Summary

The paintings in the church of Degučiai

Gabija Surdokaitė

The article presents analysis of the 18^th-19^th century paintings „Nekaltai Pradėtoji Švč. Mergelė Marija“ (The Blessed Virgin Mary), „Švč. Trejybė“ (The Holy Trinity), and the cycle of „Kryžiaus kelias“ (The Way of the Cross) kept in the church of Degučiai. The author examined the paintings applying a formal method and studied their iconography. All these paintings were created in different time and they reached the church under different circumstances. The Blessed Virgin Mary created by a provincial painter of the 18th century hangs on the wall of the busy vestry beside the entry. The Holy Trinity was painted later, in the first half of the 19th century, is kept in the loft of the church. The cycle of the Way of the Cross painted in 1875 hang on the church walls in the usual way.

The non-altar paintings in the church of Degučiai represent the church art of the 18th-19th centuries. Due to different time of their creation, different purpose and different art level, they do not make a uniform collection, but separately taken each of them is valuable, since they reflect certain stages in development of religious art in Lithuania. All they are attributed to the provincial art schools and are of historical and art value. The paintings need restoration urgently.