A Beggar by a Shrine

After completing his studies at Munich Art Academy in 1875, Tadeusz Dowgird (1852–1919) returned home to the estate of Plembergas in Samogitia for a short stay. (In 1891, he was to settle there for the rest of his life.) He lived in Warsaw between 1877 and 1891, but visited Samogitia quite often, especially in the summer. This is obvious from his work. His paintingA beggar by a shrinewas created during one of his visits home, and immortalises the natural surroundings of Veliuona, not far from Plembergas. Landscape painting was very close to the artist’s heart, and he occasionally introduced figures into his views of nature. In this painting, landscape also plays an important role, but the focus is on the figure of an elderly man sitting by a shrine. A dirt road leading past the shrine draws the eye into the background, towards an old church buried among trees on a steep riverbank. Sitting on a bench next to the shrine, the beggar looks strange as he waits for charity, but no one can be seen who might help him, except for the gaunt figure of a woman walking away in the distance. Despite this, the painting is not gloomy or tragic. The quiet mood may result from the atmosphere of a warm and clear summer’s day, and from the sense of space in the bright vista beyond a bend in the river. The sturdy Samogitian shrine with an image of the Virgin Mary on it, and the spire of the church a little further away, provide succour to the old man: the air seems to be full of Divine Grace. Text author Rūta Janonienė.