One of the outstanding Ukrainian masters of monumental painting of the late 14th – early 15th centuries, whose work is associated with the paintings of the Holy Trinity Chapel in Lublin Castle. Information about the master has been preserved thanks to the inscriptions on the walls of the chapel, which record his name and origin. Andriy’s activity coincided with the beginning of the period of active development of Ukrainian painting of the 15th-17th centuries. The paintings were executed by him and a group of painters in 1418 by order of the Polish king Władysław II Jagiellon. They combine elements of Byzantine iconography, contemporary Ukrainian painting and Central European Gothic.

(1757–1825) — Ukrainian painter, famous master of portrait and icon painting, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Born in Myrhorod in the estate Cossack family of icon painter Luka Borovikovsky. He received his first artistic education from his father. For thirty years he lived and worked in Myrhorod, where in 1774 he received the rank of badge comrade. In the late 1780s he moved to St. Petersburg. Since 1795 he received the degree of academician, and since 1802 — advisor to the Academy of Arts.

The peculiarity of his style was the harmonious combination of the traditions of academic painting with Ukrainian motifs, which was especially evident in his early works.

(1882–1937) is a prominent Ukrainian monumental artist, founder of the “Boychukism” movement and one of the key figures of the Ukrainian cultural revival of the early 20th century. His work is characterized by a synthesis of national traditions and influences of Byzantine sacred art in modern monumentalism.

Boychuk studied at the Lviv Art School, the Krakow Academy of Arts, as well as in Munich and Paris, where he founded a workshop of neo-Byzantine art. The artist worked as an icon restorer at the Lviv National Museum. He also studied ancient sacred art, copied and created original icons. In particular, “The Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary”. In Kyiv, Boychuk worked on the restoration of frescoes in St. Sophia Cathedral and the Assumption Cathedral. Since 1924, he has been engaged in monumental propaganda, heading the first state workshops. His monumental works adorned official institutions in Kharkiv, Odessa and Kyiv. He was a member of the Association of Revolutionary Art of Ukraine, which promoted the introduction of art into everyday life, denied naturalistic realism and sought the national identity of Ukrainian art. He taught in Leningrad. The artist’s trip with his students to Germany, France and Italy became the formal basis for his arrest on charges of “espionage”.

On November 25, 1936, the NKVD arrested Mykhailo Boychuk, and on July 13, 1937, he was shot in Kyiv together with his students Ivan Padalka and Vasyl Sedlyar. On December 11, 1937, Sofia Nalepynska-Boychuk was executed. Most of the students were also killed or subjected to repressions. All of Boychuk’s frescoes were plastered over. Almost all of the artist’s works were destroyed as “ideologically harmful”. Some works were saved by the artist Yaroslava Muzyka.

M. Skop

A Ukrainian 17th-century painter and representative of the Sudovo-Vyshnia school of iconography. He signed his works as “Illia Brodlakovych, Painter of Vyshnia and Mukachevo.” His notable works include “The Mother of God Hodegetria,” “Archangel Michael,” “The Nativity of Christ” (1672), and “The Crucifixion” (1660). His works are preserved in museums in Lviv and Uzhhorod, with “The Nativity of Christ” from 1672 held in Vilkhovytsia, Zakarpattia.

(1885–1967) — an outstanding Ukrainian icon painter-monumentalist, a representative of the Ukrainian Secession, a student of Modest Sosenko. He was born in the village of Smorzhiv in the Radekhiv region into a teacher’s family. He studied in Lviv at a gymnasium and attended a vocational school with an artistic orientation at the Lviv Industrial Museum. He studied and worked under the guidance of Tadeusz Rybkowski. With the assistance of Modest Sosenko and Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, he studied at the Krakow Academy of Arts. Under the patronage of the Metropolitan, the artists worked together on the paintings of churches in the villages of Konyukhy, Slavske, and Ryków.

