Opanas Heorhiiovych Slastion ( uk, Опанас Георгійович Сластіон, – September 24, 1933) 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 ...

graphic artist A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, p ...

, painter, and

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

. He was born in the port town of

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Oblast, province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) on the Berdyansk Gulf of the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

. He studied at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(where he was also known as Afanasy Slastyon), researched the

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

documents in the archives of the Russian ministry of defense, and later worked as a teacher at the Arts and Crafts School (later renamed the State Ceramics Vocational School) in

Myrhorod Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast s ...

. A very gifted person, he perfected his talents in singing,

bandura A bandura ( uk, банду́ра) is a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often referred to by the term kobza. Early instruments (c. 1700) had 5 to 12 strings ...

playing,

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

, journalism, education, design, and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. Opanas Slastion was a true Ukrainian

encyclopaedist An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

Ukraine at the turn of the 19-20th centuries

At the time Slastion was growing up, there were opportunities for some Ukrainians to have their talents recognized in the Imperial capital and in Western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Many gifted Ukrainian performers joined court choirs and theatre,

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

troupes, and the Ukrainian artists were attracted to the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. In the 19th century among these Ukrainian artists was the famous poet and writer

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...

, whose writings,

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

s and paintings dedicated to Ukrainian ethnographic themes (genre scenes and portraits) greatly influenced Slastion, who became the first illustrator of Shevchenko's '

Kobzar A ''kobzar'' ( ua, кобзар, pl. kobzari ua, кобзарі) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed bandura or kobza. Tradition Kobzars were often blind and became predominantly so by ...

' (the illustrations to "

Haidamaky The haidamakas, also haidamaky or haidamaks (singular ''haidamaka'', ua, Гайдамаки, ''Haidamaky'') were Ukrainian paramilitary outfits composed of commoners (peasants, craftsmen), and impoverished noblemen in the eastern part of the ...

"). As a painter, Slastion is credited with depicting series of

and

kobzar A ''kobzar'' ( ua, кобзар, pl. kobzari ua, кобзарі) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed bandura or kobza. Tradition Kobzars were often blind and became predominantly so by ...

portraits and scenes of Ukrainian country life.

Slastion and the kobzars

Slastion was one of the most active propagators of the artistry of the

s. Actually, he himself was the first outstanding sighted

player and tutor of modern times. ''Kobzar'' Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko stayed with him in Myrhorod in order to refine his performance of '' dumy'' (sung epic poems) under the guidance of Slastion. Danylo Pika, one of the founders of the

Poltava Bandurist Capella The Poltava Bandurist Capella was vocal-instrumental ensemble who accompanied themselves on the multi-stringed Ukrainian bandura. It was initially established in February 1925, based on a male church choir who sang in the Ukrainian Autocephalous O ...

(who became its conductor), initially learned to play the

from Slastion in Myrhorod. Later in his life, in the early 1930s, Slastion designed the shape of the standard Kyiv bandura (the familiar modern shape of the instrument). Some other instruments of the bandura family (such as those made by

Ivan Skliar Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

, for example) were also modeled on Slastion's designs.

Slastion the ethnographer

Slastion was also a leading Ukrainian folklorist and ethnographer. In 1875, then a student at the Petersburg Academy of Arts and a budding folklorist, he spent his holidays in Ukraine and got the chance to know the artistry of the ''kobzar'' Nekhovaizub. In 1876 P. Martynovych and his colleague Slastion travelled to

Lokhvytsia Lokhvytsia ( uk, Ло́хвиця, , ; russian: Ло́хвица, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Lokhvytsia Raion (district), and is located on the banks of the Lokhvytsia River. Po ...

and recorded the ''

duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

'' parody by kobzar Ivan Kravchenko. In 1887 Slastion made an engraving of kobzar P. Siroshtan. In 1905 he painted a portrait of kobzar

Pavlo Hashchenko Pavlo Ivanovych Hashchenko ( -1933) was a Ukrainian kobzar and bandura player. Hashchenko was originally from Poltava province but lived most of his life in the village of Konstantynivka, Bohodukhiv county, Kharkiv province. Among the kobzar ...

and noted that Hashchenko knew four ''dumy''. In 1902-1903 he was one of the initiators of the idea of the

preservation of kobzar music The idea of the preservation of kobzar music by means of sound recording originated in 1901–02. Kobzars were itinerant Ukrainian folk musicians who sung ''dumas'' and folk songs to their own accompaniment of kobza, bandura or lira. The 12th Ar ...

by means of

sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording te ...

using recently invented

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

. In 1906 Slastion met the ''kobzar'' Zhovniansky, recorded his performances of ''dumy'', and painted his portrait. In 1908 in

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

the technically savvy Slastion helped

Lesia Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...

and her husband Klyment Kvitka make live recordings (on

cylinders) of the ''dumy'' performed by the blind

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

Hnat Honcharenko (circa 1837 - circa 1917), as part of the major project of the

. These recordings were transcribed by

Filaret Kolessa Filaret Mykhailovych Kolessa ( uk, Філарет Михайлович Колесса; 17 July 18713 March 1947) was a Ukrainian composer ethnographer, folklorist, musicologist and literary critic. He was a member of the Shevchenko Scientific S ...

, who later published them in his collection ''Melodiyi ukrayins'kykh narodnykh dum'' (The Melodies of the Ukrainian Folk Dumas). It is known that Slastion corresponded with another well-known blind ''kobzar'', Tereshko Parkhomenko (1872–1910). In 1909 Slastion made recordings of the repertoire of ''kobzar'' Hovtan, including the ''duma'' "The Widow and Her Three Sons". Selections from Slastion's repertoire originally recorded on wax cylinders can be found on a record released as a dedication to

Lesya Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...

. As an architect, Opanas Slastion was one of the founding fathers of the "Ukrainian Modern" style in architecture.

References

* ''Portrety ukrains'kykh kobzariv'' (Portraits of the Ukrainian Kobzars). Slastion, Opanas. AN URSR. Kiev,1961 * CR - ''Dumy moyi - Surma ... Kobzar Opanas Slastion''. R - Melodiya - D 029429-30 '100 richchia Lesi Ukrainky - (1909), Oleh Sozansky (Lviv) * ''Melodiyi ukrayins'kykh narodnykh dum'' (The Melodies of Ukrainian Folk Dumas), 2 vol., 1910; reprinted in 1969.

External links

*
A. M. Abbasov. Opanas Slastion: Life and Work. Kyiv, Mistectvo, 1973.

Book of illustrations of Ukrainian kobzars by Opanas Slastion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slastion, Opanas 1933 deaths 1855 births Bandurists Kobzarstvo Ukrainian ethnographers 19th-century Ukrainian painters 19th-century Ukrainian male artists Ukrainian male painters 20th-century Ukrainian painters 20th-century Ukrainian male artists