Gintautas Žalėnas (PDF)
https://doi.org/10.53631/MIS/2025.18.1
The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the painting Our Lady of Josvainiai, exploring its historical background, iconography, time of creation and circumstances of origin. The study draws upon historical data, an analysis of iconographic sources and materials from the 2004 and 2005 restorations. For the first time in Lithuania, the article highlights the specific nature of the patronage by the ruler and the administrators of his estates—known as the elders (Polish: storasta)—which is reflected in the construction and decoration of churches belonging to the ruler’s collation.
Josvainys (Polish: Jaswojnie) is a small town located in the Kėdainiai district, on the eastern edge of historical Samogitia. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, it served as the centre of the Josvainiai eldership, which was under the monarch’s authority. Elders appointed by the king were responsible for managing the eldership, including the repair and decoration of the Catholic church in Josvainiai. Research reveals that the second wooden church in Josvainiai was consecrated in 1607. The oldest surviving inventory of the church, dated 1648, does not mention the painting of Our Lady. However, an inventory from the late seventeenth century notes that the painting was housed in a new altar and was distinguished by its many ex-votos. The cult of the painting is further evidenced by silver revetments created around 1670 to 1690, along with crowns dating from the late eighteenth century. It is believed that King John III Sobieski commissioned these silver revetments as a token of gratitude for his victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. During a restoration, when the velvet covering the painting was removed, it became apparent that the infant Jesus had two heads: one original and the other painted and glued onto the painting. After the removal of the metal revetments, it was discovered that the painting had been repainted and that the revetments were adorned with decorations made using painters’ and decorators’ stencils. This alteration to the painting is hypothetically linked to the 1794 uprising. The silver revetments on the Josvainiai painting were likely donated to support the uprising, and a local craftsman quickly repainted the artwork. However, when the uprising failed, the silver revetments were returned.
The iconography of the Our Lady of Josvainiai painting is unique in Lithuania. It features the child standing and embracing his mother. While similar compositions can be found in Renaissance Italian painting , these usually include a bench or architectural parapet in the foreground, and in all known examples, the baby Jesus is depicted naked and facing the viewer. It is possible that Jesus was originally portrayed naked in the Josvainiai painting as well, but further laboratory tests are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
The study showed that the painting of Our Lady of Josvainiai is a derivation of the miraculous painting of Our Lady from the Bernardine monastery in Minsk. The original painting was presented by Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) to Zofia Zenowiczówna, the wife of Aleksander Sluszka (1580–1647), who served as the Voivode of Minsk and later of Trakai. Eventually, the painting was transferred to the Bernardine monastery in Minsk, benefited by A. Sluszka. In 1655, amidst the war with Russia and Sweden, before the Russian forces occupied Minsk, the nuns fled to Josvainiai, taking the miraculous painting with them. The elder of Josvainiai at that time was Aleksander Judycki, who was the brother of Franciszka Judycka, the mother superior of the Bernardines in Minsk. Judycki was a notable military commander (regimentar) involved in the 1656 Samogitian uprising against the Swedes. After spending twelve years in Josvainiai, the Bernardines returned to Minsk in 1667. A copy of the Minsk painting was likely created during this period, which is currently housed in the church in Josvainiai. In 1672, a book titled Morze łaski Bozey was published in Vilnius, detailing the miracles attributed to the painting in the Bernardine Church in Minsk, some of which reportedly occurred in Josvainiai. In 1853, when the Russian authorities closed the Bernardine monastery in Minsk, the miraculous painting was lost. The painting in the church in Josvainiai remains the only known derivation of the miraculous painting.
Keywords: The painting of Our Lady of Josvainiai, Josvainiai church, the liberation of Samogitia from Swedish occupation, the Bernardine monastery in Minsk, the miraculous painting of the Bernardines in Minsk, Franciszka Judycka, Aleksander Judycki