Mikalojus Konstantinas ÃÂiurlionis (; â ) was a Lithuanian composer, painter, choirmaster, cultural figure, and writer in Polish.
ÃÂiurlionis contributed to symbolism and Art Nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. He has been considered one of the pioneers of abstract art in Europe. During his short life, he composed about 400 pieces of music and created about 300 paintings, as well as many literary works and poems. The majority of his paintings are housed in the M. K. ÃÂiurlionis National Art Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania. His works have had a profound influence on modern Lithuanian culture.
Mikalojus Konstantinas ÃÂiurlionis was born in Senoji VarÃÂna, a town in southeastern Lithuania which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. His mother Adelà(AdelaidÃÂ) Ona Marija Magdalena née Radmanaità(Radmann) (1854-1919) came from a Lutheran family of Bavarian origin, born in Vileikiai village (Lazdijai region). She finished elementary school in Seirijai. Orphaned at the age of 14, she worked as a nanny in Count Oppermann's estate in Anià ¡kis. His father, Konstantinas ÃÂiurlionis (1851-1914, born in Guobiniai) was an organist and a choirmaster who briefly played the organ in Lià ¡kiava, where the couple met.
The newly formed family moved to Senoji VarÃÂna, where their eldest child, Mikalojus, was born. There were nine siblings altogether: Mikalojus Konstantinas (1875-1911), Marija (1879-1969), JuzÃÂ (1882-1969), Povilas (1884-1945), Stasys (1887-1944), Petras (1890-1924), Jonas (1891-1955), Valerija (1896-1955), and Jadvyga (1898-1992).
Even though ÃÂiurlionis' family spoke Polish, Mikalojus Konstantinas could understand and read Lithuanian, albeit not fluently, receiving assistance from his fiancée from 1907 onwards.
In 1878, his family moved to Druskininkai, away, where his father went on to serve as the town organist. This is where Mikalojus Konstantinas, called Konstantinas or Kastukas by the family, started publicly displaying his musical proficiency - he was a musical prodigy: he could play by ear at the age of five and could sight-read music freely by the age of seven. He would often fill in for his father playing the organ at Mass, while he played piano at home. A family friend, doctor Jozef Markiewicz noticed his natural talent and, upon Mikalojus' graduation from the folk school of Druskininkai, wrote a letter to the Lithuanian noble Michaà  Mikoà Âaj Ogià Âski recommending to enrol M. K. ÃÂiurlionis to the Palace Orchestra School in PlungÃÂ.
M. K. ÃÂiurlionis studied in the PlungàPalace Orchestra School from 1889 to 1893. Here he played the flute, received his first orchestra uniform and musical theory basics. He would often travel with the orchestra to play concerts in Rietavas, Palanga, Riga. He had a close relationship with M. Ogià Âski, who granted him a scholarship which allowed the composer to study in Warsaw.
Supported by Prince Ogià Âski's scholarship ÃÂiurlionis studied piano and composition at Warsaw Institute of Music from 1894 to 1899. He studied piano with the guidance of , and composition with the guidance of the composer Zygmunt Noskowski. Here he met the future Polish composer and director of the Warsaw Conservatory . Together they discussed music and paintings, critiqued each other's compositions, and went on vacation at Morawski's parents' place in Zakroczym. Here he met his friend's sister Maria Morawska. Her father, after noticing the love of his young daughter for the - at the time unknown - artist, intervened and married Maria off to a widower. M. K. ÃÂiurlionis buried himself in work: he wrote preludes, fugues, canons, and cycles of variations for the piano. For his graduation, in 1899, he wrote a cantata for mixed chorus and symphonic orchestra titled De Profundis, and received the diploma for composition. He declined the offer to become the orchestra master for Lublin's Music Society Choir and continued creating - in 1900 he finished his first symphonic poem "In the Forest", which was dedicated to E. Morawski.
