Lost Lamb

We can recognize the reflections of Christian iconography in Lost Lamb, a painting created by Vygantas Paukštė in 1994. The shepherd with his sheep is, after all, an archaically sacred and mythological motif, most often associated with the Savior and the community of believers. The painter himself speaks of the motifs and their interrelationship thusly: "It is interesting for me to feel history in art and to participate in it."
But Paukštė lends his own interpretation to recognizable imagery. Here, the shepherd and the lamb can be understood to be idyllic characters in a simple everyday scene. The pantheistic worldview so characteristic of Paukštė's work is also clearly evident in this piece, in which God is equated with nature, while nature is considered to be the embodiment of the divine.
Paukštė's work is distinguished by its mythical narrative and a corresponding fluid expression: simplified figures and ornamented surfaces have become this artist's hallmark.
In his works, however, the artist is able to portray unexpected variations of a scene and its shapes, and for this reason his established style of expression not only does not get boring, it also intrigues, excites and forces us to pay attention.
In Guardian, the unexpected is achieved by seemingly continuing the portrayed story beyond the boundaries of the painting. Upon closer look, we notice a man looking off toward the right at something we cannot see. The fact that we do not know what he is observing creates an impression of mystery.
The diversity of the painting's fluidity and meaning is created by the artist through the use of lush, rich brushwork, and different textures and shapes that seem to appear and then disappear.