Mykhaylo Mykeshyn as a Friend and Admirer of Taras Shevchenko, and an Illustrator of Artistic Editions

Author

Ponomarenko Olesia

a Ph.D. in Philology, a senior researcher of the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko

Mykhaylo Mykeshyn as a Friend and Admirer of Taras Shevchenko, and an Illustrator of Artistic Editions

Abstract

1. Mykeshyn works are considered in the article first and foremost as a painter­illustrator, who has met T. Shevchenko personally after the poet return from the exile (1858). The artist has associated with him during the last years of life and continued to honour the Ukrainian Kobzar deeply after his death.
2. Mykeshyn is one of the first persons, who have a purpose to realize T. Shevchenko intention to embody the illustrated edition of his own poetic works. M. Mykeshyn illustration to T. Shevchenko The Poplar (1863) ballad, executed in two years after Kobzar death is considered to be the first attempt to accomplish the dream.

In 1884 the painter has illustrated the Bewitched (Prychynna) ballad for the first time. It is the first known poetical work of T. Shevchenko. M. Mykeshyn has illustrated the same ballad for the second time in 1895, when he creates the majority of figures for three issues of the Illustrated Kobzar, published in Petersburg in 1896. The whole cycle of pictures to T. Shevchenko the Hireling poem is used in the Kobzar with M. Mykeshyn illustrations.

It is remarkable, that M. Mykeshyn has included the Bewitched ballad, which has not been published in the first Kobzar (1840), the Hireling poem, published by P. Kulish for the first time during T. Shevchenko exile without the author surname (it has been forbidden to edit his works) into his illustrated edition.

An artist has considered poetical heritage of the Ukraine songster completely – as Kobzar. Just such a combination, the painter choice of the metamorphoses motifs plots, mysterious death, everyday poems and the scenes with the realistic, convincing depiction, even some reduced, with consciously deformed proportions of antique beauty and classicism canons, assures that M. Mykeshyn has equally well recreated the daily life course and fantastic conversions from the miraculous world in art. He has wanted to show not epos heroes, but usual people.

1. Mykeshyn illustration to the Slavonic fairytale The Fisherman Son is situated on the bounds of the fantastic and real plots. It is in watercolours from the funds collection of T. Shevchenko National Museum. It has existed as an Illustration on the Ukrainian Theme for a long time.

The article authoress has determined the drawing appellation for the first time. She has found the fairytale, for which the illustration has been executed. The tale plot is considered in the context of Ukrainian ritual folklore. The necessity of the further investigations of the main images and symbols, especially the images of the magic things and the fairy tale plot in the context of almost lost in the XIX century Ukrainian legends about Zmiinyi island, the South Slavonic folklore and Romania folk works is revealed.

Keywords

sculptor, painter, Byelorussian, Ukrainian, illustration, watercolour, Slavonic, collection, poet, Kobzar, fairytale.

References

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