The Semiotic Take on Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: The Analyses by Jean-Marie Floch and Jacques Fontanille

Abstract

This article presents, compares, and supplements two semiotic analyses of paintings by Lithuanian painter and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis—his sonatas painted in 1907–1909 (“Sonata of the Spring”, “Sonata of the Summer”, “Sonata of the Sea”, “Sonata of the Serpent”, “Sonata of the Pyramids”, “Sonata of the Sun” and “Sonata of the Stars”) by French semioticians, Jean-Marie Floch (article “The Life of Form. A Look at M. K. Čiurlionis’s Sonatas”, 1985) and Jacques Fontanille (article “Poliscopy in Čiurlionis’s Sonatas”, 1995), the disciples of Algirdas Julien Greimas, a founder of the Paris School of Semiotics. Focusing mainly on the analysis of two paintings from the “Sonata of the Stars” cycle, “Allegro” and “Andante”, the article proposes introducing a transcendental addresser while describing their narrative level. The article analyses significant semiotic expressions and elements of content which form in paintings and realizes the idea of the synthesis of the arts revealing the influence of the musical form of sonata on painting. It also discusses the new meanings that opened in the paintings by Čiurlionis, underlines the European art trends characteristic of Čiurlionis’s painting and its universal cultural dimension.