This thesis paper is the first comprehensive research dedicated to the peculiarities of Petro Kholodnyi Sr.’s multifaceted activities as a part of the national and cultural revival in Ukraine in the early twentieth century. It is highlighted the role of cultural and artistic activity of P. Kholodnyi Sr. in the national revival of Ukraine in the early twentieth century, which outlines the characteristic features of the that time socio-cultural space and enlarges the understanding of the cultural and historical context. Here it is its scientific novelty.
The interdependence of Petro Kholodnyi Sr.’s personal aspirations and the socio-cultural situation in Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century is discovered in order to understand his subjective role in the cultural history of that period. Due to exposing the cultural, educational, creative activities, it was reconstructed the image of the cultural figure of the national liberation struggles time, who influenced on the historical and cultural situation and the national vector establishment in the current cultural context.
He was often a “pioneer” who, together with similar-minded people (I. Ohienko, I. Steshenko, D. Antonovych, M. Biliashchivskyi, M. Shcherbakivskyi, etc.) managed to create a basis for the development of important (even decisive) for of each civilized country spheres - culture, education and art. One of the important aspects of the paper is the study of various archival sources that contain information on reforming the education system, raise the issue of returning cultural heritage (return of national cultural values back to Ukraine from Russia) - issues that are still relevant today. The ideological interconnection between artistic, exhibition, cultural and educational activities by Petro Kholodnyi Sr. is based on the creation of the modern Ukrainian culture, which illustrated the huge and comprehensive artist’s approach to implementation of the national revival ideas, depicting the wholeness of his figure as one of the active representatives of Ukrainian clerisy, which joined the creation of Ukrainian culture in the early twentieth century. Originality conformation of the Ukrainian art was an objective at P. Kholodnyi Sr.’s exhibition activity, which was based on the consolidation of Ukrainian artists according to ideological principles, and not to aesthetic preferences. The ideas of national revival correlated to the introduction of the national course in the field of culture and education at the state level and creation of the author concept of Ukrainian art in his own visual work. Due to the comprehensive analysis of Petro Kholodnyi Sr.’s creative activity, the conclusion was made about the existence of a well-thought-out author concept of the national art, which appeared in church art, the genre of portraits and compositions on folklore. It gives an option to consider his works as a part of the national cultural revival
in visual art (which complemented the findings of V.Krychevskyi, M. Boichuk, H. Narbut). The author concept of national art by P.Kholodnyi Sr. reflects the peculiar visual-plastic, stylistic searches at the artistic culture of the early twentieth century
(noted the growing role of national tradition, the source of which was the heritage of ancient Rus) and their ideological connection with the national-cultural movement of the Ukrainian Renaissance. Kholodnyi synthetically combines the past and the present
in his work. The source of the past is an appeal to the ancient "Byzantine tradition", and the modern - its rethinking according to the current requirements of art. It also testifies to the importance of appeal to the Kyivan Rus historical type of the Ukrainian
culture for P. Kholodnyi Sr.’s work, from which he builds up the genesis of the national culture in the early twentieth century. On it, the artist forms his own vision of the historical concept of Ukraine. In his historical paintings, Petro Kholodnyi Sr. mostly referred to the period of Kyivan Rus and not the Cossack times, which were popular for his contemporaries. It is also concluded that the figure of Petro Kholodnyi Sr. had a significant impact on the cultural background of that period, so his activities presentation gives a
broader understanding of the cultural process es of the twentieth century first half.