After receiving the approval and further scholarship from M. Ogià Âski, M. K. ÃÂiurlionis enrolled at the Leipzig Conservatory from 16 October 1901 until 14 July 1902. There he was taught composition, his main subject, by Carl Reinecke, counterpoint by Salomon Jadassohn and music theory by Emil Paul, as well as organ by Paul Homeyer and piano by Carl Heinrich Heynsen. Though he was not proficient in German, he still enrolled in aesthetics, history, and psychology classes. It is apparent from letters that M. K. ÃÂiurlionis felt very lonely in Leipzig and wanted to come back to Druskininkai; he constantly wrote letters to his family and E. Morawski.
As he was in Leipzig, he listened to and studied the works of G. F. Haendel, P. Tchaikovsky, R. Wagner, F. Liszt, H. Berlioz, and R. Strauss, and created the symphonic overture "KÃÂstutis". Since he couldn't come back home, he started drawing during his free time. The sudden death of M. Ogià Âski and disrupted financial support made it harder to finish his studies , but he succeeded in receiving the teacher's license from Leipzig's Conservatory.
M. K. ÃÂiurlionis returned to Warsaw in 1902 and joined the Warsaw Drawing School where he was taught drawing by Jan Kauzik. As he was living in Warsaw, he had to work as a private music tutor to support himself and his brothers, who were also studying in Warsaw. With the strong decision to paint, he refused to teach at Warsaw's Institute of Music. In 1903, he painted the 7-painting cycle "Funeral Symphony", but also did not forget music: he started creating his second symphonic poem "The Sea".
He continued his painting studies in Warsaw School of Fine Arts from 1904 to 1906. His main teacher in Warsaw was symbolist painter Kazimierz Stabrowski, who was also the founder of the first lodges of the Theosophical Society in Poland and passed to ÃÂiurlionis an interest in Theosophy and other esoteric subjects. In the School he was taught drawing by Karol Tichy and Konrad Krzyà ¼anowski, sculpture by Xawery Dunikowski, painting by Ferdynand Ruszczyc, and went to the organized plein-air sessions. In 1904 he showed 19 of his works (stained glass projects, cycle of 6 paintings "The Storm", book covers) in the private exhibition of the School. In 1905 M. K. ÃÂiurlionis held an exhibition where he showed the 10-painting cycle "Fantasies"; in the same year he also participated in the first annual exhibition of Warsaw School of Arts.
As he was working as a private music tutor, he acquainted himself with the family of Wolmans, who quickly became his friends. He had an especially warm relationship with Bronisà Âawa Wolman, who sponsored M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' painting. As a thank you, M. K. ÃÂiurlionis gifted her numerous paintings including "Friendship" (1906/1907). In 1905 B. Wolman invited M. K. ÃÂiurlionis with a couple of his friends to the resort town of Anapa, near the Black Sea. Here M. K. ÃÂiurlionis traveled the Caucasus, painted, photographed, and searched for inspiration.
B. Wolman gave M. K. ÃÂiurlionis money for his trip through Europe: he went to Prague, Dresden, Nuremberg, Munich, Vienna; the artist adored the works of Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Böcklin. In 1906 he showed his works in the exhibition of Warsaw's School of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg (the cycles "Creation of the World", "Day", "The Storm" and other creations). Articles started appearing in the press about M. K. ÃÂiurlionis, the first Lithuanian article was in "Vilniaus à ¾inios" (no. 123).
In 1906, M. K. ÃÂiurlionis wrote to his brother Povilas: "I am going to dedicate all of my previous and future work to Lithuania". As he received the invitation to participate in the First Exhibition of Lithuanian Art in 1907 at Vileià ¡is Palace, Vilnius, he sent his paintings (33 paintings shown), and also helped organize it. Soon after this event, the Lithuanian Art Society was founded, and ÃÂiurlionis was one of its 19 founding members.
In 1907 M. K. ÃÂiurlionis moved to Vilnius, where he lived on 11 SaviÃÂiaus Street, and actively involved himself in culture: he was elected to the board of Lithuanian Art Society, was the choirmaster of the choir "Vilniaus kanklÃÂs". During his visit to the dress rehearsal of "Blinda" by Gabrielius Landsbergis-à ½emkalnis he met the writer Sofija Kymantaità(1886âÂÂ1958). Together with her and the Lithuanian Art Society they prepared the Second Exhibition of Lithuanian Art and discussed the creation of "Folk Palace" (art museum).
