Old man

The themes of vagrants, beggars and pilgrims were highly prominent in the art of the famous 19th century Lithuanian painter V. Slendzinskis through all stages of the his creative life. He most likely inherited the motif of beggars from his father Aleksandras Slendzinskis, who, at the peak of his career, created perhaps more images of the society’s third, lowest class’ members than any other 19th century Lithuanian painter. Needless to say, attention to everyday scenes and common people can be considered one of the main traditions of the Vilnius Art School. However, only the works of the Slendzinskiai portray these people without idealism, and with shocking realism instead.
“The Old Man” was created in the late period of V. Slendzinskis’ creative career, when the artist lived in Vilnius. It was painted on a panel rather than canvas, as characteristic of the later paintings of the artist (Text author dr. Rūta Janonienė).