The dissertation researches the main stages of development and evolution of the style of the Transcarpathian artist Anton Kashshay (1921 – 1991), as one of the outstanding Ukrainian artists of the second half of 20th century. The importance of his work for the development of the art of the Transcarpathian region and the formation of the Transcarpathian painting school is revealed.
Anton Kashshay is a characteristic and original painter, the author of epic landscapes, full of a wide range of emotional shades and moods.The artist's creative style has been significantly transformed many times during his life. His original, well-recognized visual language crystallized due to purposeful searches, which each time, at each new stage, acquired perfection. In the second half of the 20th century, the master was directly involved in the development of the Transcarpathian art school and the formation of a creative center here. He led an active creative life, regularly exhibited at exhibitions in Uzhgorod, Kyiv, the cities of the republics of the former USSR, and abroad. He often went on creative trips, in open airs, gave master classes, taught young people. In addition to his fruitful and professional painting, for a long time (1961- 1976) he directed the activities of Transcarpathian branch of the National Union of
Artists of Ukraine, in particular, organized exhibitions (foreign and international), open airs, art events, supported the creative activity of artists and their material base. However, in the art literature to date, the creative work of Anton Kashshay has not been systematically studied. As a result of the research, the actual lack of fullfledged scientific research about the artist was revealed. Bibliographic sources, in which the name of outstanding master is mentioned, were analyzed. His works are researched, and also certain aspects of development of the Transcarpathian art of the second half of 20th century are studied. In the context of these issues should be mentioned the works of the following scientists: G. Ostrovsky, I. Nebesnyk, D. Gorbachev, L. Popova, R. Yatsiv, O. Fedoruk, F. Efrán, I. Pavelchuk, G. Ryzhova, L. Biksei, O. Petrova, G. Sklyarenko, V. Shtets, A. Voloshchuk, O. Gavrosh, M. Zymomrya. The socio-cultural preconditions for the specific creative atmosphere formation in the Transcarpathian region, which contributed to the formation and growth of the artist in the 1930s – 1940s, are denoted. The facts were found and the conditions that influenced the active development of his work after the Second World War, when Transcarpathia became part of the USSR, were formulated.
Anton Kashshay's creative work from the 1940s to the early 1990s is systematized and researched. The sequence of changes in his creative manner is formulated, the main stages of evolution, styles and directions in the master's work are highlighted. The transformation of pictorial means, which was associated with the active search for maximum imagery and perfection, is analyzed. The art analysis of the basic pictorial elements has been done, their typology is revealed, characteristic receptions, stylistic features, principles of construction of compositions and color decisions are defined. The early period of the artist's work, which lasted from 1947 to the early 1950s, was singled out and studied. It was found that almost all the works of this period were written under the direct influence of the J. Bokshay style, but, at the same time, the formation of his own handwriting begins. The stage of searches that took place in the 1950s and 1960s is outlined and systematized. The main features of the master's works transformations are described, among which the gradual movement from the principles of realism and influence of J. Bokshay towards «severe style» through research of modernism, in particular expressionism. The stage of active plastic changes in the visual language of the 1970s has been studied. Two general directions of the period have been identified and analyzed – «severe style» and picturesque-decorative epic compositions. It was found that after a period of active formal research and experiments, the master returns to the origins, but with a renovated language. A study of the artist's work evolution in the 1980s – early 1990s, when his language gained absolute freedom and acquired the experimental nature of the search for Fauvism, has been made. It is determined that the period is marked by the predominance of color, and an important visual tool was the emotional system and musicality.
