The Lithuanian National Museum of Art calls for contributions to the conservation of Maria Prymachenko’s artwork
The Lithuanian National Museum of Art (LNMA) and the Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius Charity and Support Fund announce a fundraising campaign for the restoration and conservation of the Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko’s artwork.
„The miraculous world of Maria Prymachenko, the legendary cultural heritage of Ukrainian culture, was badly hurt by war. The war-inflicted wounds of these fantastic animals, plants and human characters in her paintings are now treated by the professional specialists’ hands at the Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre of the LNMA. However, professionalism alone is not enough for dressing and healing these wounds, therefore I invite to show unity by contributing to another present for Ukraine. Let us revive the colours of Maria Prymachenko’s world,” Dr Arūnas Gelūnas, director general of the LNMA invites everyone to join the fundraising initiative.
Please support the restauration of the artworks by a transfer of a freely selected amount to the account of the Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius Charity and Support Fund:
Beneficiary: J. K. Chodkevičius Charity and Support Fund
Company registration code 305350324
P. Vileišio 18A, Vilnius
Bank account LT37 7044 0600 0832 3972
Purpose “Support for the restoration of artworks”
The LNMA website and by our social media accounts will show periodical updates on the amounts of funds raised.
Companies that would like to contribute to the restoration of the artwork by Prymačenko are kindly asked to contact us by e-mail parama@lndm.lt
The wounds of the sunlit world
Early September this year the LNMA and partners evacuated a collection of 100 art pieces by Maria Prymachenko. Before the transportation the condition of the works was examined by our conservation specialists.
“Fifty-one of the pieces were mounted and framed under organic Plexiglas. Thirty-two works were only mounted and supported by a poor-quality backboard. Seventeen of the badly damaged works were sandwiched between different kinds of paper sheets. The original paint layer of these works is loose and flaking, there are fragmentary areas of lost paint, and multiple tears along the edges,” Eglė Piščikaitė, the expert-restorer of artwork on paper at the Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre of the LNMA, describes the harmful effects that were established before the transportation of the artworks.
The conservation specialists soon realised that part of these war refugees will require urgent help and exceptional attention, yet first of all they had to be safely moved to Lithuania. The works were “triaged” and prepared for safe travel by placing them into special cases crafted for transportation. The framed works were placed into cases vertically, separating each with layers of shock-absorbing material. The damaged works were packed into folders of silk paper and stacked horizontally in a separate box. The adequately packaged artworks safely and successfully arrived from Lviv in Lithuania by ground transportation.
The restoration will take time, expertise and resources
The restoration process recreates the original state of the work, focusing on the areas harmfully affected by time, environment and humans. This process of treatment and healing requires attention, expertise and resources.
“The development of a detailed programme for the restoration and conservation of the artwork by Prymachenko begins with the technological examination of the paintings. Modern equipment and advanced methods of examination, such as FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and micro-chemical analysis, allow us to identify the original paint binding material and the kinds of pigments originally used by the artist. Alongside, a morphological analysis of paper pulp is conducted, its acidity levels measured. Other examination technologies are photography in dispersed visible light and ultra-violet analysis, infra-red radiation scans,” Dr Jūratė Senvaitienė, director of the Pranas Gudynas LNMA Restoration Centre explains the complexity of the process.
“Based on the examination of the damage of Prymachenko’s works, and given the artist’s fragile technique, we can predict that the restoration process will be a complex, time-consuming and taxing task, it will also need resources,” Dr Senvaitienė explains the complexity of situation.
The works by Maria Prymachenko are being restored by Eglė Piščikaitė, Paulius Zovė, Rytė Šimaitė, Jurga Blažytė-Denapienė, Janita Petrauskienė, Dalia Jonynaitė.
The LNMA and the charity organization Maria Prymachenko Family Foundation have signed a contract regarding the restoration of the artwork currently at the LNMA. The artworks have already been digitized by the Lithuanian Museums Centre for Information, Digitization and LIMIS the LNMA.
The artwork by Maria Prymachenko – the national Ukrainian legend
The exhibition of Maria Prymachenko I Give You Sunlit Art opened by Vytautas Kasiulis Museum of Art of the LNMA on 15 October showcases 60 pieces from 100-work collection by the artist evacuated from the Zaporizhzhya Regional Art Museum. The remaining works are taken care by the Museum’s conservators.
The exhibition is the first of this scale presentation of the Ukrainian artist in Lithuania.
“The visionary art of Maria Prymachenko has become an icon of Ukrainian culture. The self-taught artist is among the most cherished artists of the country. Her likeness has appeared on the country’s coinage and stamps, her works decorate the fairy-tale books, and are featured in animation films. The artist’s collections are held by sixteen Ukrainian memory institutions, meanwhile her art is exhibited worldwide,” Dr Ilona Mažeikienė, co-curator of the exhibition and director of Vytautas Kasiulis Museum of Art of the LNMA sums up the artist’s role.
Now the works under restoration process are available for viewing only during special events organized by the Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre of the LNMA, they will be on public display at Pranas Domšaitis Gallery of the LNMA in the spring of 2025.
Let us revive the colours of Maria Prymachenko’s world – let us preserve Ukrainian artistic heritage!
The fundraising campaign is organized by the Lithuanian National Museum of Art
The general partner of the fundraising campaign is Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius Charity and Support Fund
Information partners: LRT, JC Decaux Lietuva, ACM, Kautra, Forads, Sveikatos ekranai
Supporters: BTA, Nova Post, Studio libre, Baltic Voice