In the centre of the gypsum bas-relief, a profile of Dr Jonas Basanavičius is depicted. In the background is the Castle Hill in Vilnius, on which you can see the tower and ruins of the Upper Castle. In the lower part of the bas-relief, there is a fragment of an oak leaf wreath, which encircles a tablet with the dates of the birth and death of Dr Basanavičius (1851–1927). On one of the leaves is the signature of the sculptor Grybas and the date of creation of the bas-relief — 1930. The composition is framed by the arched inscription “DR. JONAS BASANAVIČIUS TAUTOS ATGIMIMO PATRIARCHAS” [Dr Jonas Basanivičius Patriarch of the National Rebirth].
One of the most famous sculptors of the first half of the 20th century, Vincas Grybas is best known as the author of monumental sculptures dedicated to the most important personalities of Lithuanian history and culture. His most famous works include sculptures of Simonas Daukantas (1793–1864) in Papilė (1930), Vincas Kudirka (1858–1899) in Kudirkos Naumiestis (1934), Petras Vileišis (1851–1926) in Pasvalys (1935), and Vytautas the Great in Jurbarkas (1930, restored in 1989) and Kaunas (1932, no longer standing). However, his creative portfolio is full of smaller works, such as the fence and gate decor of Kaunas School of Art, various busts, and two bas-reliefs dedicated to Petras Vileišis and Dr Jonas Basanavičius. The latter two works are often presented as “medals” in the context of Grybas’s work, but he himself is not considered a medalist. This is probably due to the fact that these medals have never been produced and plans to issue them are known only from these bas-reliefs and several hints in the sculptor’s letters.
The first version of the bas-relief of Dr Jonas Basanavičius was to be created in 1924 when Basanavičius himself visited Kaunas for several days. It is known that during his stay he met several artists, including Grybas, for whom Basanavičius agreed to pose. Later information about the bas-relief is fragmented. At some point, Grybas appealed to the Bank of Lithuania, suggesting to “replicate” this work, i.e. to mint and distribute medals. However, the proposal is unlikely to have been adopted; it is also unknown whether the sculptor was interested in other options for the production of medals. The fact that such medals were not produced would suggest that the original idea was unsuccessful. However, Grybas returned to the bas-relief and further refined it — for example, when comparing the examples stored in different memory institutions, it can be noted that the spelling of words in the country (“patriarchas” — “patrijarkas”) differs. In addition, this bas-relief was also intended to be distributed. For this purpose, more copies of this work were supposed to be made, but there is no specific information on how many bas-reliefs of Dr Jonas Basanavičius decorated the interiors of private houses and public institutions. It is likely that there could be about 10. For example, it is known that such a piece was given to Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas.
Looking at the piece, it is easy to find similarities with the work of another famous sculptor of that time — the design of the 5 litas coin created by Juozas Zikaras in 1936. Both reflect the assessment of Dr J. Basanavičius as “the Patriarch of the Nation,” which had already been formed at the time. This was intended to be captured as widely as possible by disseminating his image on (theoretically) objects accessible to every Lithuanian citizen.
LBPM GEK 14995. Bas-relief “DR. JONAS BASANAVIČIUS TAUTOS ATGIMIMO PATRIARCHAS.” 1930. Auth. Vincas Grybas (1890–1941). Gypsum, casting. Diameter 84 cm, thickness 6 cm.
Literature:
• Nijolė Tumėnienė, Vincas Grybas. Gyvenimo ir kūrybos drama, Vilnius, Lietuvos dailės muziejus, 2004.
• Nijolė Tumėnienė, „Vincas Grybas“, Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija.
