Inspired by fall and Pushkin
How five Ukrainian artists visited the Russian outback and what came out of their trip
Highly distinctive masters of different generations Ihor Yuriev (Chernivtsi), Vira Tomashevska (Uzhhorod), Mykhailo Yaremkiv (Sambor), Volodymyr Ustymenko (the Crimea), and Anton Lohov (Kyiv) spent a fortnight in Pskov region. Impressed by what they saw, the artists created hundreds of sketches, while over 40 paintings by the Ukrainian masters have already found their way to Russian private collections.
“The artists benefited greatly from trips to the Modest Mussorgsky Museum-Reserve (the composer’s memorial estate, located in the picturesque town of Naumovo), as well as reserves in Pushkin’s home villages of Mikhailovskoye, Petrovskoye, and Trigorskoye,” Lyudmila Poddubnaya, curator of the project, told The Day. “These days, Pskov region offers a wonderful combination of ‘pine forest wilderness’ and bright, scenic vistas, ancient settlement sites and small ‘azure lakes’ connected to each other with ‘a calm-flowing river,’ old parks and gardens in the estates of Mikhailovskoye, Trigorskoye, and Petrovskoye, the epic tradition of Svyatogorsky Monastery which served as the family cemetery for the Hannibals and Pushkins, and where the remains of the poet himself as well as of his grandparents and parents lay. These places, blessed by the poetic genius, constitute now the Alexander Pushkin State Museum. The classic’s ‘Pskov province, greenhouse of my youthful days,’ where the poet ‘worked for hours at a time, compelled just by inspiration,’ has been celebrated in many Pushkin’s poems and is inseparable from his creative biography. He loved these places throughout his life and expressed the feeling throughout his poetry, beginning with his youth years’ poem “Farewell, My Trusty Oak-Groves” and ending with the famous “I Have Visited Again,” written shortly before the classic’s death...”
A STILL LIFE BY VOLODYMYR USTYMENKO
The Ukrainian artists visited Velikie Luki, Toropets, and Pskov. Meetings and impressions on the trips have inspired them. The painters say they wanted to paint everything right away while memory is fresh and eye sharp, because they saw so many subjects that captivated them with mesmerizing beauty of the fall season.
Interesting works have resulted from an open-air workshop held at the Volyn recreation center on Zhizhitskoye Lake amid charming fall nature, in the place called “the pearl of Pskov region.” The workshop’s participants created more than 40 canvases painted in a variety of styles and techniques and presented at the final exhibition. By the way, most of these works found private buyers right on the opening day.
A FALL LANDSCAPE BY MYKHAILO YAREMKIV
Director general of the ELVO-Ukraine trading house Andrii Bohansky initiated the Ukrainian artists’ creative trip, taking care of all the financial and organizational issues with the support of the Russian Embassy in Ukraine.
Our masters came back home enriched with new experiences and full of inspiration, with a lot of sketches and ideas which will turn into new canvases later.
