XVIII amžiaus studijos / The Eighteenth Century Studies

The article discusses a watercolour painting from a private collection authored by Wojciech Iwaszkiewicz, artillery ober-bombardier of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the background of the urban landscape are objects that allow easy identification of the capital of Lithuania: partly ruined Upper Castle and the Bekesh Hill. Other objects and figures are identifiable by the inscriptions on the other side of the painting. Particularly interesting is the first plan of the drawing, which depicts the Tatar Gates and a few wooden houses standing near them. This is the only known view of the Tatar Gates of the Vilnius defensive wall. The buildings also depict a number of city dwellers, most of them being military personnel of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (artillery officer, cannoneer, ober-feurwerker, etc., as well as the author of the painting himself ), thus the picture is also interesting as a source of research into different military uniforms. Inscriptions by the Upper Castle and Bekesh Hill reflect legends and stories, popular among Vilnians at the end of the eighteenth century. In the former case, one tower of the castle is named as the temple of the pagan god Lelum Polelum Swistum po Swistum. Yet above the Bekesh Hill is written a legend about the reckless death of this cadet on the way down while riding a horse. Through historical sources we were able to determine that W. Iwaszkiewicz enlisted into the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a cannoneer in the spring of 1790, soon was raised to the rank of the bombardier and in the spring of 1791 to the ober-bombardier, yet in the summer of 1793 he was raised to the rank of stykjunker. The painting in analysis is related to a particular event: attempts to reform and strengthen the Lithuanian artillery at the end of the eighteenth century and the amassing of the military in Vilnius. In spite of somewhat primitive style of the painting, it’s a very interesting and valuable document of urban iconography.