Together with Sofija (fiancée) they went to Palanga in 1908, and on 1 January 1909 they got married, later visiting Sofija's parents in Kuliai, KarklÃÂnai, Sofija's uncle in PlungÃÂ, stayed in Druskininkai.
Trying to become more known, M. K. ÃÂiurlionis followed his friends' advice and left for Saint Petersburg in 1908. Here he met Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, who introduced the Lithuanian artist to the Russian Artist Society. To have enough money, he had to once again become a private music tutor. While in Saint Petersburg, M. K. ÃÂiurlionis did not forget Lithuania: he proposed creating a music section at the Lithuanian Art Society, sent harmonized folk songs to the "Vilniaus kanklÃÂs" choir, and, together with Sofija, wrote music for their opera "Jà «ratÃÂ".
In 1909, after their wedding and parent visits, the newlyweds came to Saint Petersburg. Here M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' paintings were exhibited in "Salon" exhibition, in the Sixth Exhibition of Russian Artist Society, among them â his newest painting â "Rex" (1909). A few of his paintings he also sent to the First Spring Exhibition of Vilnius Artist Society, to the Thirteenth Art Lover Society "Sztuka" Exhibition in Krakow. In March, 1909, Sofija and M. K. ÃÂiurlionis came back to Lithuania, where they helped organize the Third Art Exhibition of Lithuanian Art, painted the "Rà «ta" Society hall curtain, and wrote the critique essay book In Lithuania. At the end of the year, M. K. ÃÂiurlionis left for Saint Petersburg again.
Constant work without breaks, and material deprivations, tired out M. K. ÃÂiurlionis - Sofija found him acting strangely on Christmas Eve and brought him to the neuropathologist and psychiatrist V. Bechterev, who diagnosed him with burnout. In 1910 the pair came back to Druskininkai. Later on M. K. ÃÂiurlionis was hospitalized in a health resort "Czerwony Dwór" (Red Manor) in Marki, Poland, northeast of Warsaw. While he was recovering, his only daughter â Danutàâ was born. In 1911, he went for a walk and caught pneumonia, eventually dying on 10 April 1911 at 35 years of age. He was buried at the Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius. He never saw his daughter Danutà(1910âÂÂ1995).
ÃÂiurlionis felt that he was a synesthete; that is, he perceived colours and music simultaneously. Many of his paintings bear the names of musical pieces: sonatas, fugues, and preludes.
M. K. ÃÂiurlionis is the originator of Lithuanian professional music. The precise number of ÃÂiurlionis' musical compositions is not known â a substantial part of his manuscripts did not survive, including those that perished in the fire during the war. The ones available for us today include sketches, rough drafts, and fragments of his musical ideas. The nature of the archive determined the fact that ÃÂiurlionis' works were finally published only a hundred years after the composer's death. Today, the archive amounts to almost 400 compositions, the major part of which are works for piano (around 200), but also significant opuses for symphony orchestra (symphonic poems "In the Forest" and "The Sea", symphonic overture "KÃÂstutis", cantata for choir and orchestra "De Profundis"), string quartet, fugue "Kyrie", works like "Sanctus", "Agnus Dei", "Let's not be sad" ("Nelià «skime"), works for various choirs (original compositions and Lithuanian folk song arrangements (around 40)), as well as works for organ.
In 1909 his collection book of harmonized Lithuanian folk songs "VieversÃÂlis" was published in Warsaw. M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' harmonized folk songs like "Dawning dawn" ("Beauà ¡tanti auà ¡relÃÂ"), "Oh It Goes, It Goes" ("Oi lekia, lekia"), "Dad Will Dance" ("à  oks tÃÂvelis suktinï"), and "Promised So Far" ("Taip toli à ¾adÃÂta") were played/sung in Lithuanian song festivals in Chicago (USA) and Toronto (Canada).