In 1914, he joined the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Legion. He was the main designer of the Legion’s symbols and insignia. Later, he fought in the Ukrainian Galician Army. He attained the rank of centurion of the Ukrainian SSR, ataman of the UNR Army. After returning to Lviv, he married. From 1923 to 1927, he studied at the Prague Academy of Arts. In 1941, he emigrated to Krakow, and later to Vienna, Munich. In 1950, he moved to Canada, where he painted the frescoes of the Cathedral of the Holy Martyr Josaphat in Edmonton.

One of the key stages in his work was the frescoes in the Church of Christ the Lover of Man in Zhovkva, executed between 1910 and 1932. Butsmanyuk created a mural with bright national motifs, where he combined elements of Ukrainian sacred art with modern artistic approaches. The temple combines religious and historical figures, in particular, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky is depicted in the image of the Lord of Sabaoth.

Mykhailo Skop

A Ukrainian artist of the 16th century. Together with Fedusko and O. Horoshkovych, he is one of the few 16th-century painters whose signed icons have survived. His style gravitates toward the Lviv and Przemyśl iconographic schools, blending Ukrainian iconographic traditions with elements of the Renaissance. His artistic manner is original, characterized by pronounced contrasts and decorative modeling. The painter’s coloring is also notable, featuring an active greenish carnation rarely used by his contemporaries in the region. His icons are preserved at NML.

Mykhailo Skop

(1745–1824) Ukrainian painter, portraitist, iconographer, and monumental artist. Born in Bila Tserkva. Studied at the Kyiv Theological Academy. In 1770, he moved to Lviv with Metropolitan P. Volodkovych. He served as a scribe at St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv. A student of Yurii Radyvylyvskyi, he received funding from Lev Sheptytskyi to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Upon returning in 1785, he decorated St. George’s Cathedral. As recognition for his work, Emperor Joseph II gifted him a personal ring. Most of his sacred works are located in Lviv, including the iconostasis of St. George’s Cathedral, the iconostasis of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, side altars, frescoes on the façade of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, and others.

A Ukrainian iconographer of the first half of the 18th century. Best known for the 1738 iconostasis from St. Michael the Archangel Church in the village of Sukhyi Potik, NML, and icons from the village of Rykiv. His donor portraits, such as those of Symko Matkovskyi and his wife Eva, are particularly noteworthy. According to V. Otkovych, “the folk artist demonstrated meticulous accuracy in depicting the clothing and details of his subjects.” The painter’s style corresponds to the folk trend in Ukrainian art of the 17th–18th centuries. It is characterized by free linear graphics, somewhat akin to easel graphics, as well as softness and simplicity of form. He paid great attention to inscriptions on icons, which are valuable for historical data, interpretations of religious themes, and insights into his artistic style.

Mykhailo Skop

Painter who lived and worked in Drohobych in the middle of the 16th century. Years of birth and death are unknown. Known from mentions in archival documents in connection with the fact that he gave his son to the tailor’s shop of the city of Drohobych. In our opinion, his creative heritage includes the following works: “The Last Judgment” from the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Drohobych. “Saints Piagka and Barbara” from the Church of St. Paraskevi in ​​Drohobych, “The Virgin Oranta” from Zhydachiv, “St. Nicholas with Life” from Pidbuzh, “St. Nicholas with Life” from Novy Yar. “Conception of Anna and Annunciation” from Lubin, etc. These works are distinguished by their originality and are the best example of the brightest Ukrainian church painting of the Renaissance era on the lands of the noted Przemysl diocese.

L. Skop

Ukrainian painter of the second half of the 16th century. A workshop master, a prominent representative of the Sambir school of icon painting. The artist’s name was first recorded among the inhabitants of the city in 1568. He was introduced into historical literature in 1889. He is one of three Western Ukrainian painters of the 16th century whose author’s signatures have survived to this day. This is how the icon “Annunciation” of 1579, commissioned by Motra and Hilarion Ivanytsky for the church of the village of Ivanychi, was preserved. Currently, the icon is kept in the Kharkiv Art Museum. In the early 1570s, the painter created the iconostasis of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the village of Nakonechno, NML. He is also the author of the “Passion of Christ” from the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church, Drohobychyna Museum, as well as similar passions that are in the National Museum in Krakow, Poland. Thanks to L. Skop and G. Druzyuk, based on the analysis of the artistic style and features of iconography, it was discovered and proven that the miniatures of the Peresopnytsky Gospel were created by Fedusko.

