Monumental Art of Ivan Izhakevich: The Church of Sts. Borys and Hlib in Kyiv’s Podil

Abstract

The paper attempts to highlight the little-known facts of Ivan Yizhakevych’slegacy ofsacred art, in particular, his monumental paintings at the Borysohlib Church in Kyiv’s Podil area. This ensemble had historical and cultural value, and if this monument survived, it would have had a significant place in the history of Ukrainian sacred painting. The difficulty of the research lies in the fact that there are no known photographs or works of art that would record the interior of this church and, in particular, the monumental paintings. Information on them is found, mostly, in pre-revolutionary publications that describe the church at the end of the 19th century. Only isolated mentions in later publications testify rather indirectly to the role of Yizhakevych in the history of this temple. Valuable are the memories of Fr. Mykhailo Yedlynskyi, who was the parson of this church and provides the most reliable information about Yizhakevych’s participation in the church’s paintings, as well as K. Sherotskyi’s remarks about how the wall painting of the church looked at the beginning of the 20th century. The paper aims to collect and organize all the available information about the lost monumental art piece.