Jono Lukšės Kauno šventovių piešiniai

EN73 drawings in religious buildings or places the author of which is an architect, painter Jonas Lukšė are introduced in the publication. He was born on July 8, 1940 in Žiurliai village (now it is in Anykščiai district, Traupis Elderate). In 1948 his family together with him were exiled to the Eastern Siberia. In 1957 he came back to Lithuania. Since 1964 he has been living in Kaunas. In 1971–1977 he studied in Vilnius Art Institute, Kaunas Evening Study Faculty where acquired the architect-painter specialty. For over 20 years he worked in Kaunas Cultural Monument Protection Inspectorate as an architectural heritage specialist. He created about 30 commemorative plaques and bas-reliefs of buildings or memorial sites. When retired he has been engaged in active promotion of cultural heritage. In consort with his colleague Vladimir A. Orlov they have released Kaunas fortress atlas. Also, they have compiled a unique album “Atmintis atgijusi paminkluose” (Memory Revived in Monuments), which contains photos of almost all monuments capturing historical events of the Lithuanian partisans’ fighting against the Soviet regime, citizens’ deportations and ethnic revival. However, the iconographic study of cultural values has become the architect’s hobby. With a pencil and a sheet of paper in his hand he has taken up a thorough and in-depth inventory of the cultural heritage in Kaunas. One of the widest cycles of Lukšė drawings is meant for Aleksotas and Aukštoji Freda extending the left bank of Nemunas. Another cycle of author’s drawings is dedicated for items of cross-crafting and wooden artefacts. Almost all wooden crosses, roadside chapels, roofed poles, sculptures in Kaunas are present there. The largest in extent of Lukšė’s drawing cycles is meant for defensive objects of Kaunas Fortress. More than 100 drawings are accounted for this topic.Kaunas shrine drawings published in a magazine “Meno istorija ir kritika” (Art History and Criticism) were being created by the artist for about four years - from 2008 until 2011. Some of them were finished even in 2012. More than half (42) of the shrines drawn by the artist are Catholic churches and chapels. 16 are the house of prayer of Christianity-related new religious movements, 14 are synagogues, 5 are Orthodox churches, 2 Protestant churches, and by 1 of Islam, Buddhism, Vaishnavism shrines. Almost all of the drawings in this cycle are presented in the paper. They are arranged according to the author’s idea - confessional-geographical approach, starting from the Old Town and ending with the outermost suburbs of Kaunas. Drawings are made by pencil, quill and ink on paper which corresponds to the current A4 format size. At the bottom there are records made by the author’s hand with the name, address of the object, date of the drawing. They contain more detailed information about previous building functions, reconstructions, usage. So, as the artist shall be evaluated as an iconography tradition successor trying to convey not only the aesthetics of the depicted shrines, spiritual content, but also their historical memory.