M. Skop

Kyiv artist. Born c. 1685. He worked in the painting workshop of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra from 1724 to 1744 under the painting workshop chiefs John and Theoktist, and from 1744 to 1755 he himself headed this painting workshop. In 1744 he fell from the scaffolding near the Trinity Gate and injured his legs. In 1755, Alypius complained to the archimandrite of the lavra about his deteriorating eyesight, which prevented him from performing small tasks. He asked to be dismissed from the position of painting workshop chief, to be allowed to live in the distant caves, and to have with him a novice painter and a servant for parcels. On August 17, 1755, Archimandrite Luke allowed Alypius to live in the distant caves, but he had to propose a candidate to replace him as the painting workshop chief. In 1755, in a statement to the Lavra leadership, Alipii wrote about his work: “First, I painted church roofs and baths, and then churches and iconostases in Kitayev, Holosiivka, Pirogiv, Vysheniky, Osokorky, Sorokoshytsy, Pakula, Starodubshchyna, in two caves and in Boldayevka on Lybed.” There is information that in 1754 he painted icons for the church in the fortress of St. Elizabeth. In the same year, he painted portraits of Peter I, Catherine I, Prince of Orange, and Queen Sobskaya. In 1759, he painted “passionate” icons for the Kyiv-Kyrillic Monastery. Some of Alipii’s drawings have survived, namely: in the kuzhbush of sheet 14 — an image of St. Barbara, done in pen and ink. On the back, the papyrus: “This is the art of Hierodeacon Alipius of the Caves Monastery”; in the XX-21 collection on page 39, an ink drawing “Madonna with the Child” with the signature: “On November 24, 1760, Alipius drew with his own hand”; in the XX-83 collection, a pen drawing depicting a seated figure of the Virgin Mary (page 37) and the same figure of Christ (page 38), the drawings are signed “On December 1, 1754, Alipius drew”. Alipius is credited with the execution of a number of compositions in the wall painting of the Trinity Gate Church of the Kiev-Pscher Lavra. He died on May 1, 1768. In the same year, Archbishop Cyril of Sinai wrote to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra that the deceased had 3,000 chervins, of which 1,200 he bequeathed to the Lavra, and the remaining 1,800, divided into three equal parts, was bequeathed to Jerusalem, Sipai, and Athos. The Lavra wrote back to Cyril that Alypius had left no property except for a few icons. Alypius was buried in the Assumption Church of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. [Musienko P. Zabytiy Ukrainian artist of the 18th century. — Art, 1959].

