Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko is the foremost Ukrainian poet, prose writer, painter and playwright of the 19th century. He was a major figure of the Ukrainian national revival and all his life and creative work were dedicated to the people of Ukraine.
Background
Mr. Shevchenko was born in Moryntsi, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine, on March 9, 1814, into a serf family. He was the third child after his sister Kateryna and brother Mykyta. When Taras Shevchenko was 2 years old, he moved with his parents to the village of Kyrylivka, where he spent his childhood. He led an early life of misery. On May 24, 1816, his sister Yaryna was born, and on February 7, 1819 - Maria. On March 20, 1821, Taras Shevchenko's brother Yosyp was born. His mother, Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko (Boiko), died when he was nine years old, and his stepmother, Oksana Tereshchenko, mistreated him and those of his siblings, who were still living at home. On July 4, 1824, Mr. Shevchenko's half-sister Maria from the second marriage of Hryhoriy Ivanovych was born. His father, Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko, died when Mr. Shevchenko was 12, and he was given over to the care of a local priest.
Education
The first who taught Taras Shevchenko literacy was clerk Sovgir Gubskiy; basic drawing techniques he learned from house painters. Shevchenko tended sheep, worked as a laborer, and then started working for the landowner Engelhardt, first as a scullion, then as a boy-servant. Seeing a young man's talent for drawing, Engelhardt first sent him to the Warsaw painter, then to St. Petersburg, to painting master Shiryaev. At times, the young man visited the Hermitage, copied statues in the Summer Garden. Once on a walk, he met a Ukrainian artist I. M. Soshenko.
Soshenko introduced Shevchenko to V. I. Grigorovich, conference secretary of the Academy of Arts (present-day Ilya Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Fine Arts, Sculpture and Architecture); artists A. G. Venezianov and K. P. Briullov, the famous poet V. A. Zhukovsky. They noticed a talented young man and decided to secure his release from bondage for further study at the Academy of Arts. Briullov made a beautiful portrait of Zhukovsky. The portrait was drawn in a private lottery and with the money paid for it Shevchenko was bought from the landowner. The release from serfdom was signed on April 22, 1838. In a sign of special respect and deep gratitude, Shevchenko dedicated Zhukovsky one of his major works - the poem "Kateryna."
The studies at the Academy of Arts captured Shevchenko entirely. He worked hard on improving his artistic brush and soon became the favorite Briullov’s student. In 1845, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and received the title of the artist.
Mr. Shevchenko began to write poetry even before he was freed from serfdom. In 1840, the first small collection of poems by Taras Shevchenko, "Kobzar" (“The bard”) was issued. In 1841, his poem "Haydamaky" - the largest of his works - was released as an independent edition. He also tried his hand at writing plays. In 1842, a fragment of the tragedy Nykyta Hayday appeared, and in 1843 he completed the drama Nazar Stodolya. In 1842-1843, Shevchenko wrote in Russian such poems as "A Blind Woman", "Funeral Feast", etc. In this period, the full genius of Shevchenko was apparent, and the main characteristic of his poetry - a deep national sense - was evident. All his life, the poet was devoted to his nation.
In 1843 Shevchenko visited the Ukraine, where he was given a hero's welcome. It was his first time back in his homeland since 1829, when he was a serf. Shevchenko's appeal to the peasants was natural, but the landowners and others of the Ukrainian upper classes also admired him for his nationalism. Many from the Ukrainian upper class commissioned Taras Shevchenko to paint their or their family members' portraits. These commissions renewed Shevchenko's interest in painting. In Kiev, he met M. Maksymovich, P. Kulish and others.
In the spring of 1845, he returned to Ukraine. While he was in Ukraine, he wrote some of his most satirical and politically subversive narrative poems, including Son (A Dream), Sova (the Owl), Ivan Hus (The Heretic/Jan Hus), etc. In Kiev, the poet met again with M. Maksymovich, and was commissioned to paint historical sites. Shevchenko visited Kyrylivka, and in the fall of 1845, on an appointment by the Archeological Commission, he left to paint the historical and archeological sites of Poltava. In Myrhorod, the poet wrote the mystery play The Great Vault. Toward the end of October, Mr. Shevchenko went to Pereyaslav, where he lived until early 1846.