Together with Kazimieras Bà «ga, Augustinas Voldemaras, ÃÂeslovas Sasnauskas, J. Tallat-Kelpà ¡a, M. K.ÃÂiurlionis prepared the Lithuanian music terminology dictionary "Our music terminology" ("Mà «sà ³ muzikos terminologija") in 1909.
Some of his most-performed musical works include:
M. K. ÃÂiurlionis started to form late as a painter. Even though it is known that he would paint his surroundings while studying in PlungÃÂ in 1893, he started his path as a professional painter only when he was 27 years old, after he joined the Warsaw Drawing School. Later M. K. ÃÂiurlionis said "They did not teach me anything there that I wanted to learn". Already in the first paintings M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' inclination was visible towards symbolism and abstraction, the veil of mysticism and secrecy in creating. He chose the antique painting method with tempera as the art technique with which he was most comfortable. Another characteristic showed M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' attraction to antique art - compositions of cycles, diptychs, triptychs, most common to the art of the Middle Ages. In the first of M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' paintings (from 1903) there is an abundance of fantasy creatures, mystic rulers of the past, traces of Lithuanian pagan culture, elements of cosmogony - Gods, planets, stars, the Sun. These elements accompanied the painter during all of his creative life, receiving more concrete and suggestive forms. From the very beginning, M. K. ÃÂiurlionis felt that the best form to express himself was the cyclical exploration of an idea. And thus such cycles were created as the 7-painting cycle "Funeral symphony" (1903), the 4-painting cycle "Day" (1904, one painting missing), the 5-painting cycle "The Deluge" (1904, one painting missing), triptych "Rex" (1904, not to confuse with the culminative painting "Rex" of 1909), 13-painting cycle "Creation of the World" (1905/6), 3-painting cycle "Sparks" (1906), and the 12-painting cycle "Zodiac" (1906).
The time between 1907 and 1909 was the most mature and productive for M. K. ÃÂiurlionis as a painter. His paintings from this period have clearer, more stylised forms. His 8-painting cycle "Winter" (1907) and triptych "My Road" (1907) are especially mature, verging on the border of abstraction. There are more traces of musical structure in his painting: the 4-painting cycles, repeating the musical sonata structures with parts allegro, andante, scherzo, finale. M. K. ÃÂiurlionis painted 7 sonatas which received their associative names after his death: "Sonata I (Sonata of the Sun)" (1907), "Sonata II (Sonata of the Spring)" (1907), "Sonata no. 3 (Sonata of the Serpent)" (1908), "Sonata no. 4 (Sonata of the Summer)" (1908), "Sonata no. 5 (Sonata of the Sea)" (1908), "Sonata no. 6 (Sonata of the Stars)" (1908), "Sonata no. 7 (Sonata of the Pyramids)" (1909). There are other musical paintings such as the diptych "Prelude and Fugue" (1908), "Prelude. Fugue" (1908), as well as triptych's "Fantasy" (1908) middle part of Fugue.
M. K. ÃÂiurlionis paid a lot of attention to Lithuania's past culture and to the nature of his homeland. Like creating music, when painting he looked for inspiration in folk art and culture. We can see this not only in the landscape triptych "Raigardas" (1907), but also in his fairytale motif full paintings "The Prince's Journey" (1907), triptych "Fairytale" (1907), and we can find ethnographic motif in the painting "Fairytale (Fairytale of the Fortress)" (1909).
One of the most famous of M. K. ÃÂiurlionis painting is "Rex", created in 1909. Here the artist's experience connects with the research of C. Flammarion, Holy Scripture, and Indo-European myths.
Some of the most popular paintings by Mikalojus Konstantinas ÃÂiurlionis include:
ÃÂiurlionis was also a gifted writer, keeping diaries and writing prose, poems, and verses. He wrote in Polish and was deeply influenced by Polish literature, especially the poetry of Juliusz Sà Âowacki and the poets of the Young Poland movement. A major inspiration for all of ÃÂiurlionisâÂÂs literary work was Sà ÂowackiâÂÂs poem Król-Duch.