P. Zholtovssykyi Artistic life in Ukraine in the 16th — 18th centuries. — K.: Nauk. Dumka, 1983. — 180 p., ill.; 25 cm.

(c. 1700-1770). parish priest of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Drohobych, professional painter of images for Drohobych churches. Born c. 1700 in Drohobych. A pupil of the local icon painting school of painters. His work became a professional and original phenomenon of Ukrainian Baroque. He came from the Hlibkevych dynasty of priests. Among his early works stands out the icon from the altar of the old church of the Holy Trinity “Meeting” c. 1740, full of deep sacred and symbolic meaning. In 1740-1750, Father Hlibkevych painted murals in the Drohobych churches of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, St. George, and the Nativity of the Virgin, which became a unique page of Ukrainian sacred art. Numerous works by Father Vasyl have survived, some of them bearing a dated signature, which provides a unique opportunity to trace the evolution of almost all of his work. He executed a number of altars and parts of iconostases both for his own church (images for the altar of St. Nicholas, funded by brother Daniil Khometsky. 1746-1747, images of the altar of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, funded by Oleksandr Hubytsky, 1759, the image of “Adoration of Christ” (with portraits of Bishop Joseph Shumlyansky and Maria Theresa) for the deisesus row and “The Last Supper” in the middle of the festive row of the main iconostasis (before 1770). and for such Drohobych churches as St. George (images for the altars of St. George, St. Nicholas, the Assumption of the Virgin, two ferrotrons – precessional images). The Nativity of the Virgin (the local and apostolic rows of the main iconostasis and the ferrotron, the second half of the 18th century). St. Friday (the apostolic row of the main iconostasis has been preserved iconostasis beginning of the second half of the 18th century). In 1753, he simultaneously executed two altarpieces with a close Eucharistic theme “Christ the Vine-Grower” (by the efforts of Andrei Nemirovsky) for the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Lamentation” (with the image of Christ, from whose wounds a vine sprouts) for the Church of St. George. He graphically designed the “Memorial of Mikhail Hlibkevtch” (1741). A unique image of his work “Crucifixion with Donors” on a canvas from an unknown church and other works have been preserved. The work of Fr. Hlibkevtch is a synthesis of local and Central European traditions, which already expressed Western stylistic influences of Baroque and Rococo. At the same time, his icon painting is a central, bright phenomenon in the church art of the Przemysl Diocese of the 18th century, which, apparently, expressed the spiritual and aesthetic intentions of the Boyko sub-ethnic group. Despite his active creativity, Fr. Hlibkevych was an extremely modest person in life, as if embodying in his life’s actions the moral precepts of high Christian spirituality, which he served with all his talent. In his works we also see images of the people of Drohobych at that time, people who paid for icons. This is also a defining feature of that era – the secular was surprisingly intertwined with the sacred. Fr. Vasyl Hlibkevych died in 1770, as recorded in the church “Synodical”.

L. Skop

(1892–1980) Ukrainian iconographer, painter, art historian, bibliophile, and Church historian. Born in Lisko, Sanok County. Fought in the Austro-Hungarian army and studied at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, later continuing at the Dresden and Munich academies. In 1930, together with Y. Mokrytskyi, he painted frescoes for the Holy Dormition Lavra in Univ. In 1934, he created frescoes for the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Uhniv. He researched Ukrainian frescoes in Kraków, Lulin, Wislica, and Sandomierz. Authored works on the history of Ukrainian and Polish art of the 14th–15th and 19th–20th centuries. In 1944, he emigrated to Germany and in 1949 to the United States, where he served as vice-president and head of the art section of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences (UVAN) from 1951 to 1970.

Mykhailo Skop

A Peremyshl artist of the 16th century. Known for the signed icon Dormition of the Virgin (1547) from the village of Smilnyk. Other works include Virgin with Praise (1547) from Smilnyk, Virgin with Praise (1540–1550) from Roven, Mandylion (mid-16th century) from Ustiyaniv-Horyshnia, and Last Judgment, housed at the Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Svidnik, Slovakia. Vira Sventsitska noted the artist’s characteristic calligraphic drawing, dry coloration, and tonal illumination of flesh areas that lend sharp clarity to forms. Mykhailo Skop highlighted original compositional and decorative solutions in the icon Mandylion, not seen in similar works of that period.

Mykhailo Skop

(1902-1990) Ukrainian artist, icon painter, graphic artist. Born in Kyiv. Educated at the Ukrainian Studio of Plastic Art in Prague, the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. After traveling to Italy and France, he worked as a teacher. Member of the art circle “Spokij”. After the war, he lived in Germany. Later he moved to the USA, where he became an honorary member of the Association of Ukrainian Artists in America. He died in a Ukrainian settlement near New York.

