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Spirit of the Ukraine
(from the exhibition catalogue "Spirit of Ukraine: 500 years of painting")

In the latter half of last millenium Ukrainian artists were beset by many obstacles - repeated acts of oppression, destruction of their work, even annihilation of the artists themselves. Still their creative spirit survived, keeping alive not only the rich traditions of Ukrainian culture, but also ultimately contributing to the elite avant-garde art of this century.

Ukrainian Works of Art selected from major museums

Christ in Majesty

From the village of Mal'mv, Galicia (Halychyna). In the past, the Pantocrator image had a central place in the iconostases of churches. Jesus is depicted here as judge of the universe. The Christian cosmos is referred to symbolically. The ellipse (mandoria) represents the seventh heaven or Paradise. Heaven, here, is supported by four triangles with the evangelists' emblem: St. Luke is represented by a bull; St. Matthew by an angel; St. Mark by a lion; St. John by an eagle. The colour red symbolizes suffering which is the only way one can attain Paradise. The icon is painted according to Byzantine models. In Volhynia and Galicia, in the 15th and 16th centuries, centers of monastic culture existed that consciously avoided western influences and took their models from the Orthodox monastic art of Greece and Russia.

"Christ in Majesty" first half 16th c. 85 x62 tempera, silver leaf, gesso, carving on panel and silk

Saints Anastasia and Uliana the Martyrs

The work is attributed to the eminent Ukrainian artist, Hryhorii Levytsky, a painter at the court of Hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky. Figures depicted, Anastasia Skoropadsky and Uliana Apostol, are wives of Ukrainian hetmans. The saints, who are namesakes of these women, are martyred patricians of ancient Rome. The icon is a masterpiece of Ukrainian Rococo, in accordance with the norms of the so called "sweet style." The porcelain faces, delicate arms, the splendid attire, the magnificently rendered furs, the rich fabrics brocade, velvet, silk, the elegant jewellery, create images not of ascetic martyrs but of lay noblewomen. Their saintliness is suggested by religious symbols: the swords are a sign of Christ's host, the evergreen palm branch is a symbol of immortality and the crosses are a sign of martyrdom.

"Saints Anastasia and Uliana the Martyrs" 1740K 114.5 x70.5 tgesso, oil, silver leaf, gold leaf, carving on panel

Kozak Mamai

Pictures in the Kozak Mamai genre are in unique contrast to the high style of epitaphic portraits. The hero of the painting is not an actual person but a character from the Vertep puppet theatre (Nativity theatre), a Zaporozhian Cossack (Kozak) who boasts of his anonymity. In the Mamai monologue on the painting one reads: "Look at me, or not, you won't guess where I'm from, not an inkling will you know." Instead of an actual coat of arms and a crucifix, here we find an invented coat of arms with a cloth and a cup of liquor. Instead of a God fearing attitude, sinful thoughts arise: "0h, my golden bandura, if only you came with a young woman." The tradition of depicting a solitary singer amidst the open fields emanates from Scythian times.

"Kozak Mamai" beg. of 19th c. 77.5 x 62 oil on canvas

Apollon Mokrytsky
(Pyriatyn 1810 - Moscow 1870)

Having completed his early art education in the Nizhyn Lyceum of Prince Bezborodko, Apollon Mokrytsky frequented the St. Petersburg Academy of Art between 1830 and 1839. He studied with Oleksii Venetsianov and later with Karl Brulow. From 1840 he worked in the Ukraine and also traveled to Italy. In 1849 he became an academician. His preference was to work in portraiture. Mokrytsky represented the Biedrneier school of uncontrolled Realist art which exhibited romantic overtones. "Artist's Wife" is a fine example of this style. Mokrytsky played a significant role in the life of Taras Shevchenko. He introduced him to the Russian and Ukrainian intelligentsia: artists Karl Brulow and Oleksii Venetsianov, poet Vasilii Zhukovsky, writer Yevhen Hrebinka, intellectuals Pantelcimon Kulish, Vasyl Hryhorovych and others. They became interested in his fate and helped to secure his freedom from serfdom. Mokrytsky left a Diary which contains much material about Shevchenko.

"Artist's Wife" 1853 77.5x61.5 oil on canvas

Lev Zhemchuzhnykov
(Pavlovka 1828 - l'sarske selo 1912)

Zhemchuzhnykov was a descendant of Hetinan Kyrylo Rozumovsky. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Art (1849-1852), occasionally attending the studio of Karl Brulow. Abandoning his studies, he travelled to Ukraine, where he lived for four years. "My soul has melded with Ukraine in a flaming love", he wrote in his memoirs about his first impressions of Ukraine. His admiration for Shevchenko began at this time. He learned Ukrainian in order to be able to read Shevchenko's poetry in its original form. Shevchenko's ideas influenced his work and he dedicated all his creative output to the Ukraine. Imitating Shevchenko, he produced genre paintings with social and economic motifs. One of his lasting achievements was a series of etchings for the album Picturesque Ukraine, published between 1861 and 1862. "Let my work...", wrote Zhemchuzhnykov, "...Serve as the continuation of the work of Taras Shevchenko." Among his best paintings is Kobzar on the Roadway. It was inspired by Shevchenko's poem Kateryna. The boy beggar and the blind bandurist are unfortunate, miserable people to whom the artist extends his deep sympathy.

"Kobzar on the Roadway" 1854 75 x 162 oil on canvas

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