Mykhailo Boichuk School of Ukrainian Monumentalism (1917–1937). To the 85th anniversary of the physical destruction of the school

Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis

Abstract

The present study unveils the significance of the cultural and artistic pheno­menon known as the “School of Ukrainian Monumentalism” in the evolu­tion of Ukrainian fine arts. It characterizes the worldview, cultural, aesthetic, and artistic inspirations that contributed to the formation of the original, synthetic, and monumental artistic style of Ukrainian painting by Mykhailo Boichuk and his students. Furthermore, it explores how this style was fur­ther reflected in fresco compositions created between 1919 and 1935.

The article explores the institutional aspects of the school’s activity and the transmission of professional experience across generations of artists. Drawing on archival materials and preserved photo reproductions, we re­construct the formation of creative ideas and the contributions of figures such as Timofii Boichuk, Mariia Trubetska, Vasyl Sedliar, Oksana Pavlenko, Kateryna Borodina, Antonina Tsimlova, Antonina Ivanova, Kyrylo Hvoz­ dyk, Mykola Rokytskyi, Manuel Shechtman, Maria Yunak, Onufrii Biziu­ kov, and Oleksandr Dovzhenko. The article also underscores the tragic fact of the destruction of the creative work of the “School of Ukrainian Monu­ mentalism” at the end of the 1930s.