Purification

Vygantas Paukštė is a renowned painter who entered the Lithuanian art scene in the early 1980s together with a strong and creative generation of painters bringing a reformed eye to the painting of the day, among them Algis Skačkauskas, Raimundas Šližys, Audronė Petrašiūnaitė, Eglė Velaniškytė, and Rimvidas Jankauskas-Kampas.
If the 1960s generation fought for the rehabilitation of the means of expression in painting, the new painters of the 1980s took on different missions. Armed with irony, they addressed the "non-ceremonial" side of existence — everyday, banal and mythological scenes and the expressionist style.
What distinguishes Vygantas Paukštė's 1990 painting Purification? A rich color palette and a mysterious mood. At the same time, the painting also brings to mind scenes from Christian iconography. The mystical feeling of the piece is emphasized by the transparent figures depicted – their silhouettes are portrayed by the artist merely with a light but energetic line. They are bodiless, ephemeral, and so appear as godlike entities transported from dreams, desires, and the spiritual realm of life.
The painter delineates the axis of the work – one figure blessing another that is kneeling – with resonating yellow brushstrokes. The rhythmically arranged silhouettes remind one of a secretive religious mystery.
The background of the painting is full of mesmerizing and meaningful purple and violet tones. This coloring has much symbolic significance. In Catholic liturgy, it is associated with repentance and resurrection. It is the color of Roman emperors and cardinals, of royal luxury, a sign of power and respect.
Violet embodies nostalgia and memory, joy and mourning, sin and repentance. Purification is a decisive act, the threshold to another reality leading to a spiritual existence.
But can this piece be classified as religious art? It is obvious that the scenes depicted in Paukštė's paintings – though replete with allusions and parallels – never become illustrations of religious doctrine or social realities. This painting, then, is also an esoteric narrative about the transformation of the soul and a change in being.