Photographic Portraits by Domicelė Tarabildienė: Exploring a Multifaceted Self Image

By Gustė Matulionytė

*Trigger warning – some photography contains nudity*

Domicelė Tarabildienė (1912-1985) was one of the most acclaimed artists in Interwar and Soviet Lithuania. She worked with a wide range of mediums, including engraving, painting, and sculpture, but was best known as a graphic artist – her book illustrations even earned her a gold medal at the 1938 Paris International Exhibition. From the 1940s, Tarabildienė was considered to be one of the most influential graphic artists of her time, and her unique stylisations based on folkloric motifs became a source of inspiration for many artists working in Soviet Lithuania. The image of Tarabildienė as a primarily graphic artist has prevailed over the decades, and she continues to be recognised mostly for her illustrative work. A discovery made in the early 2000s, however, has broadened the usually-held conception of Tarabildienė’s artistic persona – an examination of a previously private archive unveiled a collection of a few hundred photographs, revealing the artist’s experimentation with photography in the 1930s.

It appears that Tarabildienė became interested in photography in 1930, when she was only eighteen years old. Among images of students from the Kaunas School of Art, everyday life in urban and rural environments, and moments from travels and studies abroad, a collection of self-portraits stands out sharply. A series of striking self-portraits from 1930-32 reveals Tarabildienė to have been truly interested in photography as an art form. In these images, the artist experimented with various methods of distorting conventional photography, including double exposure, negative retouching, and a deliberate use of soft focus. Especially notable is her use of photomontage, a technique that had not been previously used in Lithuanian photography – as a result, Tarabildienė is now considered to be one of the pioneers of artistic photography in Lithuania. Tarabildienė’s self-portraits are intriguing for their multifaceted and experimental nature – in addition to various editing techniques, the artist used lighting, mirrors, and costuming to stage mysterious and compelling images of a range of characters. In some, Tarabildienė presents herself as a shy girl from a rural village, in others she is a sculptural model, yet in others she showcases herself as a glamourous Hollywood star. The self-portraits uncover an image of Tarabildienė as a truly modern artist unafraid of experimentation.

Domicelė Tarabildienė, Nude with Plaster Model, 1931, photograph.

In Nude with a Plaster Model, 1931, Tarabildienė stares directly into the lens, confronting the observer. Her expression is sombre, almost threatening, reminiscent of characters from silent films. The naked body of the artist is shielded only by a plaster model of a classical statue. Neither the model nor the artist is in focus – the fuzzy silhouettes that are created as a result both obscure the nudity of the figures and serve to create a sense of dramaticism. The photograph was taken in an empty classroom in the Kaunas School of Art, which Tarabildienė was attending at the time. Studies from nude models and plaster casts were an important part of the curriculum for the burgeoning artists of the School. By positioning herself in a classroom alongside a plaster model, Tarabildienė may have been trying to explore and examine her own body as an object of studies.

Left: Domicelė Tarabildienė, Nude, 1931, photograph.

Right: František Drtikol, Melancholy, 1926, photograph.

A number of Tarabildienė’s self-portraits showcase an awareness of the work of contemporary avant-garde photographers. In the photomontage Nude, 1931, Tarabildienė juxtaposes a nude body with geometric motifs. A cut-out of a lying woman with a raised chest and bent knees is incorporated into a background with an undulating vertical line. The exploration of the interactions between body, space, and line calls to mind the photography of Czech artist František Drtikol, such as Melancholy, 1926. However, Drtikol used backdrops and shadows to stage his geometrical compositions, while Tarabildienė employed the photomontage technique. This choice may have been a result of Tarabildienė being a young experimenting artist that did not have access to a professional studio space – as such, photomontage may have been more accessible and easier to execute for an artist working by herself. Alternatively, it may have been an intentional artistic choice informed by Tarabildienė’s interest in playful compositions and experimental techniques.

Domicelė Tarabildienė, Challenging the Moon I and II, 1932, photographs.

A fondness for playful compositions is perhaps most evident in the photographs Challenging the Moon, 1932. In a childishly mocking gesture, the artist thumbs her nose at the moon. The playful composition is reminiscent of illustrations of commedia dell’arte characters featured in contemporary Lithuanian youth magazines. Though likely inspired by the illustrations, Tarabildienė does not attempt to replicate them exactly – instead of a white stage costume of the character Pierrot, she wears white undergarments and slouched socks. Most of Tarabildienė’s self-portraits were taken in her parents’ home in Jočiūnai village. A bottle and a glass in the bottom right-hand corner of the composition and the heavy, rough fabric that forms the backdrop serve as reminders of rural life. In the first iteration of the image, Tarabildienė haphazardly drew the moon and the stars onto the photograph, emphasising the playful nature of the composition. In the second version, she coloured over the background completely, leaving only the thin white scythe of a crescent moon and thus creating a markedly more dramatic image.

Left: Domicelė Tarabildienė, Self-Portrait with Lillian Roth’s Skirt, 1932, photograph.

Right: Lillian Roth photographed by Eugene Robert Richee, 1930.

In creating her self-portraits, Tarabildienė often engaged with popular culture. She examined illustrations of theatre and movie characters and images of celebrities in various magazines and used them as sources of inspiration. Tarabildienė’sPhotomontage with Lillian Roth’s Skirt, 1932, was inspired by Eugene Robert Richee’s photograph of the famous American actress and singer, which was published in the ninth number of the Lithuanian magazine Naujas žodis. In her photograph, Tarabildienė dons a similar semi-transparent skirt with a chequered motif as a bright light illuminates her from behind. The brightly illuminated pictorial space is filled with echoes of the pattern of the skirt. The skirt may be seen as an embodiment of modernity, specifically a Western conception of modernity; Tarabildienė’s choice to wear it may signify her wishing and striving to be part of this modernity.

After the 1930s, Tarabildienė abandoned photography to focus on more profitable artistic ventures, namely graphic and illustrative work and sculpture. Although her work with photography was short-lived and virtually unknown outside of her inner circle, over the past twenty years Tarabildienė has been rightfully recognised as one of the first experimental photographers in Lithuania. Since their discovery in the early twenty-first century, Tarabildienė’s intriguing self-portraits have featured in a number of national and international exhibitions, and continue to delight audiences with their multifaceted charm that is at once modern, dramatic, and playful.

Notes:

Burbaitė, Ieva. ‘Dailininkės Domicelės Tarabildienės (1912-1985) autoportretai XX a. 4 dešimtmečio fotografijose: pirmavaizdis ir improvizacijos.’ Acta Academiae artium Vilnensis. Dailė 85 (2017): 69-80.

‘Domicėlė Tarabildienė | M4U’ (28 December 2022) Accessed 1 February. https://museum4u.lt/domicele-tarabildiene/

Fauchereau, Serge. Art of the Baltic States. Modernism, Freedom and Identity 1900-1950 (London: Thames & Hudson, 2022)

Urbonienė, Regina. ‘Du grafikos meistrų jubiliejai.’ Lietuvos dailės muziejaus metraštis 16 (2013): 296-307.