Nowadays, amid the martial law imposed in Ukraine due to the aggression of the Russian Federation, which targeted the independent Ukrainian state on February 24, 2022, when our universities cannot operate under normal conditions, it is crucial to uphold the high standard teaching level.
In the dissertation, the primary focus lies in illuminating the distinctive characteristics and advancements of the Kharkiv School of Painting during the 1950s-1970s. The research delves into the continuity of Kharkiv School of Art traditions through an examination of academic, i.e., educational, works from this specific period. It reveals the main genres, principles of image creation, and painting techniques that characterize the professional teaching of painting in Kharkiv. Rooted in the traditions of past eras, this discipline holds a significant place in artistic culture.
The research aims to conduct a figurative and stylistic analysis of educational painting works from the Kharkiv Art School of the 1950s-1970s. This analysis will allow the tracing of main trends and their evolution in the context of the development of Ukrainian painting in the second half of the 20th century. The object of the study is the educational professional painting of the Kharkiv Art School, while the subject is the peculiarities of the formation and development of educational professional painting in Kharkiv art institutions during the specified period. The scientific novelty of the research lies in introducing academic paintings from Kharkiv art schools during the 1950s-1970s into the scientific discourse and conducting a thorough analysis of their pictorial and stylistic aspects. The investigation systematizes factual data about the reorganization processes in the art education of Kharkiv during this period. It identifies the special role of Kharkiv artists S. Besyedin, B. Kosarev, M.Shaposhnikov, and L. Chernov in the development of painting education at the Kharkiv Art School from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The first chapter conducts an analysis of literary sources based on the chronological principle. Notably, works on the history of Ukrainian art by V.Afanasyev, P. Biletskyi, V.Ovsiychuk, O. Rohotchenko, and others are deemed crucial for achieving the research goal. The creative and pedagogical activities of Kharkiv artists are explored through studies by V. Konstantinov, N.Markhaichuk, V. Nemtsova, T. Pavlova, T. Panyok, M. Ponomarenko, V. Sydorenko, L.Sokolyuk, I. Chebotov, M. Chernova, V. Chechyk, O. Chursin, V. Shulika, and others.
Despite the contributions of Ukrainian art critics to a new understanding of Ukrainian art during the Soviet era, the development of educational painting at the Kharkiv Art School has not been the subject of specific scientific research until now.
The research relies on archival materials from the fund of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. Valuable additions to the sources include archival documents from the Kharkiv branch of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. Methodical materials from the fund of the painting department of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, along with private archives of academy teachers, serve as an informative resource for the study.
The second chapter underscores that the historically established system of teaching drawing and painting was grounded in programs that preserved the principles of a gradual and step-by-step complication of educational tasks. The tradition of regularly reviewing student sketches and drafts by the institute's teaching staff fostered continuous creative communication between students and teachers across various departments and specializations. It is highlighted that the practice of inviting the best graduates of the Kharkiv Institute to teach in art institutions within the city played a vital role in maintaining the professional level of teaching and the continuity of traditions in the Kharkiv Art School.
During the first post-war decade, it was determined that the institute trained specialists in four fields: easel painting, theatrical and decorative painting, sculpture, and easel graphics. In 1963, the transformation of the educational institution from the Kharkiv State Art Institute into the Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute was completed. The institute ceased graduating students from workshops specializing in portrait-genre easel painting, historical-battle paintings, and stage design in 1968. However, teachers from the painting department continued to train students in design specializations in academic, i.e., educational, painting. Notably, teachers such as L. Vynokurov, V. Konstantinov, V. Seleznyov, V.Bilyk, V. Synebryukhov, Z. Yudkevich, Yu. Starostenko, and others significantly contributed to the institution's reorganization and the training of artists in new specialties.
