THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR IN LITHUANIAN SOVIET STAINED-GLASS ART (ON THE EXAMPLE OF STAINED-GLASS ARTWORKS BY KAZYS MORKŪNAS)

The article deals with the issue of memorialization of the Great Patriotic War in Lithuanian Soviet stained glass art. The author states that in the Soviet Union stained glass art began to develop actively only in the post-war period, with the Baltic countries – Latvia and Lithuania – becoming its significant centers. Despite the fact that Lithuania lacked deep traditions of stained glass art, thanks to Stasys Ušinskas and his students Algimantas Stoškus and Kazys Morkūnas, after the Great Patriotic War a national stained glass school emerged in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Respublic, one of the most famous in the Soviet state. Representatives of the school participated in solving an important ideological and artistic task – to immortalize the memory of the war on stained glass material. Stained glass works were created by Kazis Morkūnas for two architectural and sculptural ensembles – in Pirčiupis (stained glass window “Pirčiupis”) and Križkalnis (stained glass windows “Struggle” and “Meeting of Heroes” / “Heroes Return”). Experimenting with stained glass technology and material, as well as with color, line and composition, K. Morkūnas obtained as a result highly dramatic, artistically expressive works that harmonize with the architectural and sculptural ensembles of which they were a part. The author concludes that K. Morkūnas created almost ideal, timeless examples of memorial works reflecting the two sides of the military narrative – triumphal and sacrificial, mournful and festive. The research material was tested at the International Scientific and Practical Online Conference “The Great Victory – Unity for the Future” at the Russian State University for the Humanities (April 17, 2024) and at the All-Russian Scientific Conference “Art at the Turning Points of History” at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (December 19, 2024).