Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
Little boats floating above the water almost show the lightness of summer. The musical painting follows the typical musical structure: we see the exposition (the introduction of the theme) of the little mountain island with hanging bridges at the top. The musical theme is developed as we see some more islands and boats float in the middle of the painting. The bottom of the painting is the recapitulation, similar to exposition but more refined. In this recapitulation, we see two hidden details: the initials MKČ and SK. The MKČ initials are displayed on the altar in the bottom right corner and the SK initials are repeated many times on the hanging bridges.
While you’ve probably guessed what MKČ stands for (Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, the author of the painting), you might be guessing who SK is (unless you know M. K. Čiurlionis’ biography). These are the initials of his fiancée at the time (and later wife) Sofija Kymantaitė, a writer and journalist who also taught M. K. Čiurlionis Lithuanian as, at the time, he mainly spoke Polish.
Their love was short-lived: they met in 1907, got married in the New Year of 1909, and in 1911 Sofija became a widow with a daughter that didn’t get a chance to meet her father.
We present today's work thanks to the M.K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art.
To all Orthodox Christians: Happy Easter Sunday!
P.S. Čiurlionis had a great imagination. Here, you can explore the fantasy world of his paintings.
P.P.S. Dear DailyArt users, on May 10th, we will release the brand new and shiny DailyArt app! :) The new version brings one massive change, the subscription model. It means that if you buy the Premium version of the app after May 10th, you would need to pay a monthly or yearly fee for Premium. So, if you see the "Upgrade to Pro" button below, please buy it now with a one-time fee and enjoy Premium forever! (If you don't see the button, it means that you are already Premium.) :)