Laurynas Gucevičius was an 18th century architect born in the
Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthThe Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed by the union of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569. The new Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe....
, the
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
, and most of his designs were built there. Scholars consider him the first professional
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
n architect.
In his youth he travelled to
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and other countries in
Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
, where he studied architecture from the notable contemporary neo-classical
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
architects,
Jacques-Germain SoufflotJacques Germain Soufflot was a French architect in the international circle that introduced Neoclassicism...
and
Claude Nicolas LedouxClaude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only in domestic architecture but town planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a utopian...
. Later he served as a professor at the Jesuit Academy of Vilnius, the predecessor of the University of Vilnius. Among the best known of his works are the refurbished
Vilnius CathedralThe Cathedral of Vilnius is the main Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lithuania.It is situated in Vilnius' Old Town, just off of Cathedral Square. It is the heart of Lithuania's Catholic spiritual life....
, the town hall and the
summer palace of bishopsVerkiai Palace is an 18th century neoclassical mansion in Verkiai, Vilnius, Lithuania.- History :Until the end of 14th century this place was a property of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. There was a wooden manor even in 13th century. In 1387 Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila, on occasion of accepting...
in
VerkiaiVerkiai, is a name of an elderate in Vilnius, Lithuania and also the name of a settlement, historically situated north of Vilnius but today a part of Vilnius city municipality and a capital of Verkiai elderate....
. The monumentality of forms and volume, the harmony with surroundings and a special treatment of antique architectural forms are the characteristics of his style.
Biography
Born in the village of
MigonysMigonys is a village in the Kupiškis district municipality, Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, it had 132 inhabitants. The village celebrated its 400th anniversary in 1924. There is a hill-fort and 36 tumuli in the vicinity of the village....
near
KupiškisKupiškis is a city in north-western Lithuania. it is the capital of the Kupiškis district municipality. Kupiškis is situated on the Lėvuo and Kupa Rivers. The name of the city orinates from Kupa River.-History:...
, in the
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
. His father was a peasant Simonas Masiulis , sometimes also called by the name of Stuoka after his stepfather. He was baptized as Laurynas Masiulis. His mother, Kotryna Žekonytė Masiulienė , died early in his youth and her relative and his godmother Ona Baltušytė Gucevičienė , supported him and financed his studies. After her he inherited the surname of Gucewicz/Gucevičius. He attended local schools at Kupiškis and Palėvenė, and then the gymnasium (high school) at
PanevėžysPanevėžys see also other names, is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2008, it occupied 50 square kilometers with 113,653 inhabitants.-History:...
. In 1773 he joined the
Academy of VilniusVilnius University , is one of the oldest universities in both the Baltic states and Europe...
under his Polish name, although most probably he also spoke Lithuanian. He studied engineering, attended the lectures on architecture held by
Marcin KnackfusMarcin Knackfus was a Polish-Lithuanian architect, notable for his numerous Neoclassical buildings in Vilnius, Lithuania. Among them is the famous astronomical observatory there , the internal design of the main buildings of the Academy of Wilno and numerous other buildings, both private and...
. Around that time, he also became a
missionary monkA missionary order is a religious order of the Roman Catholic church devoted to active missionary work....
. He graduated in 1775, and in the following year received a royal scholarship from King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Along with a large number of other young Polish artists and architects of the time (among them Piotr Aigner, Szymon Bogumił Zug, Stanisław Zawadzki, Efraim Szreger and
Jakub KubickiJakub Kubicki was a renowned Polish classicist architect and designer. One of the most renowned architects of his epoch, since 1781 he was the personal architect of king Stanisław August Poniatowski. Among the most notable of his works are a number of palaces and summer residences in Poland,...
), he went to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, where he spent a year studying the classical architecture.
In the following years he travelled through the countries of
Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
, where he attended lectures on architecture and learned from the works of the most renowned architects of the time. He visited
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
and various German states. Finally, he spent a year and a half studying in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under the guidance of
Jacques-Germain SoufflotJacques Germain Soufflot was a French architect in the international circle that introduced Neoclassicism...
and
Claude Nicolas LedouxClaude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only in domestic architecture but town planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a utopian...
. On his return, he was hired by Bishop
Ignacy Jakub MassalskiPrince Ignacy Massalski was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman.Ignacy was Bishop of Vilnius and one of the initiators of the Commission for National Education. After few years he was removed from the Commission for embezzlement of public funds...
, for whom he designed and built the
episcopal palace in VerkiaiVerkiai Palace is an 18th century neoclassical mansion in Verkiai, Vilnius, Lithuania.- History :Until the end of 14th century this place was a property of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. There was a wooden manor even in 13th century. In 1387 Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila, on occasion of accepting...
, later known after its later owners, the
WittgensteinPrince Ludwig Adolf Friedrich of Sayn-Wittgenstein was a Russian aristocrat of German descent...
family. The palace and the surrounding architectural complex, the work on which was commenced by Gucewicz's tutor Knackfus, is currently considered one of the most valuable classicist complexes in Lithuania.
