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« 2026. # 4 (190)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 4 (190), 1188—1199

UDK 748:749.1:72.04:7.025.3(477)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/nz2026.04.1188

  • Received: 27.05.2026
  • Accepted: 01.06.2026
  • Published: 23.09.2026

DECORATIVE BLOWN GLASS LIGHTING FIXTURES BY MARIAN TARNAVSKYI IN THE ARCHITECTURAL ENVIRONMENT: ARTISTIC FEATURES AND PRESERVATION ISSUES

KOVALIUK Khrystyna

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4116-9537
  • Postgraduate Student, Lecturer,
  • Lviv National Academy of Arts,
  • Department of Artistic Glass,
  • 38, Kubiiovycha Str., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: kovaliuk.art.design@gmail.com

Abstract. Introduction. The creative work of Marian Tarnavskyi, particularly his decorative lighting fixtures, constitutes an important component in the history of glassmaking of the 20th—21st centuries, which has not yet received sufficient attention in art historical discourse.

Problem Statement. The study of design practices of 20th-century artists is an essential element in shaping a contemporary understanding of Ukrainian applied art. At the same time, issues related to the preservation of authorial lighting fixtures within the context of historical architecture require comprehensive analysis and the activation of professional scholarly discussion. The object of the study is decorative lighting fixtures made of blown (huta) glass created by M. Tarnavskyi. The purpose of the research is to systematize Marian Tarnavskyi’s decorative blown glass lighting fixtures, to identify their artistic and structural characteristics in interaction with the architectural environment, and to outline the main preservation challenges and possible ways to address them.

Methods. The research employs an archival and bibliographic method. Oral history methods were applied, including interviews and surveys of eyewitnesses, participants, and individuals involved in the creation of the studied objects. Field research played a significant role, involving site visits. The collected material was processed using methods of systematization and classification. Formal and compositional analysis was used to identify artistic features, alongside a comparative method.

Results. Fourteen architectural objects decorated with blown glass lighting fixtures were examined and analyzed, including street lamps, chandeliers, pendant lights, wall sconces, and an installation created by Marian Tarnavskyi in co-authorship between 1973 and 1985. The specifics of the design and implementation of these lighting fixtures within the architectural environment were outlined. Archival data and photographic materials from the author’s archives, the Lviv Regional Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, and the Department of Artistic Glass of the Lviv National Academy of Arts were introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time. The importance of preserving these authorial lighting fixtures in the context of the potential disappearance of the blown glass craft is emphasized.

Keywords: Marian Tarnavsky’s art work, blown glass, decorative lamps, complex interior design.

REFERENCES

  • Zhohol, L.Ye. (1973). Decorative art in residential interiors. Kyiv: Budivelnyk [in Ukrainian].
  • Zhohol, L.Ye. (1978). Decorative art in the interiors of public buildings. Kyiv: Budivelnyk [in Russian].
  • Zhohol, L.Ye. (1986). Decorative art in modern interiors. Kyiv: Budivelnyk [in Russian].
  • Cherniak, F. (2006). Lviv blown glass of the second half of the twentieth century. Lviv: LNAM [in Ukrainian].
  • Chehusova, Z. (2024). Professional decorative art of Ukraine in the age of globalization. Kyiv: ArtHuss [in Ukrainian].
  • Petriakova, F.S. (1980). Contemporary Ukrainian art glass. Kyiv: Mystetstvo [in Ukrainian].
  • Fedoruk, O. (2007). Plast consecrated by Bokotei. Artistic Culture. Topical Issues, 4, 7—31 [in Ukrainian].
  • Bokotei, M. (2025). Studio glass in Ukraine. Kyiv: ArtHuss [in Ukrainian].
  • Kosmolinska, N. (2002, May 28). Marian Tarnavskyi — glass artist and painter. Za Vilnu Ukrainu [in Ukrainian].
  • Humeniuk, S.P., & Cherniak, F.A. (1980). Lviv Experimental Ceramic and Sculpture Factory. Kyiv: Reklama [in Ukrainian].
  •  (n. d.). Sanatorii Pivdennyi. Gallery. Retrieved from: https://pivdennyy.sanatorii.ua/ [in Ukrainian].
  • (1977). The Artist and the Glass. Suspilne. Mediateka. Retrieved from: https://mediateka.suspilne.media/me­dia/ 13189 [in Ukrainian].
  • Smakova, L. (2023). Lamps by Andrii Bokotei (co-authored) in the interiors of public buildings of the 1970s—1980s: The first creative experiments with glass. Visnyk of the Lviv National Academy of Arts, 51, 121—133. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.37131/2524-0943-2023-51-12 Ukrainian].
  • Knysh, A., & Yukhta, T. (2025, September 22). «Blue Shield» in Sumy region: A specialized unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine marked cultural heritage sites. Suspilne. Sumy. Culture. Retrieved from: https://suspilne.media/sumy/1120870-blakitnij-sit-na-sumsini-specializovanij-pidrozdil-zsu-markuvav-kulturni-pamatki/ [in Ukrainian].
  • (n. d.). Panel and lighting. Sumskyi National Theatre named after M. Shchepkin. About the theatre. Retrieved from: https://musicdrama.com.ua/about/panno-ta-osvitlennya/ [in Ukrainian].
  • (n. d.). Glass Prochazka. Architecture. Retrieved from: https://www.glass-prochazka.cz/architektura-EN.php
  • Tarnavskyi, M.H. (1989). Research on the history of lighting fixtures. In: Art and Perestroika: Collection of scholarly papers (Pp. 96—101). Kyiv: UMK VO [in Ukrainian].

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