Mykhailo Boychuk ( uk, Миха́йло Льво́вич Бойчу́к, 30 October 1882 – 13 July 1937) was a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
painter, most commonly known as a monumentalist.
He is considered a representative of the generation of the
Executed Renaissance
The Executed Renaissance (or "Red Renaissance", uk, Розстріляне відродження, Червоний ренесанс, translit=Rozstriliane vidrodzhennia, Chervonyi renesans) is a term used to describe the generatio ...
.
Biography
Boychuk was born in
Romanivka, then in
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, and currently in
Ternopil Oblast
Ternopil Oblast ( uk, Тернопі́льська о́бласть, translit=Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna, uk, Терно́пільщина, label=none, or Ternopillia, uk, Тернопілля, label=none) is an obl ...
of Ukraine. He studied painting under
Yulian Pankevych
Yuliian Yakovych Pankevych, sometimes Yulian Pankevych (Ukrainian: Юліян Якович Паньке́вич: (4 July 1863, Ustia-Zelenye, Chortkiv Raion — 1933, Kharkiv) was a Ukrainian painter, writer and activist. Sometimes, he went by t ...
in
Lemberg
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
,
and subsequently in Kraków, where he graduated from the
Krakow Academy of Fine Arts in 1905. He also studied at fine arts academies in Vienna and Munich. In 1905, he had his work exhibited at the
Latour Gallery in Lemberg and in 1907, his work was exhibited in Munich.
Between 1907 and 1910 he lived in Paris where, in 1909, he founded his own studio-school.
In this period, he worked with and was influenced by
Félix Vallotton
Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as . He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...
,
Paul Sérusier
Paul Sérusier (9 November 1864 – 7 October 1927) was a French painter who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde Nabis movement, Synthetism and Cloisonnism.
Education
Sérusier was born in Paris. He studied a ...
and
Maurice Denis
Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with ''Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...
. He held an exhibition at the
Salon des Indépendants
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
in 1910, featuring his and his students' works on the revival of Byzantine art.
The group of Ukrainian artists who studied and worked with him was known as the
Boychukists. In 1910, Boychuk returned to Lviv, where he worked as a conservator at the
National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
. In 1911, he travelled to the Russian Empire, but, after World War I started, he was interned there as an Austrian citizen. After the war, Boychuk remained in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
.
In 1917, he became one of the founders of the
Ukrainian State Academy of Arts, where he taught fresco and mosaic, and in 1920 was a rector.
In 1925, he co-founded the
Association of Revolutionary Art of Ukraine. At the time, he already performed a number of high-profile monumental works, and formed a school of monumental painters which existed until his death. The school included renowned artists such as his brother
Tymofiy Boychuk and
Ivan Padalka.
Due to the
Great Purge
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...
, the Association of Revolutionary Art of Ukraine was disestablished, and Boychuk was executed.
His wife,
Sofiia Nalepinska, also an artist, was executed several months after Boychuk.
Works
Many of the works by Boychuk, which mainly involved frescoes and mosaics, were destroyed after he was executed. Even his paintings which were kept in museums of Lviv, were destroyed after World War II. The main projects carried out or coordinated by Boychuk and his school—which included his brother Tymofii Boichuk, Ivan Padalka, Vasyl Sedliar, Sofiia Nalepinska, Mykola Kasperovych, Oksana Pavlenko, Antonina Ivanova, Mykola Rokytsky, Kateryna Borodina, Oleksandr Myzin, Kyrylo Hvozdyk, Pavlo Ivanchenko, Serhii Kolos, Okhrym Kravchenko, Hryhorii Dovzhenko, Onufrii Biziukov, Mariia Kotliarevska, Ivan Lypkivsky, Vira Bura-Matsapura, Yaroslava Muzyka, Oleksandr Ruban, Olena Sakhnovska, Manuil Shekhtman, Mariia Trubetska, Kostiantyn Yeleva, and Mariia Yunak—are an important contribution to Ukrainian and world art.
Right after the 1917
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, Boychuk and a group of students after his direction made frescoes for the
Kyiv Theater of Opera and Ballet (1919), the
Kharkiv Opera Theater (1921), the Ukrainian SSR's pavilion at the First All-Russian Cottage Industry and Agriculture Exhibition in Moscow, and the
Kyiv Co-operative Institute (1923). Later, he switched to the
socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
style, in which the main works of his group were the Peasant Sanatorium in
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
(1927–28) and the
Kharkiv Chervonozavodskyi Ukrainian Drama Theater (1933–35).
Some of Boychuk's art works are stored in the
National Art Museum of Ukraine
The National Art Museum of Ukraine ( uk, Національний Художній Музей України) is a museum dedicated to Ukrainian art in Kyiv, Ukraine.
History
The National Art Museum of Ukraine, which was the first museum in Ky ...
.
Selected paintings
Boychuk-Milkmaid.jpg, Milkmaid
Boychuk-Girl.jpg, A Girl
Boychuk-Woman.jpg, Portrait of a Woman
Boychuk-Elijah.jpg, The Prophet Elijah
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boychuk, Mykhaylo
Ukrainian painters
Ukrainian male painters
1882 births
1937 deaths
People from Ternopil Oblast
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians
Ukrainian graphic designers
Ukrainian avant-garde
Austro-Hungarian expatriates in France
Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the Russian Empire
National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture faculty
Great Purge victims from Ukraine