Image of the ruler in the wood carvings of Lithuanian folk artists

Straipsnyje pirmą kartą aptariama Lietuvos valdovų ikonografija tautodailininkų medžio drožyboje. Nagrinėjami šventojo valdovo (šv. Kazimiero) ir Lietuvos didžiųjų kunigaikščių (Vytauto, Mindaugo, Gedimino, Kęstučio, Jogailos, Algirdo) atvaizdai, sukurti nuo Atgimimo pradžios (XX a. 9 deš. pab.) iki dabar. Analizuojami pagrindiniai atributai ir ženklai, identifikuojantys vieną ar kitą valdovą, nurodomi ikonografiniai sukurtų atvaizdų šaltiniai, atskleidžiami būdingiausi valdovų vaizdavimo medžio drožyboje bruožai.Contemporary folk artists sculptors and wood carvers do not avoid portraying historic themes and historical personalities in their creations. Images of the rulers of Lithuania comprise a significant amount of it. Most frequently the only one sacred ruler of Lithuania is portrayed - St. Casimir. Also, sculptures of grand dukes have been created, especially those of Mindaugas and Vytautas the Great. Important events related to rulers, or their family members have been carved quite rarely. In the paper the iconography of the rulers of Lithuania in the works of folk artists is discussed for the first time. The images of the sacred ruler St. Casimir and the grand dukes of Lithuania (Vytautas, Mindaugas, Gediminas, Kęstutis, Jogaila, Algirdas), which were created from the beginning of the Rebirth (9th decade of the 20th century) until now, are examined. When creating St. Casimir's sculptures folk artists refer to the established iconography, using the canonical pose, gestures and attributes. However, at present, unlike the traditional folk sculpture, a greater emphasis is paid not on St. Casimir's piety, but to reveal his image as a patron of Lithuania. Lithuanian grand dukes are often depicted by one composite scheme, inherited from the interwar monuments to Vytautas the Great - a standing armoured knight with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Often these attributes are accompanied by one or more signs of a ruler (the crown, scepter, and the reigns apple). Therefore, the sculptures of dukes arc characterized by the uniting of two images - hero and king. Although, sometimes only the image of the ruler is highlighted in the sculptures of dukes. Vytautas and Mindaugas are depicted in this way. And only one king - Jogaila is never depicted as heroi. Folk artists seek to give portrait likeness to each of the duke's images. For this reason they introduce some attributes, signs, and symbols specific only to one or another ruler, and sometimes use records. Certain signs characterizing the epoch or residence of the duke are found in almost all depictions of certain rulers, such as, the legend of the founding of Vilnius (wolf and Gediminas' Castle Tower) for Grand Duke Gediminas; monogram, date of baptism or the coronation, the royal crown, scepter, reign's apple - for Mindaugas; ducal crown, royal robe, the coat of arms of Lithuanian Grand Duke for Vytautas; royal crown, the reigns apple - for Jogaila. Only Kęstutis and Algirdas images are lacking customized attributes. Trying to get portrait likeness wood carvers, as a visual basic source, use the reproductions, duplications or under them redrawn illustrations of portraits of the dukes in various popular publications and on the Internet. Usually they follow illustrations of the A. Guagnini chronicle "A Description of Sarmatian Europe" (1578) and their remakes; they also use reproductions of Vytautas portraits from the 17th-18th centuries and reproductions of portraits by J. Matejko and A. Penkowski