He is, however, generally regarded as a writer of the grotesque, In Tomas VenclovaâÂÂs view, his prose bears some resemblance to that of Franz Kafka. Very little of his literary output has survived, as ÃÂiurlionis did not publish during his lifetime, and most of his manuscripts were lost during World War II. What remains is known mainly from fragmentary and imperfect prewar translations by Jurgis à  lapelis.
Several hundred letters written by ÃÂiurlionis have been preserved, primarily because he used to copy the letters he sent. Most of them were written in Polish, with only five composed in Lithuanian.
One of the few surviving fragments of ÃÂiurlionisâÂÂs original literary work, PamiÃÂtniki rekonwalescenta (Memoirs of a Convalescent), is found in a letter to his brother Povilas. Another preserved piece is the cycle known as Listy do Dewduraczka (Letters to Dewduraczek). Also extant in the original are his youthful, folk-stylized song Piosnka (Little Song, incipit: âÂÂHej po Niemnie, po bà ÂÃÂkitnymâ¦âÂÂ) and Aforyzmy [o mià Âoà Âci] (Aphorisms [on Love]).
After ÃÂiurlionis's death in 1911, the Russian critic (transliterated as Tschoudowsky in English) wrote: <blockquote>Now that he is dead, the authors of the spiritual revival of Lithuania present Ciurlionis (sic) as a national artist. It is not for us to judge; however his extraordinary independence of all contemporary art leads one to believe that he was really created by the hidden forces of his people; and it is well for us to be able to believe that this singular genius does not merely represent a chance caprice of fate, but is the precursor of a future sublime Lithuanian art. When I think of him, an idea imposes itself on my mind: the Lithuanian people had no Middle Ages, perhaps it has preserved intact until the 20th century, even better than we Russians, the immense energy of mystic life inherited from the Arians which our Western brothers have so prodigally squandered in their Middle Ages.</blockquote> In 1911, the first posthumous exhibition of ÃÂiurlionis' art was held in Vilnius and Kaunas. During the same year, an exhibition of his art was held in Moscow, and in 1912 his works were exhibited in St. Petersburg.
On 13 January 1913, ÃÂiurlionis division was formed next to Lithuanian Art Society and one of its goals was to accumulate the late painter's works of art. The need to save M. K. ÃÂiurlionis heritage hastened art lovers to take more action in creating the "Folk Palace" - an art museum to house these paintings.
In 1913 with the initiative of Stasys à  ilingas and Antanas à ½muidzinaviÃÂius, a fund to buy M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' paintings was created. The finances came from donations and the members of Lithuanian Art Society fees.
On 14 December 1921 the law to create M. K. ÃÂiurlionis gallery was passed by the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania. The temporary M. K. ÃÂiurlionis gallery was opened in Kaunas on 13 December 1925 thanks to Paulius GalaunÃÂ. On 1 November 1936, the gallery was moved to the newly built Vytautas Magnus Culture Museum palace. In 1944, this art museum was renamed M. K. ÃÂiurlionis State Museum of Arts.
In 1957, the Lithuanian community in Chicago opened the ÃÂiurlionis Art Gallery, hosting collections of his works.
In 1963, the ÃÂiurlionis Memorial Museum was opened in Druskininkai, in the house where ÃÂiurlionis and his family lived. This museum holds biographical documents as well as photographs and reproductions of the artist's works. In 1965, the second ÃÂiurlionis' family home opened up.
In 1964, Lithuanian alpinists climbed several peaks of the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan and named the first one (5794 m) ÃÂiurlionis Peak (Lithuanian: ÃÂiurlionio virà ¡à «nÃÂ) at the suggestion of a team member, pianist Aleksandras Jurgelionis.
In 1965, a sculptor, medal creator Juozas Kalinauskas created the M. K. ÃÂiurlionis memorial medal.
The National M. K. ÃÂiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius was named after M. K. ÃÂiurlionis in 1965. It received the National status in 2001.
In 1968 the M. K. ÃÂiurlionis quartet[<nowiki/>] was formed.
In 1969 M. K. ÃÂiurlionis gallery was moved to the annex building (architect Feliksas Vitas) of the museum.
