Birutė Janina Grasilda Žilytė-Steponavičienė (born June 2, 1930) is a Lithuanian graphic artist, book illustrator, painter, and educator.
["Birutė Žilytė"]
'' Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia''[Nacionalinės premijos laureatė B. Žilytė: mano gyvenimą lydi atsitiktinumai"]
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Biography
She was born in , Panevėžys District
Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...
.[ In 1956 she graduated from State Institute of Art (now Vilnius Academy of Arts). From 1963 to 1987 she taught at the Čiurlionis School of Art.][
She is married to , painter, graphic artist, book illustrator, and writer.]["Birutė Žilytė-Steponavičienė pasitinka 90-ąjį jubiliejų: pamačiusi vaivorykštę suprato – kurs tik ryškiai"]
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Notable works
Pušelė sanatorium murals
In 2015 the murals in Valkininkai children's sanatorium "Pušelė" ("Little Pine Tree"), created together with her husband during 1969–1972, were included into the . On the occasion, the head of the regional Cultural Heritage department Margarita Janušonienė noticed that it is an important example of the cooperation of a duo of complementary artists and the consolidation of creative freedom against Soviet censorship and the regulation of art in public spaces.["Valstybės saugomais paskelbti trys unikalūs kultūros paveldo objektai"]
/ref>[ The murals, based on the motifs of Lithuanian folklore, are described as "one of the most remarkable works of Lithuanian modernist art of the second half of the 20th century". The original work is in a vandalized and neglected state. A digitally restored copy, based on photographs made in 2016-2018 was prepared by the Vilnius Gallery project, with the assistance of the artist. The reconstructed copy was printed on aluminium composite sheets, for exhibitions.
The mural paintings constitute 12 compositions of total area of about 110 sq.m.][
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Book illustrations
In 1969 Birutė Žilytė was awarded the Golden Apple award at the Bratislava Children's Book Illustration Biennale for her illustrations for the 1967 edition of the poetry book ''Aukso sietelis'' (''The Golden Sieve'') by Janis Rainis
Rainis was the pseudonym of Jānis Pliekšāns (September 11, 1865 – September 12, 1929), a Latvian poet, playwright, translator, and politician. Rainis' works include the classic plays ''Uguns un nakts'' (''Fire and Night'', 1905) and ''Ind ...
.[Erika Grigoravičienė]
CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS
MO Museum
MO Museum is a modern art museum in Vilnius, Lithuania. As a private initiative of Lithuanian scientists and philanthropists Danguolė Butkienė and Viktoras Butkus, it functioned as an art museum without walls for about ten years. The collection ...
Her illustrations for ''Pabėgusi dainelė'' (''Runaway Song'', 1966) and ''Pasaka apie narsią Vilniaus mergaitę ir galvažudį Žaliabarzdį'' (''The Tale of a Brave Girl from Vilnius and Greenbeard the Killer'', 1970) earned her the Lithuanian SSR State Award (1971).[
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Awards and decorations
*1971: Lithuanian SSR State Award[
*1997: Knight's Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas][
*1980. Meritorious Artist of Lithuanian SSR][PANEVĖŽIO ŠLOVĖS ALĖJA: ŽYMIAUSIEJI KRAŠTIEČIAI. BIRUTĖ JANINA GRASILDA ŽILYTĖ (STEPONAVIČIENĖ)]
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*2010: Culture and Arts Award of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania[
*2015: Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, "for art and creativity for children that fosters high modern culture."][
*2020: Honorary Professor at the Vilnius Academy of Arts"Pagerbtos dailininkė B. Žilytė-Steponavičienė ir rašytoja K. Sabaliauskaitė"]
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References
Externam Links
"Birutė Žilytė"
at "Vilniaus galerija" website. Includes photographies of works, a biographical sketch, and quotes about Birutė Žilytė's creativity from books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zilyte-Steponaviciene, Birute
1930 births
Living people
Lithuanian artists
Knight's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
21st-century Lithuanian women artists
Lithuanian children's book illustrators