(1667- to 1748) Ukrainian icon painter. Orthodox, and later a Union hieromonk. Born in Zhovkva. In his youth he moved to Lutsk, and later settled in the Bialystok Monastery. He was the abbot of the Lutsk Cross-Vozdvizhensky Brotherhood. He created a significant number of icons. One of the artist’s earliest works are considered to be the preserved icons from the Bialystok Monastery. He is also the author of the Horodyshchensky and Lokachivsky iconostases, which have been preserved only in fragments. During 1698-1705 he worked on the iconostasis of the Manyavsky Skete, NML. Another almost completely preserved iconostasis of the artist is the iconostasis of 1722 for the Zagorivsky Monastery (known as Voschatyny). The last work is considered to be “The Crucifixion” from the village of Chernchytsy, NML.

M. Skop

(1844-1916) Ukrainian artist, icon painter, restorer. Born in Przemyśl. Studied at the Krakow School of Modeling and Painting, and later at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. In 1873 he moved to Lviv. Illustrated the magazine “Dzvinok”. As a restorer he collaborated with the Stavropigian Institute. Painted portraits. Known for the restoration of paintings in a number of churches, in particular in Leżajsk, Krakow and Lviv. In recent years he lived in the shelter of the Robert Doms Foundation.

(1877-1967) Ukrainian artist, illustrator, teacher. Born in Berezhany. For several months she attended the Art and Industrial School, where she received her first art education. Later she studied at the private art school of S. Batovsky-Kachor and R. Bratkovsky. She graduated from the Vienna Academy of Arts. Since 1939 she worked at the Lviv Museum named after T. Shevchenko. Since 1940 she headed the folk art department of the Lviv Ethnographic Museum. She taught graphics at the Polytechnic Institute. In 1955 she launched a campaign to protect the closure of the Lviv Art School. In 1976 she became a laureate of the State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR named after T. G. Shevchenko. She died in Lviv.

(1878-1969) Ukrainian painter, icon painter, graphic artist. Born in the village of Zavaliv, Pidhayets district, Ternopil region. He received his education at the Stanislav Higher Real School, the Lviv Art and Industrial School, and the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts. He lived and worked in Lviv. He died on May 15, 1969.

In addition to paintings, he created a significant number of icons and iconostases. In particular, for the church of the Ascension in the village of Tetevchytsia, the church of the Apostle Andrew in Lviv, the church of the Assumption of the Virgin in the village of Krylos, the church of the Great Martyr Dmitry in the village of Lityatyn, etc.

M. Skop

Anonymous Ukrainian painter of the first half of the 18th century, who worked in the city of Ostroh. The most famous master of the Ostroh icon-painting workshop. According to P. Zholtovsky, “it was led by one master, whose creativity left a distinct imprint on everything that came out of his workshop, and that the work of his assistants had only an auxiliary meaning”. Characteristic for his work are the softness of forms, light tones, roundness of faces, as well as the frequent use of silvering: “a special type of round, friendly faces with wide, open eyes, a high forehead, characteristic plump pink lips, short, widened eyebrows near the bridge of the nose”, as well as “special silvery, carved levkas backgrounds, covered with an almost identical ornament in all cases of wide, smoothly curved, flat acanthus shoots”.

Drohobych icon painter, son of Stefan Popovich Meditsky. He worked in the late 17th – early 18th centuries. He began his creative career with the painting of the Church of St. George in Drohobych, in particular the composition “The Tree of Jesse” of the late 17th century, the painting of the Vvedensky chapel in 1711. He also renewed the vicarious icons of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Drohobych in 1694, created banners and paintings “The Passion and Execution of the Apostles, the Coronation of the Holy Mother of God”. In 1712 he created iconostases for the churches of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God in Rykhvald and St. James in Povoroznik. A significant number of icons are kept in the collection of the Drohobych region museum.

