Ukrainian Baroque
Ukrainian Baroque, also known as Cossack Baroque or Mazepa Baroque, is an artistic style that was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the result of a combination of local traditions and European Baroque.
History
Thanks to influences from Western Europe, from the late 16th century the lands of modern Ukraine came under the influence of the secularized Baroque form of art and architecture, which was still unknown in the neighbouring Tsardom of Russia. According to the historian Serhii Plokhy, Petro Mohyla, the Metropolitan of Kyiv from 1633 to 1647, was crucial in developing the style as part of his drive to reform the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and adapt the Church to the challenges of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Ukrainian Baroque reached its apogee in the time of the Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa, from 1687 to 1708. Mazepa Baroque is an original synthesis of Western European Baroque architectural forms and Ukrainian national Baroque architectural traditions.Architectural style
Ukrainian Baroque is distinct from the Western European Baroque in having more moderate ornamentation and simpler forms, and as such was considered more constructivist. Many Ukrainian Baroque buildings have been preserved, including several buildings in Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and the Vydubychi Monastery in Kyiv. The historian Andrew Wilson has identified All Saints' Church, the Dormition Cathedral, [Kyiv Pechersk Lavra|Cathedral of the Dormition] and the Trinity Gate Church within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra as good examples of the style, along with St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv and St. Catherine's in Chernihiv. The exterior of Saint [Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv|St. Sophia Cathedral] in Kyiv also underwent significant alterations in the Baroque style. Another example of the style is the Church of St. Elijah in Subotiv, where Bohdan Khmelnytsky buried his son Tymish in 1653 after his death in battle.Notable architects
Baroque sculptor Johann Georg Pinsel, who was active during the mid-18th century in Galicia, was the subject of a special exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 2012–2013. Pinsel, which demonstrated a unique, masterful expressiveness of form and a highly personal characterization of drapery is now recognized as a leading figure in European Baroque sculpture. Italian Baroque architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who is best known for designing the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg and Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, also made contributions to the Ukrainian Baroque style, designing St. Andrew's Church and Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv. The palace is now used as the official residence of the President of Ukraine. Galician architect Bernard Meretyn designed the ornate St. George's Cathedral, Lviv, used as a mother church by the Greek Catholic Church">Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church">Greek Catholic Church.Other notable Baroque architects active in Ukraine include:
- Andreas Schlüter – German architect and sculptor who worked in Zhovkva.
- Ivan Zarudny – architect and icon artist from Sloboda Ukraine active in Moscow.
- Johann Gottfried Schädel – German architect active in Ukraine and Russia.
- Osip Startsev – Russian architect active in Kyiv.
- Stepan Kovnir – Ukrainian architect known for his work on Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
- Ivan Grigorovich-Barsky – Ukrainian architect from Kyiv.
- Andrey Kvasov – Russian architect who worked in Ukrainian cities of Kozelets, Baturyn and Hlukhiv.
- – Silesian architect who worked in Lviv, Buchach and Pochaiv.
Influence
Ukrainian Baroque art
Baroque style in Ukrainian art dominated from around 1600 until the late 18th century. Starting from the 16th century Ukrainian religious artists abandoned most elements of Byzantine art and adopted a clearer, more laconic style influenced by folk art motives and characterized by joyous features. Ukrainian icons created during that period are characterized with saturated colours and rich decorative elements. Baroque art from Ukraine influenced iconographers in the broader region and was mentioned in accounts by contemporaries, such as Paul of Aleppo. The best examples of Baroque painting in Ukraine are the church paintings in the Holy Trinity Church of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Rapid development in engraving techniques occurred during the Ukrainian Baroque period. Advances utilized a complex system of symbolism, allegories, heraldic signs, and sumptuous ornamentation.Baroque literature in Ukraine
In Ukrainian lands Baroque literature flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries and was dominated by religious and spiritual topics, as most of its authors were clergymen. According to Dmytro Chyzhevsky, the first Ukrainian writer to use elements of Baroque style in his works was Ivan Vyshenskyi; Baroque aesthetics are also characteristic for some parts of the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle. Pivotal events in the development of Baroque literature in Ukraine were the foundation of Kyiv Brotherhood School in 1615 and the restoration of Eastern Orthodox hierarchy in 1620. Main representatives of Baroque culture in Ukrainian lands during that time were Orthodox clergymen and professors of Kyiv Academy. Baroque poetry was a subject taught in Ukrainian higher schools until the end of the 18th century, producing a number of prominent authors creating in that style. The majority of Baroque authors in Ukraine created their works in the Church Slavonic language, but also included many elements from common Ukrainian speech of that time, as well as from Polish and Russian languages. The flowering of Baroque literature in Ukraine helped lay the foundations for Russian secular literature.Notable Baroque authors from Ukraine
- Pamvo Berynda – lexicographer, one of the pioneers of Ukrainian drama.
- Meletius Smotrytsky – first Ukrainian author to fully embrace the Baroque tradition.
- Petro Mohyla – Metropolitan of Kyiv.
- – Polish and Ukrainian writer, pedagogue and Catholic priest.
- Kyrylo Stavrovetsky-Tranquilion – Orthodox and Greek Catholic archimandrite.
- Innocent Giesel – archimandrite of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, rector of Kyiv Mohyla Academy
- – monk of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, wrote in Polish.
- Lazar Baranovych – Orthodox archbishop.
- – rector of Kyiv Academy, archimandrite.
- – Orthodox hegumen and preacher.
- Danylo Tuptalo – Orthodox bishop and saint.
- Stefan Yavorsky – Orthodox bishop, head of the Most Holy Synod.
- Samiilo Velychko – author of the first systematic history of the Cossack Hetmanate.
- – Orthodox bishop, philosopher and translator.
- Feofan Prokopovych – Orthodox bishop, rector of Kyiv Academy.
- Manuil Kozachynsky – pedagogue and dramatist.
- – Orthodox bishop and theologian.
- – dramatist and literary theorist.
- George (Konissky) – Orthodox bishop, writer and dramatist.
- Paisius Velichkovsky – Orthodox monk.
- Hryhorii Skovoroda – poet and philosopher.
- – Orthodox monk and professor of Kyiv Academy.
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