Savęs peržengimas“ Čiurlionio peizažo tapyboje
The "No-Self" in Čiurlionis landscape painting

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses the philosophical and aesthetic links between the mature painting of Čiurlionis and the paintings of the Chinese literati known as "wen ren". From the author's point of view, Čiurlionis' mature works of the Sonata period embody the category of "no self" ("wu wo") of traditional Chinese philosophical aesthetics. Čiurlionis, like the great Chinese masters of the Song and Yuan dynasties, in the process of expressing a philosophical view of the world through his paintings, expands the consciousness of the perceivers, who, having transcended their ego-centered worldview, reach a qualitatively higher state of "no self". This dynamic state of "no self" consciousness enables the artist to see the world around him with completely new eyes, to expand the boundaries of time and space, and finally to feel at one with the infinity of the surrounding natural world. Summarising the ideas expressed in the article, the author draws the principal conclusion that the aesthetic value of Čiurlionis' paintings from the mature sonata period lies in the painter's ability to philosophically interpret the world around us in the language of artistic images, symbols and metaphors, and that the principles of the category of 'no self' place him on a par with the great masters of the traditional Chinese landscape painting.

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