Portrait of an Old Jew

Vincentas Smakauskas (1797-1876), the graduate of Vilnius University and St Petersburg Academy of Art, is one of the most prominent figures in the Lithuanian art of the 19th century. Mostly recognised as a graphic artist and a draughtsman, he has also left an equally brilliant footprint in Lithuanian painting, having anchored in it the principles of Classicism and created a number of significant historical paintings, domestic scenes, and portraits. That makes every newly discovered painting by this artist a true find for Lithuania, especially if it is a portrait in which Smakauskas invested a lot of his time and attention. He said that a portraitist alone can portray the tremors of the soul that are mirrored in a person’s face, that a good portrait is what makes a historical painting impactful (Text author dr. Lijana Natalevičienė).