In 1789 Gucewicz became a professor of architecture and
topographyTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
at the
Artillery and Engineering Corps' School of Wilno. In 1794 he also returned to his
Alma MaterAlma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. In modern times it is ordinarily used to refer to the university or college a person attended...
, where he became a professor of civilian architecture and held the chair in engineering. In 1794, at the outbreak of Kościuszko's Uprising, Gucewicz joined the ranks of the local civil guard and took part in the
Wilno UprisingThe Wilno Uprising of 1794 began on April 22, 1794, during which Polish-Lithuanian forces led by Jakub Jasiński fought with Russian forces occupying the city during the Kościuszko Uprising. The Russians were expelled from Wilno , and thanks to Jasiński's skill, no casualties were sustained during...
against the Russian garrison. He also became one of the leaders of the local militia formed out of volunteers. Heavily wounded in a skirmish near Ašmiany (modern Belarus), he was demobilised. Following the
Partitions of PolandThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
, when Vilnius was annexed by Imperial Russia, the new authorities expelled Gucewicz from the academy for his part in the uprising. However, in 1797 he returned there, this time as a head of the newly-founded separate chair of architecture.
Around that time Gucewicz created the most renowned of his works. First was the new town hall of Vilnius, completed around 1799. He also constructed a similar, yet smaller town hall in Widze near
BratslavBratslav is a townlet in Ukraine, located in the Nemyriv Raion of Vinnytsia Oblast, by the Southern Bug river. It is a medieval European city having dramatically lost its importance during 19th-20th centuries...
(modern Vidzy, Belarus). Between 1777 and in 1801 he worked to rebuild the
Vilnius CathedralThe Cathedral of Vilnius is the main Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lithuania.It is situated in Vilnius' Old Town, just off of Cathedral Square. It is the heart of Lithuania's Catholic spiritual life....
(which had undergone many reconstructions, and had been partially
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
) in the neoclassical style. It is sometimes said, that his reconstruction of the cathedral, modelled after a Roman temple, pre-dated the work of
Thomas HamiltonThomas Hamilton was a Scottish architect, based in Edinburgh. Born in Glasgow, his works include: the Dean Orphan Hospital, now the Dean Gallery; the Royal High School on Calton Hill, long considered as home for the Scottish Parliament; Bedlam Theatre, the George IV Bridge, which spans the...
and
James PlayfairJames Playfair was a Scottish architect who worked largely in the Neoclassical tradition. He was born in Benvie near Dundee, where his father was the parish minister. He was the brother of William Playfair the engineer, and the mathematician John Playfair...
, two notable Scottish architects to introduce classicism in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
.
He is also credited with a number of other projects, although their actual authorship is not documented. Among them is the palace of the
TyzenhausTyzenhaus was a noble family of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth of German extraction. It was active in the Duchy of Livonia, Duchy of Courland and the northern Grand Duchy of Lithuania...
family in
RokiškisRokiškis is a city in northeastern Lithuania with population of about 16,000.-History:The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares . However, cities ending in "-kiškis" are quite popular in the region. The city was first mentioned in 1499...
(completed in 1801), the reconstruction of the castle in
RaudonėRaudonė is a town on the Neman River in Tauragė County, Lithuania. The town is primarily known for its castle and large park complex.- History :...
for its contemporary owner, Fario de Castro, and several merchant houses in
KretingaKretinga is a city in the Klaipėda County, Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kretinga district municipality. It is located east of the popular Baltic Sea resort town of Palanga, and about north of Lithuania's 3rd largest city and principal seaport, Klaipėda.The population was listed as 21,423...
, as well as the manor house in Čiobiškis. He is also thought to have prepared projects of palaces for other notable magnate families of the time, including Radziwiłł,
SapiehaThe Sapieha is a Polish-Lithuanian princely family descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk. The family acquired great influence in the sixteenth century.-History:...
, Pac, Chomiński and Scypion, though the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
losses in the preserved archives make the matter difficult to settle definitively. He was also the author of a
topographicTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
map of the western part of the city of Vilnius.
He died December 10, 1798 and was buried in the
Rasos CemeteryRasos Cemetery is the oldest and most famous cemetery in the city of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is named after the Rasos district where it is located. It is separated into two parts, the old and the new cemeteries, by a narrow Sukilėliai Street. The total area is 10.8 ha...
, Vilnius, though knowledge of the exact burial location has been lost. In his last will he dedicated all of his projects to the
Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthThe Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed by the union of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569. The new Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe....
and most of the surviving sketches and designs are currently held in the library of Warsaw University.
Legacy
The architect's life and creations inspired Lithuanian poet
Justinas MarcinkevičiusJustinas Marcinkevičius is a prominent Lithuanian poet and playwright.-Life and career:Marcinkevičius was born in 1930 in Važatkiemis, Prienai district. In 1954 he graduated from Vilnius University History and Philology faculty with a degree in Lithuanian language and Literature...
to write the play
The Cathedral.