Ciurlionis' Musical Painting: In Search of Harmony

The article is based on the notion that the perception and understanding of beauty transcends the boundaries of culture, time, and space. When we look at the "oriental features" of Ciurlionis' painting from the point of view of Chinese aesthetics, we find that his paintings in general on a deeper level resonate with the philosophy of Chinese music. The article compares Ciurlionis' "Rustling of the Forest" with the Chinese Song Dynasty landscape painting "Wind in Pines Among a Myriad Valleys" and analyzes the common feature of these two works - the music of nature and the flow of qi-energy. Based on the tradition of East Asian aesthetics, the article claims that Ciurlionis and Chinese literati painters are in many ways similar. Ciurlionis does not separate music and painting in his art but expresses the freedom of nature in an individual way, creates a cultural matrix in which he integrates the Lithuanian tradition and his own perception and mindset.