ÃÂiurlionis inspired the Lithuanian composer Osvaldas Balakauskas' work Sonata of the Mountains (1975), and every four years junior musical performers from Lithuania and neighboring countries take part in the ÃÂiurlionis Competition.
In 1975 the Crimean astrophysicist Nikolai Chernykh discovered a new asteroid (diameter of 8 km) and named it ÃÂiurlionis asteroid.
In Senoji VarÃÂna, at the place of the house where M. K. ÃÂiurlionis was born there is a memorial rock. From Old VarÃÂna to Druskininkai there is "ÃÂiurlionis route" an alley of 22 oak waycrosses, created by folk craftsmen in 1975-1976.
In 1995 Druskininkai music school was named after M. K. ÃÂiurlionis. The international M. K. ÃÂiurlionis pianist and organ player competitions are held here.
In 1995 M. K. ÃÂiurlionis' home in Vilnius was opened.
In 1997 the M. K. ÃÂiurlionis State Museum of Arts was given the status of a National museum and was renamed to M. K. ÃÂiurlionis National Art Museum; it continues to host the majority of ÃÂiurlionis paintings. Some of ÃÂiurlionis' paintings are also in the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, the Warsaw's National Museum, and the State Russian museum in Saint Petersburg.
ÃÂiurlionis' works have been displayed at international exhibitions in Japan, Germany, Spain, and elsewhere. His paintings were featured at "Visual Music" fest, an homage to synesthesia that included the works of Wassily Kandinsky, James McNeill Whistler, and Paul Klee, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2005.
In 2009, published Musical Paintings, a book where she argued that Theosophy, esotericism and Spiritualism were important influences on ÃÂiurlionis' art.
In 2009 LRT (Lithuanian national television) broadcast 12 documentary episodes, dedicated to M. K. ÃÂiurlionis, called "Code of ÃÂiurlionis", in the series "Signs of Time" (Laiko à ¾enklai). Authors were L. Pocià «nienàand P. Savickis.
A commemorative plaque has been placed on the building of the former hospital in Marki, Poland where Mikalojus Konstantinas ÃÂiurlionis died in 1911.
In 2011, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the artist's death, UNESCO declared the year of M. K. ÃÂiurlionis. The remembrance of M. K. ÃÂiurlionis was celebrated with various events. There was a specific musical note manuscript published in Japan.
ÃÂiurlionis's life was depicted in the 2012 film Letters to Sofija, directed by Robert Mullan.
In 2019 the first national certified cultural route, the "M. K. ÃÂiurlionis route" started its activities. Each year it unites seven regions of Lithuania connected to M. K. ÃÂiurlionis in two main events celebrating M. K. ÃÂiurlionis (topographic week "Lithuania of M. K.ÃÂiurlionis" in May, and M. K. ÃÂiurlionis birthday celebration in September).
The personality and creations of M. K. ÃÂiurlionis interest not only Lithuanian, but also foreign art researchers. The most famous researchers in Lithuania are his sisters Jadvyga ÃÂiurlionytàand Valerija ÃÂiurlionytÃÂ-Karuà ¾ienÃÂ; other famous researchers include Vytautas Landsbergis, Antanas Andrijauskas, and RasutàAndriuà ¡ytÃÂ-à ½ukienÃÂ. There are many books and articles continuously published.
Books about M. K. ÃÂiurlionis:
To further research on M. K. ÃÂiurlionis each year the conference "Sonatic soundscapes of M. K. ÃÂiurlionis" is held in Druskininkai.
A lot of institutions researching M. K. ÃÂiurlionis are united by the first national certificated cultural route "M. K. ÃÂiurlionis route".
Mikalojus had four brothers: Povilas ÃÂiurlionis (1884-1945), (1887-1944), Petras ÃÂiurlionis (1890-1924), (1891-1955) and four sisters: Marija ÃÂiurlionytà(1879-1969), JuzàÃÂiurlionytÃÂ-Stulgaitienà(1882-1966), Valerija ÃÂiurlionytÃÂ-Karuà ¾ienà(1896-1982), (1898-1992).