In 1846, in Kiev, he met with historian N. I. Kostomarov and joined the Cyril and Methodius Society, made up of young men who dreamed about the development of Slavic culture and the union of Slavic nations. Soon, however, the members of the organization were arrested and charged with drawing up a political society. After spending a night in jail in Kiev, Shevchenko was taken to St. Petersburg, where he was interrogated. He denied being a member of the Society of Saints Cyril and Methodius and hedged his associations with some other members who had also been arrested. Taras Shevchenko was sent as a private in a separate Orenburg corps, Orsk fortress, and was prohibited to write and draw. While serving at the Orenburg and Orsk fortresses, however, Shevchenko managed to continue doing so. He hid his secretly written poems in several handmade "bootleg booklets" (1847, 1848, 1849, 1850). Many of the drawings and paintings he made while in exile depict the life of the indigenous Kazakhs.
In the spring of 1848, Shevchenko was included in the expedition to the Aral Sea (1848-1849). This expedition lasted for a year and a half. In late 1849, having returned to Orenburg, Shevchenko petitioned to be allowed to resume painting. He was supported by his military unit's officers, who allowed him to live in Orenburg and wear civilian clothes. They also turned a blind eye to his portrait painting. However, after a few months of this relative freedom, Shevchenko was denounced by an officer and rearrested on April 27, 1850. Following a weeklong trial he was exiled to an even more remote outpost-Novopetrovsk on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, prohibited to draw again. There Taras was doing modeling, and then again took up his pen and wrote several novels, "Princess," "Artist," "Twins." Taras Shevchenko stayed in Novopetrovskoye from October 1850 to August 1857.
While awaiting permission to return, Taras Shevchenko began a diary, an important documentation of his views. Finally released from military exile in 1857, two years after Nicholas I’s death, he was not allowed to live in Ukraine. The winter of 1857-1858 was very productive for Shevchenko. During that time he painted many portraits and other paintings. He also edited and transcribed into the Bilsha Knyzhka (The Larger Book) his poems from the period of exile, and wrote new poetic works. After spending half a year in Nizhnii Novgorod, he moved to Saint Petersburg. Back in St. Petersburg, Shevchenko settled in the premises of the Academy of Arts, in a room allotted to him, and engaged in poetry and art. He devoted his greatest attention as an artist to engraving, and in this field he became a true innovator. In May 1859, Taras went to Ukraine, visited the old familiar places, met with his sister and other relatives, considered buying a house on the coast of the Dnieper. In 1860, he returned to St. Petersburg and took up the compilation of textbooks in the Little Russian language.
In spite of physical weakness as a result of his exile, Shevchenko's poetical strength was inexhaustible, and the last period of his work is the highest stage of his development. In a series of works, the poet embodied the dream of the people for a free and happy life. Meanwhile, Taras Shevchenko remained under police surveillance until his death.
Achievements
The late 19th century saw a national awakening sweep across Ukrainian lands, and Taras Shevchenko’s contribution to its rise and spread cannot be underestimated, as he had a profound impact on the Ukrainian nation. Memorials honoring Shevchenko sprang up in towns and cities all over Ukraine and many other Soviet republics, even in Russia. Annual commemorative pilgrimages to place flowers at the monuments and recite his poetry became commonplace.
Mr. Shevchenko was an internationally prominent figure, who was highly respected all over the world. For instance, in New York City the Shevchenko Scientific Society and an East Village street called Taras Shevchenko Place can be found. In Washington, D.C., a Shevchenko statue by sculptor Leo Mol stands in a central square. In Paris, a bust of Taras Shevchenko ("Chevtchenko" or "Ševčenko" in French) overlooks the eponymous park adjacent to a Ukrainian church. In Buenos Aires, another Leo Mol sculpture of Taras Shevchenko resides in Parque Tres de Febrero (the Third of February Park) near the U.S. Embassy.
