Lithuania Post issued a postage stamp to honour one of the most famous Lithuanian postmodern painters - Šarūnas Sauka. The stamp features one of the bravest and most controversial pieces of his work "Painting for the Millennium of Lithuania". Nowadays this monumental and awe-inspiring painting is displayed in the Lithuanian Presidential Palace. It was baptized in the media "only to people with strong nerves".
Šarūnas Sauka is a popular Lithuanian painter and sculptor, the winner of the Lithuanian National prize and other awards. The creativity of this artist is especially interesting because of his attempt in portraying ghosts acting in people`s brain rather than real views of the world. His ceremonial paintings include many Pagan rituals and Christian symbols.
Sauka`s "Painting for the Millennium of Lithuania" that appeared on a new Lithuanian postage stamp features an image of Jesus, seated with his face in his hand, is a common one in Lithuanian folk wooden sculptures. In this particular painting, the bleeding Jesus has the face and naked body of Sauka himself - it is a self-portrait. Underneath his legs, there are ordinary people of the society of various epochs and times. This scene in the left hand corner of the picture is observed by a girl in a bright dress who is thinking – she is the future of Lithuania. The painting is six meters in length and two-and-a-half meters in height. It has an original form as it is not square, but has many corners.
See also other interesting stamps dedicated to contemporary art.
