From May 2023 to January 2024, the Vilnius Picture Gallery of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art hosted the exhibition Florentem (Latin for ‘blooming’), which invited visitors to immerse themselves in the colourful and mysterious world of nature. Drawing together over 150 exhibits from 17 Lithuanian and foreign institutions and private collections, the exhibition unfurled into a blooming and verdant narrative, weaving together the period from the 16th to the early 20th centuries and extending across nine exhibition halls.
The exhibition explored themes including the origins of Lithuanian botanical science, the aesthetics of manor and city parks, the expression of flora in religious and secular art, and nature as a creative space for women. Each theme was revealed through works by local and foreign artists as well as scientists: still lifes, religious paintings by professional and folk artists, sculptures, landscapes, portraits of botanists and their working tools, important publications, memoir albums, and even such unexpected exhibits as a horsewhip or cupboard doors from a church. A separate segment of the exhibition was an interpretative reconstruction of a boudoir.
It seemed necessary to leave a record of this hugely successful exhibition. Finally, there was more to say than the exhibition format allowed. Therefore, this publication goes beyond the confines of a conventional exhibition catalogue. Next to the list of artefacts reflecting the exhibition’s structure, it includes four scholarly articles prepared by the exhibition curators that dive deep into the main themes of the Florentem exposition. It is hoped that even after the exhibition’s conclusion, the book will remain an evergreen and engaging companion for everyday studies of nature, art and science.
Editors: Aistė Bimbirytė, Joana Vitkutė
Text authors: Aistė Bimbirytė, Ramunė Savickaitė, Dalia Tarandaitė, Joana Vitkutė
Copy editor Ilona Čiužauskaitė
Translator Raminta Bumbulytė
Designer Liudas Parulskis
Photographers: Antanas Lukšėnas, Gintarė Grigėnaitė, Tomas Kapočius, Valdas Račyla
Print run 400 copies
392 pages
Regarding the purchase and shipping of the publication abroad, please contact us by e-mail leidyba@lndm.lt
