Inlay of a Painting

Author: N / A

Created, location: late 17th century; Kretinga District, Salantai.

Material / technique: shaped metal.

Dimensions: high - 145 cm, width - 88 cm.

Ornaments often helps us date a work of art. The rocaille shapes in this painting's riza - resembling flames or wave crests - suggest the 17th or 18th century. Yet something essential is obviously missing. We see only the robe, not the person who wore it. The icon beside it, painted with economy of means and effort – after all, it would later be "dressed" in a metal riza – still feels corporeal: the face of Christ, the blessing hand, and the invisible left hand holding a book form an image deeply rooted in culture, one we recognize instantly. (Description of the painting in the exhibition "Forever Temporary," October 11, 2025 - March 15, 2026, at the MO Museum).

After reviewing the visitation records and inventories of the Salantai Church from the 17th to 20th centuries, it is preliminarily assumed that the altarpiece adorned the main painting of St. Anthony of Padua on the titular altar. This altar was funded in the first half of the 18th century by Jurgis Vaina, the mayor of Užventis and administrator of the Salantai estate, but additional evidence is needed to confirm this hypothesis. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salantai is historically notable for its rich and valuable artistic heritage. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salantai has historically been noted for its rich and valuable artistic heritage. 

Exhibitions: Exhibition "Forever Temporary," October 11–March 15, 2025, MO Museum, Vilnius.  

Published: "The Lithuanian art collection of Jaunius Gumbis". Museum and Collector - 6. Vilnius: National Museum of Lithuania, 2016, P. 274.

Photographs: Display in the exhibition "Forever Temporary," October 11, 2025 - March 15, 2026, at the MO Museum.