On 28 April 2026, the presentation of Professor Dr. Arnaud Jean Noël Joseph Parent’s monograph A Life Devoted to Humanity and Science: The Life and Work of Professor, Physician, and Botanist Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert (1741–1814) took place at the Mykolas Romeris University Library. The event was held as part of Lithuania’s National Library Week.
During the presentation, the author gave a comprehensive overview of the life of Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert, an outstanding eighteenth-century scholar who made a significant contribution to the study of Lithuania’s natural environment. He also discussed the origins of the book and the sources on which his research was based. The monograph traces Gilibert’s life from his medical studies and academic career to his pioneering role in the development of botany in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It examines not only his scientific achievements but also the broader intellectual context, highlighting the spread of Enlightenment ideas throughout the region. The author emphasized the continuing relevance of Gilibert’s work today, particularly in relation to the importance of studying, classifying, and preserving the natural world.
An integral part of the event was an exhibition curated by Alisa Gladyševa. Particular attention was devoted to Gilibert’s Flora Lituanica inchoata, one of the most important eighteenth-century works on the natural sciences in Lithuania. One section of the exhibition, Secrets: Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert’s Plants Under Glass, presented botany as a meeting point of scientific inquiry and aesthetic experience. It featured living plants and herbarium specimens, evoking the childhood tradition of creating "secrets"—small compositions of natural objects carefully arranged and preserved beneath pieces of glass.
The book presentation not only enriched the academic community with new insights but also created a space for dialogue between science, history, and culture. Live Baroque music performed on the guitar by Alisa Gladyševa transported the audience, if only briefly, to the eighteenth century. Participants also took part in a discussion moderated by Dr. Indrė Karčiauskaitė and Alisa Gladyševa and continued their conversations long after the event had concluded.
