Realism

Volodymyr Orlovskyi

1842–1914

Volodymyr Orlovskyi was one of the most outstanding landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. His contemporaries called him “a star of the first magnitude on a par with Aivazovskyi,” “a seeker of sunlight,” and “an incomparable celebrator of southern nature.”

Arkhip Kuindzhi

1842–1910

Greek-Ukrainian landscape painter famous for dramatic light effects (Moonlit Night on the Dnieper).

Mykola Murashko

1844–1909

A Ukrainian painter, art teacher and critic who founded the influential Kyiv Drawing School in 1875 and directed it until 1901. A friend of Repin, his own painting focused on realist landscapes, especially views of the Dnieper.

Teofil Kopystynsky

1844–1916

A Galician Ukrainian painter, portraitist and church-art restorer trained in Cracow and Vienna, who spent his career in Lviv painting iconostases, portraits of Ukrainian historical figures and ethnographic scenes.

Kyriak Kostandi

1852–1921

Greek-Ukrainian leader of the Odesa school; president of the Society of South Russian Artists and director of the Odesa City Museum; admired for luminous handling of sunlight.

Serhii Vasylkivskyi

1854–1917

Prolific Kharkiv landscape, genre and history painter and authority on Ukrainian folk ornament; left ~3,000 works and donated ~1,500 to the Kharkiv Art Museum.

Opanas Slastion

1855–1933

Painter, graphic artist, ethnographer; first illustrator of Shevchenko's 'Haidamaky', documented Ukrainian kobzars, and a pioneer of Ukrainian Art Nouveau.

Petro Levchenko

1856–1917

Kharkiv landscape painter of intimate, lyrical Ukrainian villages and courtyards in increasingly impressionist colour; ~800 landscapes.

Serhii Svitoslavskyi

1857–1931

Serhii Ivanovych Svitoslavskyi (October 6, 1857, Kyiv – September 19, 1931, Kyiv) was an outstanding Ukrainian landscape painter and a master of color. He was a member of the Peredvizhniki Society from 1891 to 1900. He was born into a noble family. In 1870, he enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, where he studied until 1882 under Alexei Savrasov, Vasily Perov, Evgraf Sorokin, Ilarion Pryanishnikov, and Vasily Polenov. He began exhibiting in 1884 at exhibitions organized by the Society for Itinerant Art Exhibitions. In his later work, most of his paintings were dedicated to the nature of Ukraine, views of the Dnipro River, and Kyiv. He created landscapes featuring genre and animalistic scenes. In 1900, he was awarded a bronze medal at the World’s Fair in Paris for his painting “The Courtyard.”

Mykola Samokysh

1860–1944

A prolific Ukrainian battle and equine painter of Cossack descent who produced over 10,000 works. In the Soviet period he devoted much of his art to dramatic canvases of the Khmelnytsky era.

Mykhailo Berkos

1861–1919

A Ukrainian landscape painter trained in Odesa and at the Imperial Academy, who settled near Kharkiv painting impressionist-influenced Ukrainian landscapes and helped found the Kharkiv Art College.

Mykola Pymonenko

1862–1912

Leading figure of Ukrainian realist genre art; produced 700+ ethnographically precise scenes of Ukrainian rural life and taught at the Kyiv Art School (Malevich was a pupil). His 'Hopak' entered the Louvre.

Ivan Izhakevych

1864–1962

One of the most prolific Ukrainian painters and illustrators of his era, trained in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra icon workshop and the St. Petersburg Academy. A late master of Ukrainian icon painting, known for genre scenes and Shevchenko illustrations.

Mykola Ivasyuk

1865–1937

A Ukrainian history painter born in Bukovyna and Vienna Academy-trained, who worked in Chernivtsi and Kyiv on monumental Cossack history. He was arrested and executed during the Great Purge in 1937.

Petro Nilus

1869–1943

An Impressionist painter and writer born in Podolia and raised in Odesa, where he trained under Kyriak Kostandi. A friend of Bunin, he emigrated to Paris in 1920, where he worked until his death.

Osyp Kurylas

1870–1951

A Ukrainian (Galician) painter and graphic artist, Kraków Academy-trained, best known for depictions of Hutsuls and patriotic imagery of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, with whom he served in WWI. He later directed Novakivskyi's Lviv art school.

Hryhorii Svitlytsky

1872–1948

A Ukrainian painter and trained musician born and died in Kyiv, who studied under Murashko, Repin and Kuindzhi. Nicknamed the 'Poet of Moonlit Nights,' he was a lyrical landscapist and in 1946 became the first People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR.

Fotii Krasytsky

1873–1944

A Ukrainian painter and graphic artist, grand-nephew of Taras Shevchenko, who studied under Pymonenko, Kostandi and Repin. A realist with impressionist leanings, he taught at the Kyiv State Art Institute.

Havrylo Hliuk

1912–1983

Petro Sulymenko

1914–1996

Petro Stepanovych Sulymenko (1914–1996) was a Ukrainian painter, landscape artist, and creator of thematic paintings. He was named an Honored Artist of Ukraine in 1974. He studied at the Kyiv Art Institute (1939–1947) under O. Shovkunenko. He traveled extensively. His most significant works are dedicated to the heroic deeds of naval soldiers on the fronts of World War II and during the October Revolution. Husband of artist Z. Zatsepina. He lived and worked in Kyiv.

Volodymyr Sydoruk

1925–1997

Volodymyr Sydoruk (1925–1997) – Ukrainian painter. He graduated from the Kyiv Art School (1938), where he studied under I. Khvorostetskyi and Y. Kyianchenko. He participated in exhibitions (beginning in 1954). Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (1957). Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1985). During his lifetime, the artist held 12 solo exhibitions. He worked primarily in the genres of landscape, still life, and thematic painting. The artist’s works are held in museums in Ukraine, as well as in private collections and galleries in Ukraine, Russia, Japan, and Europe.