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« 2026. # 3 (189)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 3 (189), 721—732

UDK739(=1.23)(477.85/.87):808.1]:929

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

THE ARTISTIC LANGUAGE OF HUTSUL BRASSWORK IN THE OEUVRE OF IVAN SHKONDEIUK

HORODETSKYI Vitalii

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000­0003­3283­3966
  • Postgraduate Student,
  • Department of Design and Art Theory,
  • Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University,
  • 57, Shevchenko Str., Ivano­Frankivsk, 76000, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e­-mail: vitaliy.gorodetskiy@cnu.edu.ua

Abstract. Within the structure of Ukrainian artistic metal, Hutsul brasswork occupies a leading position, in which utilitarian, decorative, and sacred­symbolic components are integrated into a coherent artistic model.

The article examines the creative legacy of the folk master of Hutsul brasswork, Ivan Shkondeiuk, whose activity has thus far received insufficient coverage in professional art historical publications. Existing sources mainly provide fragmentary information, which underscores the relevance of a comprehensive analysis of his oeuvre in the context of the development of both traditional and contemporary brasswork. The study analyzes the artistic­stylistic, formative, and ornamental features of the master’s works. The analysis demonstrates that Ivan Shkondeiuk’s practice not only preserves the canonical features of Hutsul brasswork of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but also expands the typology of objects by enriching them with new compositional and figurative solutions.

The aim of the article is to analyze the compositional principles of Ivan Shkondeiuk’s authorial works in the context of the artistic transformation of Hutsul brasswork.

The object of the study comprises the master’s artistic works created within the tradition of Hutsul brasswork and presented both in canonical forms and in contemporary authorial interpretations.

The methodological framework is based on art historical and structural­compositional analysis, as well as the study of ornamental motifs and principles of form­making in the master’s works.

The source base includes scholarly, art historical, and journalistic works devoted to Hutsul brasswork, along with the results of analyzing traditional and contemporary examples of brass objects from the Hutsul region. A significant place in the research is occupied by Ivan Shkondeiuk’s authorial works, materials from field observations, the master’s oral testimonies, and the visual­analytical study of his objects.

Keywords: brasswork. Ivan Shkondeiuk, artistic metal, ornament, chasing, casting, zgarda, brass crosses, topirets, sacred symbolism, authorial style, artistic transformation.

REFERENCES

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