Week Forty: St. Francis Preaches to the Birds by Antanas Kmieliauskas

October 6, 2019

Week Forty: St. Francis Preaches to the Birds by Antanas Kmieliauskas

As my year-long survey of highlights from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection continues into October, I will be featuring a quartet of artworks depicting Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is celebrated at the beginning of this month. My first selection is a book plate from Lithuanian Graphic Artist Antanas Kmieliauskas, found in the gallery of the Eastern European Ex Libris page in the Schools of Sacred Art section, which depicts one of the best-loved stories to be told of this early "eco-saint:" St. Francis preaching to the birds. Kmieliauskas is a versatile art-maker who creates paintings, frescoes, sculptures, and prints. He has developed his own etching technique, which allows him to created complicated geometric compositions with rich colors and textured surfaces. Kmieliauskas grew up, steeped in the imagery of the Roman Catholic Church, and was encouraged by his village priest to pursue a career in art. His abiding interest in sacred art-making brought him into conflict with Lithuania’s Communist-dominated art establishment in the years before the Baltic state gained its independence from the Soviet Union. (John Kohan)