Aukštaitiškų kryžių architektas Antanas Deveikis
ENThis article by ethnographer A. Gasperaitis is dedicated to the famous craftsman, wooden cross-maker Antanas Deveikis (most likely born around 1842, died in 1932), from the region of Utena. His life and works are discussed. In the late 20th c., museum worker Balys Juodzevičius with the author of this article wrote down the recollections of people in the region of Utena - these memories help reconstruct the craftsman’s personality traits, lifestyle, and also discuss his works, the artistic features of the crosses that he created, the impact of his style on later generations of cross-makers. Art historian Dr. Laima Laučkaitė-Surgailienė has made a list of 50 pieces by A. Deveikis, of which 25 are crosses. The author of this article, based on iconographic material, photographs and drawings from the early 20th c., as well as sacral monuments that still stand in the districts of Utena, Molėtai, identifies more Deveikis-style crosses, discusses the fate of many of them. He notes that such a feel for beauty was had by few people who had not completed any education. During the first decade Lithuania’s Independence, the most style of the most beautiful crosses by Deveikis was selected as the benchmark for Eastern Aukštaitija.
