Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was a Lithuanian virtuoso painter and composer. The inhabitants of Lithuania hold him in high esteem as their greatest musical prodigy, despite his absence during the resurgence of Lithuania as an independent state. In Čiurlionis’ era, Lithuania was a constituent of the Tsardom of Russia.
During his brief existence, Čiurlionis composed approximately 300 musical compositions, and crafted just as many paintings. The planetary body 2420 Čiurlionis was christened in his honor. Similarly, a mountain in the Pamir region and a rock formation in Franz Josef Land in the Arctic Ocean bear his illustrious name.
In the year 1997, the renowned Rijksmuseum expanded its collection to include additional photographs from Cary Markerink and Theo Baart in their series “The Highway,” offering a glimpse into the asphalt-covered landscape of the Netherlands. www.ftn-books.com has a reprint of a small sketch book now available.
