive features, problems of national artistic canons,
  • analyses of relationships between art and political national ideologies,
  • problems of cultural borders,
  • issues related to artistic circles active on the borderlines of many nations and many religions, relations between national and European arts and attitude towards the art of occupational and totalitarian powers;
  • problems of censorship of national cultures, the role played by the art objects created in exile.

An analysis of these problems is the starting point of a general discussion about the methods and methodology of research into history of art, about modern perspectives of this discipline (from the perspective of globalization), and also of a reflection upon the heritage of world artistic culture.
The conference will be held in two parallel sessions.

The language of the conference will be English. Presentations should be no longer than 20 minutes. Participation is subject to registration. Proposals for contributions have to be submitted.
Please submit your proposals with a short abstract (max. 150 words in English) before March 1, 2010, to the Bureau of the Conference: conference@wp.pl.
Presentation will be selected by the March 30, 2010.

Conference registration form

 

Selected papers are planned to be published in a conference volume (in English).

Organizers of conference in Torun:

 

Conference in Kaunas
The second part of the Jubilee Celebration is going to be held in Kaunas in form of an international conference The Landmarks of Art History, organized October 14-15, 2010, at the Faculty of Arts of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas.

The main theme of the conference will focus upon the research on the Central and East European architecture and fine art historiography in 1810-2010. The conference goals are: to reveal stages in the development of art history, significant discoveries and problems of the field and to initiate the dialogue among researchers, foster self-perception of research in art and open new exposures of art research. The anniversary induces to look back, ponder and evaluate the development of the research in art history in Lithuania and a wider region of Central and Eastern Europe. Art history in this case is treated as the history of architecture and fine arts. The time distance of 200 years is sufficient to evaluate the most significant achievements, contribution of personalities and schools, changes in methodology as well as to raise topics of the present day research of art history.
In the 19th century Vilna / Vilnius University, as a professional hearth of art stimulating the development of the idea of art research, was important not only to Lithuania, but also Poland and Belarus. What was its relationship with centers of art and art research in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe and in what way was developing research in the art history in the 19th – 21st century? What are possible aspects of interaction between Lithuanian and other schools of art research of Central and Eastern Europe? These are the questions you are invited to discuss by conference organizers.

Thematic fields suggested for reports:

  • Joseph Saunders’ conception of art history and theory and its enduring value;
  • historiography of sacred and secular architecture and fine arts: tendencies, trends and processes;
  • the most outstanding art researchers and schools;
  • changes in the methodology of art history;
  • reflections of the research in heritage protection and museology;
  • problems in the terminology of art research;
  • definitions and the divide of art (un)professionalism;
  • interpretations of the conception of styles and periodization;
  • ’divisions’ of art objects in the art research of Central and Eastern Europe.

Languages of the conference: Lithuanian, English, Russian and Polish. The duration of conference presentations will be limited to 20 minutes.
All persons wishing to participate in the conference are requested to send a completed participant’s registration form until the April 1, 2010 in one of the following languages: Lithuanian, English, Russian or Polish (up to 1800 printed characters) to a.slavinskiene@mf.vdu.lt.
Presentations will be selected by the April 22, 2010.
Selected conference presentations and scientific papers prepared on their basis are planned to be published in the scientific publication (Meno istorija ir Kritika = Art History and Criticism, registered in the international scientific information database MLA (Modern Language Association).

Conference registration form

 

Contact person:

  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aušrine Slavinskiene, head of Fine Art Theory Department, Faculty of Arts, Vytautas Magnus University Faculty of Arts www.vdu.lt
    a.slavinskiene@mf.vdu.lt.

The Scientific Committee of the Conference in Kaunas.

Chair: Prof. Dr. Nijole Lukšionyte ( Vytautas Magnus University)

Members:

  • Dr. Elita Grosmane (Institute of Art History, Latvian Academy of Art)
  • Prof. Dr. Vytautas Levandauskas (Vytautas Magnus University)
  • Prof. Dr. Jerzy Malinowski (Nicolaus Copernicus University)
  • Prof. Dr. Laima Šinkunaite (Vytautas Magnus University)
  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aleh Trusau (Belarusian State University of Culture)

The Organizing Committee of the Conference at the Vytautas Magnus University:

  • Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aušrine Slavinskiene
  • Doc. Dr. Nijole Taluntyte
  • Dr. Jolita Butkevičiene
  • Aušra Vasiliauskiene
  • Silvija Slaminskiene..

 

Publication
In connection to the jubilee celebration a special anniversary volume is going to be published titled: Joseph (Józef) Saunders, On Art and Its History, prepared by Prof. Dr. Inessa I. Swirida (Institute of Slavonic and Balkan Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Russian Federation, Moscow). The volume will be published as a release of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, in English and Polish, with detailed abstract in Lithuanian and Russian.

Toruń / Kaunas, January 15th 2010