Vincentas Jakševičius ( in Naujamiestis district,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

– July 19, 1936 in

Kaišiadorys Kaišiadorys (; Yiddish: קאָשעדאַר) is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Transfiguration Cathedral, Kaišiadorys, Cathedral of ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

) was a Lithuanian sculptor specializing in church interiors. His works, occasionally accompanied by either his sons or his brother, include various pieces of religious art, mainly statues of the saints and altars, in

Švėkšna Švėkšna is a town in the Šilutė District municipality, 21 km northeast of Šilutė, Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Švėkšna Eldership. There are 29 streets in the town. In the western part of the town flows the river . ...

and various other parts of Lithuania.

Biography

Vincentas was presumably the eldest among his siblings, born to a family of Aleksandras Jakševičius and Marija Guzėnaitė-Jakševičienė. His father was a carpenter and sculptor, progenitor of three generations of artists. Jakševičius' family moved to

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

in ca 1887 where three youngest Vincentas' siblings were born. Jakševičius married a noble woman in 1897 and had a large family. However, out of seven of his children, three died in infancy or early childhood. Jakševičius' talent for art was recognized at early age. According to family history, as a teenager, he carved a portrait of Tsar

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...

which earned him free education in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Jakševičius moved around frequently, but settled in

where he built a family house around 1920 on land gifted to him by the Plater family, owners of

Švėkšna Manor Švėkšna Manor is a former residential Manor house, manor in Švėkšna, Šilutė District Municipality, Šilutė district. It was last occupied by Countess Felicija Laimė Broël-Plater. History The Kęsgaila family Švėkšna Estate wa ...

. Jakševičius worked with his family members, first with his father, then younger brother Benjaminas, and later with sons Silvanas (1900–1933) and Adomas (1908–1967). Working as a team, they were able to undertake larger and more complex projects. Jakševičius was a versatile artists as he could design and implement (sculpt, paint, carve) various projects. He is mostly known for his work in decorating churches:

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s, furniture (benches, ceremonial seats), sculptures, paintings, wall decor, various decorative elements, etc. He also built

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

s of

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

(in Veiviržėnai,

Ablinga Ablinga is a village in Lithuania, located east of Klaipėda. First mentioned in the 14th century, it had 87 residents in 1923, 97 in 1950, 57 in 1970 and 20 in 1979. The 2011 census recorded village's population of 7 residents. On June 23, 1941 ...

Gardamas Gardamas is a small town in Klaipėda County, in northwestern Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Bal ...

, Dembava, Inkakliai) as well as grave monuments. Their major project was the interior decor of

Kaišiadorys Cathedral Kaišiadorys (; Yiddish: קאָשעדאַר) is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Transfiguration Cathedral, Kaišiadorys, Cathedral of ...

. Jakševičius suffered a heart attack while working in Gegužinė Church on July 19, 1936. He was buried in

Cemetery. A symbolic bench to commemorate Vincentas Jakševičius' legacy in Švėkšna was unveiled in 2014. There were also exhibitions organised in

and

Šilutė Šilutė (; previously ''Šilokarčiama''; ) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar period, interwar capital of Š ...

to commemorate the legacy of Jakševičius' family.

Selected works

*Nine exterior sculptures for

Joniškis Joniškis (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Juonėškis''; ) is a city in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis i ...

Church (1899–1901) *Interior of

Church (finished 1905) *Main altar in Dembava Church () *Sculptures in

Park (1912–1914) *Church gate in Naujamiestis (1917) *Three altars in

Alanta Alanta (dialectal Aukštaitian name ''Alunta'', , Yiddish אַוואָנטע) is a small town in Molėtai district municipality, Lithuania. It is the administrative seat of the Alanta Elderate. According to a census in 2011, Alanta had 348 res ...

Church (1928–1931) *Altars, sculptures and other religious art in

(1929–1932) *The main altar in Gegužinė Church (1935–1936)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaksevicius, Vincentas 1936 deaths People from Šilutė District Municipality People from Kaišiadorys 20th-century Lithuanian sculptors Lithuanian male sculptors 20th-century Lithuanian male artists