MICALOUS KONSTANTINAS CHERLONIS
/ 1875 – 1911 /

MICALOUS KONSTANTINAS CHERLONIS was born in the family of an organist in South Lithuania and grown up at the picturesque locality Druskininkai. He died at the age of 35 in the sanatorium near Warsaw as a result of a heaviest nervous frustration. And only after his death his pictures were widely represented in Lithuania and Russia and deserved the name of a genius for him. This estimation belongs to the famous painter Alexander Benua with whom Cherlonis kept up friendly relations during last years of his life. What a nonsense demagogues from art talked about him, especially at the native land, in Lithuania! Even that “these works were made by a madman”. But there were admirers of his works in the years of Lithuanian selfconsciousness renascence, as well as works dedicated to the nature of Lithuania and his beloved places. Those were not copies of the brush of the nature itself but fairy-tale images of his childhood. His wonderful “Forest” where the spar pines stroll along dunes like collection of ships, strike by its fantasy and reality simultaneously, as if all of them go to him to support and console. “Gemaitiyskoe cemetery” looks as a phantom of the parallel life protected on the earth pines by the star dragons. But his bell tower rings at his own will applying to clouds not to people. It’s apparent that he could not knock till people were heard at this period of his life.      Everybody who is familiar with picturesque locality Druskininkai will understand the painter and his home-sickness when he had to go abroad. He wrote from Leipzig: “It would be good taking a walk simply to descend to our hillocks, sands, pines”. “I would look upon trees, grass continuously where in my presence, there and then buds would swell and become red, and light green sprouts would project where a flower puts out his head and smiles to the sun…” His soul was open to the nature. He was surprised by the Caucasus especially. “…The mountains raised its glaring crowns. Roaring Terek rolled the enormous bulks of stones. Elbrus was similar to a huge snow cloud. On the Kazbek glacier we were surrounded with such a silence that it’s only worth to clap yours hands, and pieces of rocks lose touch and fly into an abyss…”    Churlenis was interested with Kant and Wundt Philosophy, became infatuated with V.Hugo, G.Ibsen, F.Dostoevsky, L.Andreev. He was accused that he giving up reality went into the world of fantasy. But the fantasy was indeed his reality which he incarnated in his pictures. These works won fame of a new-comer from other worlds among residents. It seemed that he lived in another measurement and appeared to the Earth to tell about things he saw with the brush of a painter and as a musician. He was a remarkable musician who created his compositions with great inspiration and skill. The influence of a classical school is not quite felt in his pictorial works, though he was delighted with Van Deik, Rafael, Murilio, modernists Shtuck and Urban. He was delighted but remained an absolutely unrepeated master. He studied ancient Indian religion and philosophy. He moved to Peterborough in 1909 as he did not find any considerable support at the native land. Here he was met with respect and was recognized as a great and original talent among authoritative art critics of that time.        He was the first painter who expressed music of spheres resembling Bakh’s fugues by paints and uncommon vision. And his pictures bear musical names – Fugue, Prelude, Sonata. In his canvases musical moment is expressed in rhythmic and symphonic scales with particular strength. It is visible especially in the picture “Sonata of the Sea (finale). The huge music wave covers vessels. It’s like reviving foam, as pianist’s fingers running along sea key-board. In the picture “The creation of the world” we find out how the white spots arise gradually out of the chaos – the planets and the sun are born and the melody of light and fantastic plants is heard. His “kings’ tale” is like the lullaby for the flourishing new world.      Romen Rollan said about him as follows: “It’s difficult to express how I have excited by this remarkable fine art which has enriched not only painting but has extende4d our horizon in the field of polyphony and musical rhythmic. This is a new spiritual continent and Churlenis became Khristofor Kolumb of it”. Finding in Churlenis’pictures the theme expressed clearly and the content intelligible from the point of view of the narrow naturalist is useless business like to find them in works by Bethoven or Shopen. The decorative strength of his pictures is not less attractive. It’s necessary to see them to understand how he is able to reproduce the gold light of the Universe.       MICALOUS KONSTANTINAS CHERLONIS as a painter in the row of brilliant painters is an unique phenomenon in the history of painting. He had no predecessors and did not leave followers. The spirit in his heart aspired to break away out of limits of usual world. These are his mystery, great human sense and value.      Michael Levin