The life paths of two young people who chose the vocation of an artist intersected in 1930 in Vilnius – then one of the most important cultural centers of the Second Polish Republic. Walenty Romanowicz (1911–1945), of Belarusian and Russian descent, arriving from the Nowogródek region, and Aldona Nebelska (1909–2009), originally from Warsaw, began their studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Stefan Batory University in the same year. Their studies, covering various fields of art, provided opportunities to interact with the most prominent Vilnius artists of the time. At the Faculty of Fine Arts, they were taught by L. Sleńdziński, B. Kubicki, J. Bułhak, J. Hoppen, and others. It was Jerzy Hoppen who became Walenty's most significant teacher; the bond they formed had the greatest influence on the young artist's development. After completing their art studies, Walenty and Aldona maintained contact with the Faculty of Fine Arts and were active members of the Vilnius artistic community. Even after turning toward medicine, Walenty found a connection with art. While studying at the Faculty of Medicine, he deepened his knowledge of anatomy – essential for an artist – and eventually, in his final semester, he himself delivered lectures on plastic anatomy to students of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Having experimented with various artistic fields during their studies, both artists chose painting and graphic arts as their means of self-expression. In exhibitions held in 1939–1940, Aldona displayed oil paintings, though she had also mastered woodcutting. Using generalized forms balancing between realism and expressionism, and with a perceptible influence of Orientalism, she depicted everyday moments of urban and suburban life. Alongside her creative work, Aldona energetically took up organizational activities within the Vilnius Artists' Cooperative (SPAW) and, together with Walenty, in the activities of the "Vilnius Group" (Grupa Wileńska) artists' association.Grupa Wileńska) veikloje.

For Walenty, whose creative legacy also includes paintings and drawings, the true passion was graphic art. Starting with woodcuts, he experimented with various other techniques but eventually favored and masterfully mastered copper engraving. His engravings, which captured architectural monuments and views of the Vilnius region with nostalgia and respect for history, as well as his small graphic works – ex-libris – amaze with the precision of their lines, expressive hatching, attention to every detail, and the harmony and completeness of the overall composition.

The work of Aldona and especially Walenty was greatly influenced by their involvement in heritage preservation, which was experiencing its "golden age". In 1940, Walenty participated in the restoration of Kaunas Castle and carried out various other commissions for heritage institutions; however, most significant was his and Aldona's participation in the conservation and restoration of the Trakai Island Castle. Starting from the summer of 1935, they spent their vacations cleaning the castle ruins, sorting finds, gluing shards, and documenting the progress of excavations. The work was supervised by their former lecturer, engineer and architect Jan Borowski.

After their arduous work, the artists actively enjoyed the summer pleasures of Trakai, spending a great deal of time sailing. As companions in both studies and creativity, they chose Trakai for their most beautiful personal time when they decided to start a family – following their wedding in Vilnius in June 1937, they spent two weeks in a Trakai idyll. The diary that Walenty kept since childhood is full of impressions experienced here. The artists enjoyed capturing moments of daily life and landscapes with a camera and with the sketching and plein-air painting materials that were always at hand.

Inspired by the exceptional charm of Trakai nature and history, Walenty’s first sketches were born for his greatest and most important life’s work – the copper engraving series "Trakai", which he engraved between 1941 and 1944. The 32 engravings dedicated to the castle and its surroundings surprise with a variety of perspectives that could only be captured by someone who had worked here. The iconic, noble castle, seemingly frozen in time, dominates the foreground in some compositions, while in others it recedes, giving way to lush vegetation, lake water, various creatures, and occasionally, people. The emotional range of the works is also broad: from romantic idyll to dark premonitions of death. These works, full of creative ingenuity, are documentarily accurate records of a heritage site at the same time, possessing significant iconographic value.

Both the acclaimed series "Trakai" and the smaller one "Trees" (1943–1944) were created during a period of dramatic geopolitical shifts that shook Vilnius and the entire region: changes of government and military conflicts. For the artist, creativity likely became a way to endure historical cataclysms. However, the path of Walenty’s life and work, as he was reaching his creative heights, was brutally cut short after the war. Arrested by Soviet security under unclear circumstances ("by mistake"), the artist died in Lukiškės Prison in early 1945, possibly from a recurring lung disease. Only the date of his burial in an unmarked grave is known – February 2nd.

The dissemination of W. Romanowicz's creative legacy in occupied Lithuania was complicated by the fact of his arrest, which left a stamp of "political unreliability". The artist's memory could be more freely nurtured in Poland. Aldona, left a widow, left Vilnius with the great wave of repatriation. She returned to her native Warsaw, where she spent the remainder (the majority) of her life. Unlike Walenty, she was granted many years of life – exactly one hundred.

Never remarrying, Aldona dedicated her energy to work – the restoration of artworks – and in time, she became a recognized specialist in her field. While never abandoning her creative work and participating in exhibitions, she simultaneously took care of preserving her husband’s work and memory. Walenty's works were exhibited several times in Toruń, and the major part of his legacy was transferred to the Nicolaus Copernicus University Library in Toruń and the National Museum in Warsaw. Aldona did not break her ties with Lithuania; she visited many times. Her nostalgia for Trakai is evidenced by a photo album she compiled, preserving memories of the most beautiful days of her and Walenty’s lives spent here.

Commemorating the 115th anniversary of W. Romanowicz's birth this year, we invite you to the spaces of Trakai Island Castle – where W. and A. Romanowicz worked and created – to become acquainted with their works and the life journey they shared for 14 years.

The exhibition is organized from the collections of the Trakai History Museum, the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Lithuania, the Vilnius Academy of Arts Museum, the Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE, the National Museum in Warsaw, the W. and A. Romanowicz relatives and other private collections, and the Central State Archives of Lithuania. Excerpts from W. Romanowicz's diaries are featured in the exposition.