Memorial plaque to honor the collector of the Museum of Volyn Icon’s collection

The Museum of Volyn Icon is a hallmark of the region, receiving not just many foreign tourists, coming from countries ranging from Poland to Paraguay, but presidents, ambassadors, and bishops as well. However, the phenomenon of the Volyn icon was discovered relatively recently by Pavlo Zholtovsky, a Ukrainian art historian who led research expeditions in the 1980s to describe closed Volyn shrines. It turned out that these ordinary rural churches held real treasures that have been saved through Zholtovsky’s expeditions and become the basis of the Museum of Volyn Icon’s exhibition, when the institution was created. The museum has also a strong research establishment, hosting the International Research Conference “Volyn Icon: Studying and Restoring” for the 21st time already. The conference participants make new discoveries every time, as the museum’s storerooms keep thousands of paintings that need restoration, including some true masterpieces.

Both head of the Museum of Volyn Icon Tetiana Yelisieieva and deputy director of Volyn Regional Local History Museum Yevhenia Kovalchuk were once participants of Zholtovsky’s expeditions. His personality interests people even today, so his son and Kharkiv businessman Oleksandr Savchuk, who published a book of memoirs about Zholtovsky, were speakers at the conference last year. This year, the participants visited the village of Mysliatyn, Khmelnytsky region, where Zholtovsky was born. They first visited Iziaslav that is rich in interesting historical monuments, as even the ruins of its palace are of fascinating beauty, and the local Old Town is unique. Volhynians and museum workers from Poland and Ukraine met mayor of Iziaslav Valentyn Pankovsky, who surprised them by his knowledge of the history of the town, often even supplementing the guide’s stories.

“We were pleased to see that both mayor and leaders of the raion had read Zholtovsky’s book of memoirs, quoted it while introducing us to the city,” Yelisieieva said.

People of Mysliatyn value their history as well. Unveiling of a commemorative plaque on the premises of the school, which shows that the famous Ukrainian scholar was born in the village, was truly a festive occasion for all villagers. School is a large one, with 11 grades, but it is now teaching just over 70 children. All the kids wore Ukrainian folk costumes and quoted passages from their illustrious countryman’s memoirs during the event. Many spoke of Ukraine as a country, its history, part of which has been preserved for posterity thanks to Zholtovsky, about the current situation of undeclared war, and that Ukraine is worthy of fighting for it.