Coloring in Short Prose by Yevhen Hutsalo

Abstract

The paper considers the means of representing space in Yevhen Hutsalo’s prose which are suitable for comparison with the painting technique. Coloring is one of determining graphic resources of a picture. The artistic effect of the figures and spatial compositions fixed on canvas is to a great extent predefined by the color solution of the subjects and air environment depicted. In order to make the world of imagination more representational the literature used to involve visual imagery in a verbal design, in which color and light markers not only specify a representation of fictitious or real situation but also give some lyrical, epical or dramatic coloring to the narration, increasing the expressivity of a picture. In the descriptions of landscapes in the short stories by Yevhen Hutsalo one may find the verbal analogues of such painting tools as color dominant, color harmony, lighted up and shaded areas. The dynamics of color solution in a verbal picture, the introduction of new hues and their combinations, and the constructing of light environments help to strengthen the emotional effect of the narration and make some special mood accents. The change of chromatic range and interpretation of painting components of the verbal image liken the narration to the melodious and sound transitions in music and editing tools in filmmaking. The color effects contribute to plasticity of the represented objects or, on the contrary, make their representation less material, give some decorative or symbolic sense to the nature. The story “On the Shining Horizon” may be compared to the cycle of paintings by Oscar-Claude Monet “Rouen Cathedral”. The unsteady landscape of Y. Hutsalo is marked by interpretative activity of the narrator. The landscape descriptions with a less vivid and not too rich, i. e. comparatively weak in terms of stimulating emotions, color range are also endowed with a noticeable expressive potential. In accordance with the requirements of expression in painting the verbal chiaroscuro also may give dynamics to relatively static environment. The paper offers a comparative analysis of the verbal ‘pictures’ and their corresponding paintings-predecessors.