M. Skop

Drohobych painter of the second half of the 17th century. Member of the brotherhood of the Church of St. George. Year of birth unknown. Lived and worked in Drohobych. A bright representative of Ukrainian professional church art of the Mannerist era. Master of the Vyshniv school of painting. He left a great artistic legacy of both easel and monumental painting, which is preserved in the churches of Drohobych, Drohobych region and some other churches of the Przemysl diocese. Most of his works are from the Drohobych Church of St. George, for which he executed the iconostasis of the Vvedensky chapel. (second half of the 1650s), the main six-tiered coffee iconostasis (1659-1669) and the wall compositions “The Last Judgment”, “The Passion of the Lord”, “Akathist to Our Sweet Lord Jesus Christ”, “Akathist to the Theotokos” (1660-1670), probably also “The Torment and Execution of the Apostles and the Coronation of the Theotokos”, images on the upper walls of the altar. During 1664-1669, the painter, at the request of the brothers Smon Fetsovich, Mykhailo Myskoshichev, Ignatiy Mironov, executed a two-tiered iconostasis for the Predtechinsky chapel of the Drohobych Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and in 1672 – also a monumental painting for this small temple within the temple. At the same time, he painted a mural on the farade on both sides of the main portal of the Vozdvyzhenska Church. From that church, a precessional funeral cross with a unique image of the “Bosom of Abraham” and the fraternal silence of his work have been preserved. He also painted iconostases for the churches of the villages of Pochayevichi, Isai. Pidbuzh, Medenichi, and for the last village – “The Last Judgment”. His other works from the churches of our region are known. Stefan Popovich Meditsky died in 1689.

L. Skop

Years of life unknown. In 1781 he completed work on the creation of the main iconostasis of the Drohobych Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross – he painted the apostolic and prophetic series (the founder of the painting works was the “glorious Siveriy Miranovych”). The artistic heritage of P. Metelsky includes such works as the memorial image “The Crucifixion with the Donors” (1754), the altar image “The Exaltation of the Holy Cross” for the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Drohobych, the banner “The Virgin Intercessor” from Stara Sola and others. The master belongs to the representatives of Ukrainian folk naive art, had a good sense of color with a festive mood and knew how to give the images of saints monumental grandeur.

L. Skop

An outstanding Volyn miniaturist of the first half of the 16th century. He signed himself “Mazav (Marav) Andriychyna Mnohogrishny”. The artist’s most famous miniatures come from the Kholm Gospel. All of the artist’s known works are currently located in the Russian Federation.

Year of birth unknown, died presumably in 1636. Based on the scientific and restoration analysis of the monuments of Galician painting, we attribute to him a large number of monuments of church art created for the churches of Drohobych region and other localities. Among his works are preserved some easel images and iconostases, monumental paintings and book miniatures. These are, in particular, iconostases for the monastery church of St. Elijah in the village of Monastyr Lishnyansky (Lviv Museum of the History of Religion), for the church of the village of Lypnya (National Museum in Lviv), for the church of St. Panteleimon in the city of Skole, for the church of St. Michael in the village of Zubrytsia (NML). images of the namis row of the iconostasis of the church of the Assumption of the Virgin in Mrazhnytsia (Museum “Drohobych region”, NML). image “St. Mnkolay with life” of the namis row of the iconostasis of the church of St. Basil of Rykhtych (NML). the image of the “Protection of the Mother of God” from the namis row of the iconostasis of the church in the village of Msdvezha (NML), “The Last Judgment” from Radelych (NML), “Christ IIantokrator” from the iconostasis of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Drohobych and the mural of the altar part of the same church. He also illustrated manuscript books, in particular the Gospel from Drohobych region of the late 16th century (Scientific Library of Lomonosov Moscow State University). The works of this Ukrainian master are marked by the high theological thinking typical of Galician painters of the Renaissance and the search for the expression of his own unique worldview through church painting. Therefore, his works significantly stand out for their originality among the European post-Byzantine painting of that time.

