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 Lithuania, whose borders before World War 1 included parts of
modern Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Russia and Latvia, was a major
heartland of European Jewry, famed for its talmudical academies
and bookish Jews known as Litvaks.
Looking to leave their traditional surroundings and soak up the
creative atmosphere, many Litvak artists, including
world-renowned painter Marc Chagall, converged on Paris at that
time.
The result was a unique series of works, which became known as
the Ecole de Paris, embracing multiple styles including
post-impressionism, cubism and futurism. The Litvak artists also
fused romantic and melancholic visions of their former Jewish
small towns, known as Shtetls, into their work.
Visitors in London now have the chance to see some of the
paintings from artists including Emmanuel Mane-Katz, Max Band,
Pinchus Kremegne and Theo Tobiasse.
The works, being shown at Lithuania's embassy in London, were
acquired mainly from private collections and auctions via the
Vilnius-based Lewben Art Foundation, which had previously
exhibited them in Lithuania.
The exhibition will move to Johannesburg in March and will
include works by other artists including Chagall. South Africa
became a home for Litvaks fleeing persecution in the 19th and
20th centuries. Other Litvaks emigrated to countries including
Britain and the United States.
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"The Lithuanian government has been putting a lot of effort into the
preservation and promotion of the legacy of Lithuanian Jews,"
Lithuania's Vice Minister of Culture Romas Jarockis said on a visit
to London last week. "The Litvak heritage is an integral part of
Lithuanian culture."
Rita Valiukonyte of Lithuania's embassy in London said it had taken
time after the country gained independence from Russia in 1990 for
it "to fully embrace the Jewish heritage". Numerous government and
private initiatives had helped showcase the role that Litvaks
played.
"The contribution of Lithuanian Jews in Lithuania's cultural
heritage is simply immeasurable," she said.
Lithuania's Jewish population numbered around 220,000 when the Nazis
invaded in 1941. Just over 10,000 survived the Holocaust, in which 6
million Jews across Europe were murdered.
Some of the Litvak artists, such as Mane-Katz and Band, moved to the
United States before the start of World War Two. Others such as
Kremegne stayed in southern France -- away from the direct Nazi
occupation -- while Tobiasse survived by hiding with his family in
Paris.
(Editing by Michael Roddy and Catherine Evans)
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