Taras Shevchenko's writings formed the foundation for the modern Ukrainian literature to a degree that he is also considered the founder of the modern written Ukrainian language. Some of Shevchenko's prose (a novel, diary, plays "Nazar Stodolya" and "Nykyta Hayday", many letters), as well as some of his poems were written in Russian, thus, some researchers consider him as a notable Russian writer.
Ukrainians all over the world carry their passion for Taras Shevchenko’s poetry with them wherever they go. Shevchenko remains a quintessential symbol of their quest for freedom and cultural recognition.
Architectural project of private house. Side facade.
Kazakhs in yurta
In Astrakhan
Vessels counsil
Andrushi
Kazakh woman
Stone crosses in Subotiv
Kulaat mount
Chirkala-Tau
Lost at cards
Self-portrait with beard
Self-portrait
Askold's Grave
St. Michael's church in Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi
Saratov
Turkmen abas at Kara-Tau
Holy Family
A gate in Gustynia. Church of St. Nicholas
Vasylkiv fort in Kyiv
Portrait of E. V. Keykuatova
In Cherkasy
Landscape with kurgan stelae
Cathedral of Ascension in Pereiaslav
Bohdan's ruins in Subotiv
Bohdan's church in Subotiv
St. Sebastian
All Saints Church at Kiev Pechersk Lavra
Barracks
Pochayiv Lavra from the west
Portrait of P. V. Engelgart
Valley on the Khiva road
Kazakh on a horseback
Portrain of G. I. Zakrevska
At the pub
Portrait of the unknown woman near piano
View of Karatau from Apazir valley
In Gustynia. A church of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Holy Cross monastery in Poltava
Mangyshlak garden
Young kazakh's song
Self portrait
Architectural project of private house. Plan.
Seashore of the Aral sea
In Pereiaslav. The Church of the Intercession.
Chumaks among graves
Solitude in her own house
A Gypsy Fortune Teller
Vydubychi Monastery in Kyiv
Rusalkas
Portrait of unknown woman with violet dress
Moonlit night at Kos-Aral
Moonlit night in mountains
The death of Bohdan Khmelnytsky
At apiary
Bathsheba
Stone cross of St. Boris
Nunnery in Chyhyryn
Cossack's feast
In Kyiv
Self-portrait with dark suit
Archangel Cathedral in Nizhny Novgorod
Gifts in Chyhyryn in 1649
Portrait of Y. F. Rudzinsky
Peasant family
Kateryna
A house of I. P. Kotliarevsky in Poltava
Cathedral of the Annunciation in Nizhny Novgorod
Portrait of Ira Aldridge
A nook of Smolensk cemetery in St. Petersburg
A model
Architectural project of private house. Main facade.
Aulia-Tau
Catholic Church in Kyiv
Portrait of Alexander Suvorov
Self portrait
In Gustynia. Refectory church.
Mangyshlak garden
Turkmen cemetery in Dolnapa valley
Head of a woman
Mezhyhirya Monastery
Widow's hut in Ukraine
Politics
Taras Shevchenko was a major figure of the Ukrainian national revival. The poet dreamed about the times when his country would be a free sovereign state, where the Ukrainian language, culture and history would be highly valued, and the people would be happy and free. He understood that the peasants would gain their freedom neither through the kindness of the tsar nor through reforms, but through struggle.
Criticized by literati and censors not only for writing in Ukrainian (as opposed to Russian, which was considered the only suitable literary language in the Empire), but also for another serious misstep - writing poetry that was about Ukraine and its long history of subjugation and suffering under Russian domination - he was marked as a person of interest and potential danger to the Empire. Although he also wrote about less controversial subjects and published in the Russian language, his fate as a menace to the Tsar shadowed him for the rest of his life.
Views
Quotations:
"All has gone to rest, and I don't know whether I'm alive or will live or whether I'm rushing like this through the world for I'm not longer weeping or laughing."
Membership
In 1838, Shevchenko was accepted as an associate member into the Academy of Arts and the Council of the Academy of Arts granted Shevchenko the title Academician of Engraving on September 2, 1860. In 1846 Shevchenko also joined the Society of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
