Mythopoetics of Women — Nature in the Paintings of Nicholas Prokopenko

Abstract

The mythological basis of the image of a woman in painting by the People’s Artist of Ukraine Nikolay Prokopenko is investigated. It has been established that pagan motifs predominate in the work of the Odessa master; the heroines of the compositions are related to the two bacchantes and the nymphs of the baroque art,which personify the elements of nature.The interrelation of Prokopenko’s compositions with the world artistic heritage is considered. The originality of the individual style of the master, in the paintings of which the combination of qualities inherent in easel painting and decorative art, is revealed. Artistic analysis shows that the creative exploration of the heritage of art of the ancient world, Ukrainian folk art, along with learning the experience of modernity and the avantgarde of the early twentieth century, helped the artist to find an adequate expression of his sense of opposition «life is death».It was concluded that the high degree of conditional generalization of the form of M. Prokopenko’s compositions corresponds to the universality of the content: the woman in his paintings is presented as the embodiment of the life-giving forces of nature and fertility.