PAINTING OF UKRAINIAN ARTISTS OF THE 19th CENTURY
PAINTING OF UKRAINIAN ARTISTS OF THE 19th CENTURY
In the 19th century the walls of St. Cyril’s Church were painted by teachers and students of the Mykola Murashko first Kyiv drawing school. Among them are I. Seleznyov, M. Pymonenko, H. Platonov, M. Klimanov, F. Zozulin, S. Haiduk and others.
The painting of the ceiling of the central dome illustrates the Ascension of the Savior into heaven. The composition was created by Ukrainian artist I. Seleznyov.
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It is traditionally believed that Oranta in the conch of the central apse, in place of the lost fresco, was written by I. Seleznyov.
Oranta raises her hands to her Son, who is depicted on the sphere of the central dome, She begs Him for mercy on all mankind. At first glance, the dark face of the Mother of God is somewhat similar to the face of the mosaic Oranta from St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv – stern and tense, but if you look closely, you can see in this expression kindness and love for all who raise their eyes to her. On the western wall of the southern part of the transept is an illustration of the plot “The Baptism of Jesus Christ”, which was performed by the artist H. Platonov in the classical academic tradition. In Platonov’s composition, Christ stands knee-deep in water and reverently receives baptism from John the Baptist. The plot is bordered at the edges with columns with a knot (this motive is borrowed from the frescoes of the twelfth century), and the top ends with an ornamental semicircle. Enclosed in a kind of frame, the composition is perceived as a huge salon picture. The stylized frame also gives the impression of a kind of portal – the entrance to a sacred event that takes place on the banks of the Jordan. |
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On the west wall of the central nave of St. Cyril’s Church, the artist M. Klimanov performed two compositions: “The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and “The Presentation of the blessed Virgin Mary”.
These paintings make a vivid impression on the background of frescoes of the twelfth century. The composition “The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” is joyful and festive. The scene “The Presentation of the blessed Virgin Mary” depicts Anne and Joachim – the parents of little three-year-old Mary, who lead their daughter to the temple. In the upper right corner of the composition, according to the chronology of events, the scene of the Annunciation is depicted. The peculiarity of the scene is that two plots are combined in one composition, and also that Mary, in the scene of the Annunciation, in contrast to many similar plots, is depicted as a very little girl. The image of the Virgin Mary in the apse of the prince’s prayer room on the first floor is attributed to the famous Ukrainian painter Ivan Yizhakevych. This is a very touching, lyrical image with a calm, dreamy face. I. Yizhakevych also owns the scenes of “The Righteous Going to Paradise” and “The Paradise” itself, located in the northern part of the narthex. On the walls of St. Cyril’s Church there are works by little-known Ukrainian artists: Yablonsky, Novytsky, Kudrin, Kosyachenko, Noga and Noga (probably brothers, and maybe a father and son), Chekhovych, Galaktionov, Kurashkevych, Kuznetsov, Korotkoruchka, Ryznychenko, Nechaev , Naumenko, Ganyuk, Troyanovsky, Danylov and others. |
