Portrait Drawings of Karpo Trokhymenko for the Painting “Meeting of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Ufa” (1941–1944)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to introduce into scientific turnover the little-known drawings of the outstanding Ukrainian realist painter of the mid-20th century, professor of the Kyiv State Art Institute, Karpo Demianovych Trokhymenko, made during the evacuation to Ufa in the period of the Great Patriotic War. The methodology of the work is based on the principles of art history, figurative and stylistic, systematic and comparative analysis, as well as historical and contextual methods. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the definition of the role of drawing in the creative heritage of Karpo Trokhymenko of the period 1941-1944. In the portrait sketches made by Karpo Trokhymenko for the picture “Meeting of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Ufa”, the difference in relation to the expressive means of art destroyed at the time of the avant-garde and finally formed social realism are clearly traced. The point, line, and plane as the leading artistic elements of the avant-garde are losing their significance, remaining to a certain extent only in the arsenal of graphic artists. Tone, light and shade gradations and energy of light acquire a special significance in the drawing of the easel painters. Conclusions. By analyzing the figurative and stylistic structure and technique of the portrait works, the peculiarities of drawing in the artist’s asset, in particular, the attention to creating an air environment, are revealed. In the drawings of Karpo Trokhymenko, the line has no intrinsic value and is perceived only as of the part of light and shadow, dissolving in the overall tone spot. The color plays an important role in the drawings of Karpo Trokhymenko. The works made within the complex warmth and coolness of colored paper, silver graphite pencil, colored pencils and chalk and acquire the significance of independent works. A set of portraits of outstanding Ukrainian scientists - academicians, artists, writers created by Karpo Trokhymenko, has not only documentary, historical and cultural value, but is a significant monument of Ukrainian easel drawing of the Great Patriotic War period.