The special work of Kazis Varnelis from the USA reached the Lithuanian National Museum Culture

K. Varnelis is usually recognized as a master of opart, but he is not yet widely known as a creator of church art. The work was handed over to the Lithuanian National Museum (LNM), it will be kept by the Kazis Varnelis House-Museum of the LNM.

After 67 years – a gift to Lithuania

The monstrance was created in 1957, when K. Varnelis, in collaboration with other Lithuanian artists and builders, created St. The interior of the chapel of the Convent of the Poor Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in Putnam, Connecticut (USA). Until now, it was recognizable to us only from the artist’s sketches and black-and-white photographs taken by him.

In order for the special exhibit to reach the Kazis Varnelis house-museum of LNM, both institutions and individuals contributed: art critic dr. Laura Petrauskaitė, who recorded a rare work in the Putnam Monastery, St. Sister Ignė Marijošiūtė of the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, who preserved and transferred the church relic to Lithuania, other members of the Lithuanian community in the United States; the diplomats of the Republic of Lithuania actively cooperated, especially the Consul General of Lithuania in New York Vaclovas Šalkauskas and adviser Jurgita Bilvaišienė.

Photo by A. Bēkšta. / Handover of the monstrance designed by Kazio Varnelis to the Kazio Varnelis house-museum

Kazys Varnelis is a designer of church interiors

It is not clear where the monstrance ordered according to K. Varnelis’s sketch was produced, but it is known that the artist collaborated with both Italian and US companies when creating church interiors, and you can learn more about the creative process itself from the artist’s correspondence stored in the Kazis Varnelis home-museum . The letters reflect the sincere and open relationship between the artist and the nuns who served in the monastery at that time.

Nuns, 1957 after receiving the monstrance in December, happily informed the artist about the work he had done: “Thank you for all the trouble. You can really enjoy the beautiful creative work and the news that the monstrance is very beautiful for all of us.”

However, some of the priests of the chapel at the time had some misgivings.

“The monstrance looks very beautiful on the altar, but it is not very convenient for the priests to hold it in their hands, because of the thick stem, which cuts the hand; the monstrance is heavy, so it causes some inconvenience. It’s hard to imagine everything on paper. But the priests will get used to her too,” Sister Aloyza wrote in the letter.

Photo of the National Museum of Lithuania. / Sketch of the monstrance designed by Kazio Varnelis

Director of the LNM Kazios Varnelis House-Museum dr. Daiva Vaišnienė emphasizes the uniqueness of the interior of the Putnam monastery chapel. “A lot has been written about the interior of the chapel in the expatriate press. The chapel decorated in Lithuanian style is also special in that the interior of this church is the only preserved unchanged work of the artist of this period in the USA. The interiors of other churches and chapels designed by Varnelis have been modified or decayed due to remodeling or, for example, the adaptation of the buildings to other functions. By the way, the artist also created stained glass windows and furniture for these chapels,” says D. Vaišnienė.

Although K. Varnelis himself did not particularly like to talk about the period of church art, this stage was very important in his creative biography. D. Vaišnienė, who researched the correspondence of K. Varnelis and the library fund, notices that the sketches of church interiors and stained glass windows show signs of the future turn to optical art: repetitive ornaments, engaging rhythm and geometric motifs. We can see the following features in the decoration of the monstrance – the moon is surrounded by patterns of alternating triangles and crescents, and the lower part of the monstrance, reminiscent of modernist architecture, creates an unexpected and aesthetically strong effect.

Preserving the heritage enriches modern Lithuanian culture

St. in Putnam The chapel of the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception Monastery is the only surviving church interior designed by Kazis Varnelis that has preserved his unique creative features. Today, several Lithuanian nuns still live in Putnam, who take care of the preservation of the Lithuanian cultural heritage, but the community is shrinking and the heritage itself is threatened with extinction.

“It is very important that Lithuania does not lose this heritage. The arrival of the monstrance to Lithuania is a great example of how important it is to preserve the artifacts of our culture. The LNM Kazios Varnelis House-Museum also contributes to this mission, so that the names and works of Lithuanian culture, created outside the geographical borders of Lithuania, do not go into oblivion”, says the head of the museum, D. Vaišnienė.