Paintings of Napoleon Orda Restore the View of Historical Lithuania

This year is the 200th jubilee of the birth of painter, composer and intellectual Napoleonas Orda (1807- 1883). He was an artist who considered himself to be a citizen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Orda realized the significance of the quickly vanishing valuables of the former states' culture. He hurried to immortalize its castles, churches, estates and towns by a pencil and brush. Year-by-year he traveled across the former territory of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and created over a thousand pictures of old Lithuania. On the occasion of the artist jubilee it is recommended to recall his heritage, to look through V. Levandauskas and R. Vaičekonytė-Kepežinskienė is monograph about N. Orda, and to appreciate the work of art critics. This monograph is the most thorough and lavishly illustrated publication about the artist. The gestation of the book took over ten years because the manuscripts and documents of N. Orda are spread throughout museums and archives of Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and France. Thus the monograph is distinguished by an abundance of new information, reproductions of high quality, as well as by the design of the book and elegant shaping of the text and illustrations. The well planned structure of the book is convenient for readers who have various interests. The review of the artist's life and oeuvre is produced in a separate chapter. The biggest part of the book is intended for discussion of the objects which the artist painted. In the discussion the standpoints of art critics and architecture are merged. This fundamental monograph of V. Levandauskas and R. Vaičekonytė-Kepežinskienė significantly supplements researches of architectural iconography in LithuaniaVytauto Didžiojo universiteta