Petras Rimša

Petras Rimša (Polish: Piotr Rymsza, 3 November 1881 in Naudžiai, Vilkaviškis district – 2 October 1961 in Kaunas) was one of the first professional Lithuanian sculptors and medalists.

He was educated privately in Warsaw under Pius Weloński (1900–1903), at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Antonin Mercié (1903–1904), and Cracow Academy of Fine Arts under Konstanty Laszczka (1904–1905).

He returned to education, studying at the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in Saint Petersburg from 1909 to 1911.

This work, inspired by the hardships of World War I, depicts a suffering woman dressed in complex ornamented clothes.

Other medals commemorated Great Seimas of Vilnius of 1905, Klaipėda Revolt of 1923, establishment of the ecclesiastical province of Lithuania in 1926, 500th death anniversary of Grand Duke Vytautas in 1930.

[6] After World War II, Rimša created medals incorporating required attributes of Soviet propaganda.

However, 1947 medal for Martynas Mažvydas and the first printed Lithuanian book display lyrics from the banned national anthem Tautiška giesmė.

His last medal, created in 1959, was a self-portrait (obverse) with an exhibition of his works, including The Lithuanian School and The Ploughman (reverse).

[6] Rimša also created portraits (busts and reliefs) of Motiejus Valančius (1904), Jonas Basanavičius (1906), his mother (1910), diplomat Tomas Naruševičius (1924), Žemaitė (1926), and numerous others.