Juozas Zikaras (November 18, 1881 – November 10, 1944) was a
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n sculptor and artist, who created the design for pre-war
Lithuanian litas
The Lithuanian litas (ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural ''litai'' (nominative) or ''litų'' (genitive) was the currency of Lithuania, until 1 January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was divided into 100 centų (geniti ...
coins. He is considered to be one of the first professional Lithuanian sculptors.
Biography
He was born November 18, 1881 in the village of Paliūkai near
Panevėžys
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
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
(then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
). Between 1904 and 1906 he studied fine arts at the
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
-based Lev Trutnev Drawing School, as well as classes given by
Józef Montwiłł
Józef Montwiłł lt, Juozapas Montvila (9 March 1850 in Mitėniškiai (now Kėdainiai district, Lithuania) – 7 February 1911) was a Polish-Lithuanian social worker, bank owner and philanthropist, notable for the many social societies he foun ...
. Surpassing many of his fellow art students, Zikaras in 1907 went to
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to continue his studies at the Drawing School of the
Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts
The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (Russian: Императорское общество поощрения художеств (ОПХ)) was an organization devoted to promoting the arts that existed in Saint Petersburg from 182 ...
. In 1910, after three years in St. Petersburg, he was accepted to the
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...
, from where he graduated in 1915, already after the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Shortly before finishing his diploma work he was drafted into the
Russian army
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...
. However, he was not dispatched to the front and instead was able to receive a silver award of his alma mater the following year. Demobilized, he remained in Russia and taught drawing at various schools to make a living.
In 1918 he returned to
Panevėžys
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 ...
, where he started working in a secondary school and pedagogical seminary. In 1929 he moved to
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, where he started heading the studio of sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts. He held that post until the
Soviet occupation of Lithuania
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were invaded and occupied in June 1940 by the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Stalin and auspices of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that had been signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet ...
in 1940. He continued to give classes of drawing during the German occupation and after the second Soviet occupation he was proposed a professor's seat at the academy.
However he was accused by
NKGB
The People's Commissariat for State Security (russian: Народный комиссариат государственной безопасности) or NKGB, was the name of the Soviet Union, Soviet secret police, intelligence (information ...
(the name of the Soviet secret police at the time) that his sons were with the "
Forest Brothers
The Guerrilla war in the Baltic states was an armed struggle which was waged by the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian partisans, called the Forest Brothers (also: the "Brothers of the Wood" and the "Forest Friars"; et, metsavennad, lv, mež ...
". He could not stand interrogations, and on November 10, 1944, he committed suicide at Kaunas.
Legacy
He and his wife Anelė had four children, three sons and one daughter. The sons emigrated to the Western countries after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. One,
Teisutis, became an acclaimed sculptor in
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...
. The daughter, Alytė, remained in Lithuania and continued to live in her family's house in Kaunas. Thanks to her efforts a lot of Zikaras' works survived the Soviet occupation. In 1959 she established a small exhibition in her father's workshop. Executing her will, the whole family house was turned into a museum in 2000. Another museum dedicated to Zikaras is located in the house where Zikaras spent his childhood. This house was turned into a museum in 1972.
Works
Arguably his best-known work is the Statue of Liberty in Kaunas erected in 1922. It was the most important symbol of freedom in interwar Lithuania and is featured on modern 20 litas banknotes. Another major work is the designs for all
litas
The Lithuanian litas (ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural ''litai'' (nominative) or ''litų'' (genitive) was the currency of Lithuania, until 1 January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was divided into 100 centų (genit ...
coins in the interwar period and the
Independence Medal. It is not widely known, but Zikaras' version of the
Coat of Arms of Lithuania
The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is ...
used on his coins was adopted after Lithuania declared re-independence in 1990, and used until 1991.
Also, in 1928 Zikaras created a sculpture for
knygnešys that now stands in
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
. It depicts a peasant with a sack full of smuggled books on his back carefully monitoring if there are any border guards to stop him. Zikaras also created a great number of
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s and busts depicting various famous Lithuanians. Although Zikaras together with
Petras Rimša
Petras Rimša ( pl, Piotr Rymsza, 3 November 1881 in Naudžiai, Vilkaviškis district – 2 October 1961 in Kaunas) was one of the first professional Lithuanian sculptors and medalists.
Biography
Rimša was born to a family of farmers in Suvalk ...
are known as the first professional sculptors, Zikaras also left a number of paintings, illustrations, graphics. Most of his works are highly
patriotic
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
. He was buried in
Petrašiūnai Cemetery
Petrašiūnai Cemetery ( lt, Petrašiūnų kapinės) is Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, arts, and science.
Location
Petrašiūnai Cemetery is located abo ...
.
References
External links
Zikaras museum in KaunasSculpture "Knygnešys"Sculpture "Sadness"Relief for Jonas Basanavičius
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zikaras
1881 births
1944 suicides
Coats of arms designers
Coin designers
Lithuanian sculptors
20th-century sculptors
Sculptors who committed suicide
Zikaras
Suicides in Lithuania
Political repression in the Soviet Union
Burials at Petrašiūnai Cemetery
1944 deaths