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Mykola Samokysha

Mykola Serhiiovych Samokysha (also known in the russian-language tradition as Samokysh; 25 October 1860, Nosivka — 18 January 1944, Simferopol) — an outstanding Ukrainian graphic artist, battle painter, master of the animalier genre, academician (1890) and professor (1913) of fine arts. Unlike the imperial-Soviet tradition, which rendered his surname as "Samokysh", in Ukrainian publications and in his own correspondence the artist consistently used the original surname "Samokysha" (derived from a Siverian dialect word for sour milk).

Overview

The creative career of Mykola Samokysha spans 60 years of activity and over 11 thousand paintings, drawings, etchings and book illustrations. A graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he belonged to a pro-Ukrainian circle of artists, he devoted a significant part of his legacy to depicting the historical past of Ukraine and the Cossack wars. From 1918 he lived in Crimea (Yevpatoria; from 1922 — Simferopol), where he founded an art studio that was later transformed into the Simferopol Art College named after him.

Key Details

  • Origins and education: Born in the village of Nosivka in the Chernihiv region, into the family of a rural postman and a Cossack woman. Studied at the Nizhyn Classical Gymnasium and the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1879–1885).
  • Pro-Ukrainian circle: During his studies at the Academy, together with S. Vasylkivskyi, P. Martynovych and O. Slastion, he belonged to a circle concerned with depicting Ukrainian history and everyday life (under the leadership of Danylo Mordovets).
  • International recognition: Won a scholarship trip to Paris (1886–1889, where he studied under E. Detaille), became an academician of painting (1890, for the painting "A Herd at the Watering Place") and received a prize at the World Exhibition in Paris (1900).
  • Teaching career: Headed the battle workshops of the St. Petersburg Academy (1894–1917), and from 1937 to 1941 — the battle-historical workshops of the Kharkiv and Kyiv Art Institutes.
  • Cycle of works on Cossack history: Created a series of fundamental paintings about the liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people ("The Entry of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi into Kyiv in 1648", "The Battle of Zhovti Vody", "The Boarding of a Turkish Galley by the Zaporozhians", "The Battle of Ivan Bohun near Monastyryshche, 1653", "The Campaign of the Zaporozhians against Crimea", "The Battle of Maksym Kryvonis against Yarema Vyshnevetskyi", "The Destruction of Baturyn by Menshikov", and others).
  • Book graphics and albums: Together with S. Vasylkivskyi and D. Yavornytskyi he published the album "From Ukrainian Antiquity" (1900), prepared the album "Motifs of Ukrainian Ornament" (1902), and illustrated the works of Marko Vovchok, I. Nechuy-Levytskyi and M. Hohol.
  • National consciousness: In a 1929 letter he noted: "From the very completion of the Academy of Arts until now, all our art was for Ukraine... our soul was in Ukraine."
  • Life in occupied Simferopol (1941–1944): Because of his advanced age he declined Soviet evacuation. He belonged to the Council of Artists under the art sub-department (1942), received material support from the Ukrainian cooperative "Ukrainian Konsum", created by members of OUN(b). He worked at his easel until his last days (up to 10 hours a day). He died on 18 January 1944 in Simferopol.