L. Skop

Anonymous Ukrainian painter of the second half of the 16th century, known for a group of icons from the village of Vovche. Given the peculiarities of the artistic manner and style, as well as the geographical origin of the preserved samples, he most likely belonged to the Sambir school of icon painting. The artist’s characteristic features are the emphasized decorativeness of the planes, the partial disproportion of the bodies (in particular, the enlargement of the heads), and the roundness of the faces. The last feature can be assumed to reflect the portrait foxes inherent in the painter himself.

M. Skop

(c. 1600-after 1666) Ukrainian icon painter. Lived in Lviv. He was a student and worked in the workshop of the painter Fedor Senkovych. After the painter’s death, he became his heir. In 1666, he was elected foreman, the “senior” of the Lviv painting workshop. He is known primarily for the renovation of the iconostasis of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary church, damaged by fire, by F. Senkovych. He also created icons for the side walls of the church. In 1767, these works were transported to the Bezsribnyky Cosmas and Damian church in the village of Velyky Hrybovychi. In addition, he is the author of the icon “The Virgin Mary of Vilna” of 1635, which was located above the entrance to the Assumption church, and is now stored in the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts. Petrakhnovych-Morochovsky was one of the masters of the iconostasis of the Assumption church. Saint Paraskeva in Lviv, created before 1648.

M. Skop

(c. 1650–1708) — a prominent Ukrainian icon painter, a representative of the Zhovkva school of painting. He probably came from the town of Bily Kamin near Zolochiv, which is confirmed by the signatures on his early works as “Painter of Bilokamenets”. He studied in the workshop of the painter Roman Mogilnytsky in Kamianets-Strumylova (now the city of Kamianets-Buzka). Vira Sventsitska distinguishes two stages of creativity, in which the growth of skill and the formation of style are noticeable. The first period falls on the 1680s, when the painter worked on iconostases in Volitsa-Drevlyanska, Maroshanka, Potelich and Volya Vysotsii. The second – from the 1690s. A significant work of this period is the Zhovkva iconostasis from Skvariava Novaya. The researcher suggests that Rutkovich died between 1703 and 1708.

The artist’s work significantly influenced the development of Ukrainian sacred art. The localization of preserved works is concentrated mostly in the Zhovkva district of the Lviv region. The most famous works of the painter are iconostases, as well as individual preserved icons. These include, in particular, icons from iconostases in the villages of Volitsa-Drevlyanska, Volya Vysotska, Krekhiv, Potelych, Stara Skvariava, Zhovkva, and Lviv. Petro Skop noted that the work of Ivan Rutkovich, reflecting the influences of European artistic trends relevant in his time, in particular the Mannerism style, contributed to the development of the national school of icon painting. Characteristic features of his work are a bright color palette and an individual approach to the interpretation of iconographic canons, which brought him closer to other European masters of the late 17th century. One of Rutkovich’s most notable works is the iconostasis of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Zhovkva (1697–1699). As P. Zholtovsky noted, this monument demonstrates the artist’s skill in creating complex multi-figured scenes and his ability to masterfully combine ornamental and figurative elements.

Mykhailo Skop

Ukrainian painter of the second half of the 17th century, a prominent representative of the Rybotychy school of icon painting.

(circa 1570–1630) — an outstanding Ukrainian painter of the 17th century, one of the representatives of the Lviv icon painting school. He worked mainly in the technique of tempera painting, his work is characterized by a synthesis of traditional Ukrainian icon painting and current trends in Renaissance art. The artist’s innovation was the use of oil paints in body parts.

He studied under Lavrenty Pylypovych. He headed the Lviv painting workshop. One of the authors of the iconostasis of the Church of St. Paraskeva in Lviv, the author of the iconostasis of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Lviv (1630), which after a fire in 1637-38 was restored by his student M. Petrakhnovych-Morohovsky. Later, the iconostasis was moved to the church in Velyky Hrybovychy, where its parts were found and restored already in the 20th century.

The features of Senkovych’s style are a bright color scheme, subtle graphic design and expressiveness of the faces of the saints, as well as the use of elements of European decorative painting.

