Found and restored sculptures of Evangelists

Sculptures of four evangelists were discovered in the Church of St. Jonhs, Vilnius, and they are only a small part of forgotten and newly discovered artworks of this church. The Church of St. Johns has a long history of rebuilding, restoration, facade and interior changes. During reorganization of the chapels’ altars, many sculptures from other churches of Vilnius that were closed after the Uprising of 1831 found shelter in the Church of St. Johns. In 1979 the Science Museum was established in the Church of St. Johns, and the premises were adapted to the needs of the museum – sculptures and altars were removed. During the last restoration of the church (1972–1979), sculptures were moved to the basement and ancillary rooms next to the organ. To this day, twenty two sculptures have been preserved in these premises: four allegorical, four evangelists, two angels, six angels, five saints and a small of sculpture Prophet Zacharias. In 2010 Vilnius University Museum was established. Sculptures were raised from oblivion and their gradual restoration started. In 2015–2016 five artworks were completely restored: four evangelists and the sculpture of St. Barbara. This publication analyses the sculptural group of evangelists, which dates back to the mid-18th century