Two in art world: artist M . K. Čiurlionis and writer S. Čiurlionienė-Kymantaitė

Straipsnyje svarstoma, kokias intelektines įtakas, tiesioginį ir netiesioginį poveikį vienas kitam galėjo padaryti šios dvi Lietuvos kultūrai labai svarbios asmenybės - dailininkas ir kompozitorius Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis ir rašytoja, žurnalistė Sofija Kymantaitė. Bandoma atsakyti į klausimą, kaip juos veikė bendra kultūrinė patirtis: Lenkijoje praleisti gyvenimo metai, Varšuvos ir Krokuvos kultūrinės teipės pažinimas. Kymantaitę ir Čiurlionį siejo tie patys kultūriniai idealai, tautiniai troškimai, bendra simbolistinė ir modernistinė estetinė platforma - lenkų modernistinis sąjūdis „Młoda polska". Šiuo straipsniu siekiama atskleisti artimas Čiurlionio ir Kymantaitės pasaulėjautos ir kūrybos savybes, apibūdinti bendrą kultūrinį jų veiklos kontekstą ir apibrėžti Kymantaitę ir Čiurlionį jungusius simbolistinius ir modernistinius idealus. Daugiausia dėmesio straipsnyje skiriama tiesioginiams Kymantaitės ir Čiurlionio kūrybiniams saitams - jų bandymams kurti operą, dalijimuisi kūrybinėmis idėjomis, tarpusavio diskusijoms. Jiedu - vienintelė XX a. pradžios Lietuvoje šeimyninė pora, kuri yra siejama ne tik bendrų visuomeninių ir kūrybinių idealų, bet ir noro kurti.Article examines creative collaboration of the two artists - M. K. Čiurlionis (1875-1911) and Sofia Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė (1886-1958). The letters of M. K. Čiurlionis (archived at the National M.K. Čiurlionis Art Museum in Kaunas) as well as the memoirs of S. Kymantaitė and other contemporaries testify to the close spiritual relationship these two people shared. The main objective of this paper is to define the creative and social ideals that these two artists shared and to reveal the parallels that exist between the textual ideas and images of M . K. Čiurlionis and S. Kymantaitė. This paper explores the intellectual influences, direct and indirect artistic and personal impact that these artists of the 20th century had upon one another. They met in 1907 in Vilnius, and were drawn to each other by their familiarity with the cultural scenes of Warsaw and Krakow, by the same cultural and social ideals of the Lithuanian national revival of the 20th century, by their similar aesthetic and artistic perceptions, as well as their similar cultural background formed during the period of their studies. In 1904-1907, S. Kymantaitė studied medicine, philosophy, and literature at the University of Krakow, while M. K. Čiurlionis spent about six years intermittently living in Warsaw (1897-1906). The Young Poland Movement "Młoda polska" had a great influence on both of them. M . K. Čiurlionis became acquainted with the members of this movement in 1904-1906 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. S. Kymantaitė knew him as an integral part of the Krakow literary circles. The article tries to highlight the similarities of S. Kymantaitė's and M. K. Čiurlionis's outlooks and the specific manifestations of their creative collaboration: in their attempts to write and paint together, in sharing creative ideas in their letters, in the idea of creating a Lithuanian opera "Jūratė" as well as in symbolist images manifested in the literary texts of S. Kymantaitė created after M. K. Čiurlionis's death. During the years of intensive collaboration they devoted a lot of attention to one another's creative work. This is evidenced by a multitude of facts: in one of the letters written in 1908 the artist remembers to ask his bride about the sequel of her satirical novel "A Trip around Lithuania with Pikčiukas" that she had been working on then; Sofia includes her future husband's article "On Music" in her book "Lithuania" (1908); M . K. Čiurlionis illustrates this book, designs its cover and the initials (they were not used in the book). These and other facts show that the collaboration of these two artists was not only spiritually intense, but also creatively productive. It was not only S. Kymantaitė who wrote literary texts; M. K. Čiurlionis did, too. It is interesting to note that there are quite a few overlapping concepts, symbols, and images there. For example, the sea and the longing motives are dominant in the thoughts and texts of both artists. The use of a similar vocabulary reveals their inner unity and demonstrates the significance of their symbolist ideals. All of this led M. K. Čiurlionis and S. Kymantaitė to the spiritualized, abstracted expression, to the harmonious unity of their texts, colors and rhythms. S. Kymantaitė and M. K. Čiurlionis's creative tandem was extremely significant in the formation of Lithuanian modern literature and art.[...