Kazys Šimonis

Kazys Šimonis (25 August 1887 – 5 July 1978) was a famous Lithuanian painter.

K. Šimonis was born on August 25, 1887 in Starkonys, near Kupiškis, northern Lithuania. He studied organ, was also interested in history and ethnography. In 1909–1911, he went to work for his brother in the United States. In 1911, he returned to Lithuania, and was called up for military service in the Tsarist Russian army. He painted and studied episodically: with Tadas Daugirdas (1908–1910), serving in the Russian Army in Kiev, where contact with a local painter (1911–1917 year), Saint Petersburg, Fedosejevo evening drawing courses (1917–1918) [1]. In 1919, settled in Kaunas, actively participated in the cultural life of Lithuanian artists associations. In 1919–1924, he taught drawing and at Kaunas "Dawn" high school, teacher training courses. In 1920–1921, He attended the private art studio. In 1923, he studied art in Berlin.

In 1923–1924, Juozas Damijonaitis taught drawing courses were organized by the teachers. In 1926, he received from the Ministry of Education, a grant for 2 years in Paris. In 1934–1945, he studied at the Kaunas School of Art (since 1941 Kaunas Applied and Decorative Art Institute), as the library manager. In 1945–1950, Kaunas Applied and Decorative Arts Institute Museum of the Department. In 1951–1959, Kaunas Polytechnic Institute architecture department technician. He died at the age of 91, and was buried in Petrašiūnai Cemetery, in Kaunas.

• 1962 Lithuanian SSR Honored Art Worker
• 1972 Lithuanian SSR folk artist.

He created about 2,000 works of art - landscapes, portraits, fantasy paintings, as well as ex-libris, posters, stamps draft format productions, has painted the decorative panels Birstonas site (1938 panel), wrote the autobiographical book of memoirs, "Living fragments" (1959 on). He collected and painted folk art, architectural monuments. Individual organized exhibitions: 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1949, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1977 Kaunas, 1925 Washington, D.C., Boston], Chicago, 1926 Riga, 1927 Klaipėda and Paris, 1968, 1975 Vilnius.

Applied distinctively of its time prevailing artistic currents: cubism, expressionism, lučizmo expression. In the early creative period K. Simonis was affected by M. K. Čiurlionis influence, often using images. Later, when he learned of the Western European art, he has made a significant impact on German Expressionist, Bauhaus School of art, especially Mark and Ferenc Lyonel Feiningerio stylized, falling in many different directions and beam lines to form fantastic images. Living in France was influenced by primitivism art school.

His mature creative period started in the 3rd decade and lasted until mid-4-completion. During this period his growing tendency to divide things into space geometric segments. Geometrical shape pervaded the light flash, the image breaks down tiny crystals. Great importance to its works, the artist offers to light.

After the War, his creativity started to sag. He returned to previous themes. His stylized fabulous pieces of content there sadness and memories. During this period, he created a more realistic value of natural images. He was criticized for imitation. Many of his works primarily summarized the plot or symbolic imagery.

Notable tracks: "leaf" (1923), "Towers" (1928), "Fantasy", "Thirst" (1926), "Forest Fire", "Princess", "Song", "Lights" (1926), "fog" (1927), "Fantasy Landscape" (1930), "suppository" (1931), "Living Stones" (1935), "Landscape with Crucifixion" "Girl with Flowers" (1936), "The Space" (1958), "morning, dawn" (1968).

Painted portraits: Ann Rymaitės actors, unes Babickaitė, Teofilija Vaičiūnienė, writers Vydūnas, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, Juozas Tysliava, Liudas Gira, Kazys Binkis, historian Simonas Daukantas, artist M. K. Čiurlionis and others.