M. Skop

Born in 1954. Ukrainian icon painter, volunteer, artist, restorer, researcher of sacred art. His work combines the revival of ancient traditions of Ukrainian icon painting with innovative techniques. He is known for using shingles from Drohobych churches to create modern icons. Founder of the creative association “Cactus”. Until 2013, he was a teacher at the Lviv National Academy of Arts. In his work, the artist emphasizes the importance of “drawing with the heart” as a key principle in Ukrainian icon painting. In addition, Lev Skop is actively involved in volunteering: he creates icons that are transferred to the front or are auctioned off at charity auctions in support of the defenders of Ukraine.

Author of a significant number of individual icons, iconostases and paintings in churches. The most famous is the iconostasis and a cycle of icons for the Cathedral of Archangel Michael – Pantheon of Ukrainian Heroes in the village of Novoshychi, Drohobych district

Author of a number of articles and monographs on the topic of Ukrainian sacred art. In particular, “Painter of the Icon “Theotokos Hodegetria” from Mrazhnytsia” (2004), “Master of Miniatures of the Peresopnytsia Gospel – Fedusko, Painter from Sambor” (2011), Dating of Galician Icons of the 14th-16th Centuries. Essays on the Methodology of Attribution of Ukrainian Church Painting (2017).

M. Skop

(1875–1920) Ukrainian artist and icon painter, one of the leading representatives of sacral art of the early 20th century. His work is an important part of Ukrainian modernism, combining the revival of national traditions and current trends in European art. M. Sosenko was born in the village of Porogy in Galicia, studied at the Krakow Academy of Arts. Later, with the financial support of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, in Munich and Paris. This formed his deep understanding of modern European art. Returning to Ukraine, the artist devoted his activities to sacral painting, creating church murals, icons, and also worked as a restorer in the “Church Museum” (now the A. Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv). During 1908-1914 he traveled to Italy, Ukraine, as well as Egypt and Palestine. During 1916-1918 he participated in the First World War as part of the Austro-Hungarian Army. He was often ill and spent the last years of his life in the metropolitan residence at the Cathedral of St. George in Lviv, where he died on February 4, 1920. The artist was buried at the Yaniv Cemetery in Lviv. According to his will, his artistic heritage was transferred to the National Museum in Lviv, and some of his works are kept in other Ukrainian museums, temples and private collections.

Examples of the artist’s sacred art include monumental decorative paintings in the church of St. Paraskeva in the village of Puzhnyky (lost in 1906-1907), the church of Archangel Michael in the village of Bilche-Zoloto (destroyed in 1912), polychromes and iconostasis in the church of Archangel Michael in Pidberiztsy, the church of Resurrection in the village of Pechenyzhyn (destroyed in 1907-1908), Resurrection Church in the village of Polyany, St. Nicholas Church in Zolochiv, Assumption Church in the village of Slavsko (destroyed in 2019), iconostasis of St. Onuphrius Church in Lviv.

One of the most famous works of M. Sosenko is the frescoes of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Slavsko, executed in the 1910s together with the artist’s student Julian Butsmanyuk. In 2019, the frescoes were completely destroyed by local residents led by the UGCC priest Andriy Petryshyn. On May 12–13, researchers and the public tried to convince the rector of the church and the community to preserve the frescoes, emphasizing their exceptional artistic value. The regional department for the protection of cultural heritage issued an order prohibiting the work due to the church’s status as an architectural monument. However, the community and the priest ignored this. Already on May 15, the interiors of the church were completely destroyed. The decorative tiles by Ivan Levinsky were also destroyed. Instead, the church was covered with modern sanitary tiles and low-quality polychrome was made. The iconostasis was also dismantled, but it was saved. Since the monument is the property of the community, after restoration by the Lviv branch of the restoration center, it was returned to the community. According to various sources, approximately 100-150 residents of Slavsko took part in the destruction of the monument. None of the participants in the crime was ever brought to justice.

Mykhailo Skop