STYLISTIC DEFINITION OF MYRON LEVYTSKI’S CREATIVITY ON THE EXAMPLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE POEM «ENEIDA» BY I. KOTLYAREVSKY

Abstract

The article highlights the features of the stylistic determination of Myron Levytsky’s work under the influence of aesthetic and socio-political factors using the example of illustrations to the poem «Aneida» by I. Kotlyarevsky. «Throughout the entire period of editions and reprints of Ivan Kotlyarevsky’s works, we have many interesting examples of the artistic design of his works outside our country. In particular, such famous graphic artists as A. Shtyren, M. Butovych, M. Ushakov-Poskochin, M. Muratov, M. Vasha, I. Beketov, M. Levytsky, D. Bisti, D. Zekina. They worked in different historical periods, under the influence of many creative trends». In this sense, the study of individual stylistic determination in the illustration of M. Levytsky as a unique cultural and artistic phenomenon, which played a significant role in the popularization of graphic art in Ukraine and the world art space, is relevant. The artist’s creative language was influenced by Ukrainian traditions and new trends in Western European art (Poland, Austria), and in particular, Canada, during forced emigration. Thus, analyzing the retrospective of M. Levytsky’s creative progress, we must find out the factors influencing the formation of a unique style and manner of performing works. The study of a cycle of black-and-white illustrations dedicated to the images of the «Aneid», made in 1935 in Lviv, revealed, in particular, the considerable influence of the new ideas of «Boychukism» in art, which were favorably received in the 1920s. The then active development of national art was due to the Ukrainian people’s movement and cultural upsurge, but later came into conflict with the imposed ideas of socialist realism regarding Ukrainian culture and art. The search for a new graphic language is distinguished by Levitsky’s illustrations for the «Aeneid», created after immigration to Canada in 1963. The literary images of the poem in the new artistic interpretation have undergone striking changes - these are clear, laconic images in color, somewhat hyperbolized, which gives them signs of monumentality. The plot component of the compositions goes beyond the framework of a limited quote, approaching universality, which is the result of integration into the multicultural artistic environment of Canada at that time.