The Ethnology Notebooks. 2024. № 6 (180), 1413—1426
UDK 27-523.47-526.62(477.86-21)”16/17″
THE 17th—18th CENTURY ICONS FROM THE CHURCHES IN THE YEZUPIL TOWN IN IVANO-FRANKIVSK REGION IN THE CONTEXT OF ATTRIBUTION AND THE DOCUMENTS OF THE 18th CENTURY VISITATIONS
KOSIV Roksolana
- ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1202-1488
- Doctor in Art Studies,
- Professor, Head of Sacral Art Department at Lviv National Academy of Arts,
- 38, Kubiiovycha Street, 79011, Lviv, Ukraine;
- Leading Research Fellow,
- Andrei Sheptytskyi National Museum in Lviv,
- Contacts: e-mail: lanakosiv@yahoo.com
Abstract. Problem statement. Today, when Ukrainian artistic heritage in the international context still raises questions about identity and attribution, high-quality research is more relevant than ever. Both broad-scale studies, which place Ukrainian art within the international context, and narrower studies, which help scholars examine preserved works, and integrate them into the general history of art, are necessary. Our research belongs to such case studies, aiming to explore iconography of the Rogatyn-Voynyliv-Yezupil region through the example of the 17th—18th c. icons from the collection of the Andrei Sheptytskyi National Museum in Lviv. The icons from Yezupil are the least preserved (15 artifacts) compared to those from Dolyna and Voynyliv, but they represent a valuable example of the development of iconography in a region that suffered from frequent Tatar-Turkish raids and destruction in the late 16th and 17th centuries.
The purpose of the research are to examine the icons from Yezupil in the context of the town’s history and its churches, to establish the original placement of the artifacts in the church, and to attribute them.
The methods of reconstruction, formal and iconographic analysis, along with cultural context studies, are used.
Conclusions. The history of Yezupil and its churches indicates that it was a town with an active Ukrainian community. The 17th—18th century icons from the churches of Yezupil suggest that the townspeople, in the early 17th century, invited the leading Lviv master Fedir Senkovych to paint icons for their church, which reflects their desire to adorn the church in the best possible way. The icons from the 1650s—1670s allowed for the reconstruction of their placement — in the iconostasis of the town’s сhurch of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. These professionally executed icons indicate significant artistic activity in this region. The authors of these icons were influenced by the 17th-century Lviv school of iconpainting. 1650s—1670s icons from Yezupil also share stylistic painting techniques with 17th-century works from the church in Sudova Vyshnia, which are likely authored by local masters. However, we believe that local iconographers also worked in this region, although identifying them by name is difficult at this point, as the studied icons from Voynyliv, Dolyna, and Yezupil are anonymous and lack precise dates of creation.
Keywords: icon, iconostasis, church art, church, Yezupil, church visitation documents of the 18th century, iconography, stylistics.
Received 5.11.2024
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