Osyp Kurylas’s Art Heritage: Battle Genre

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyse the combat work by Osyp Kurylas in the ranks of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, impartiality, and reliability of the presented results, as well as on general scientific and special research methods, including analysis, synthesis, generalisation, descriptive, systematic, and biographical. According to the dominant in post-classical science paradigm of systematicity, they are integrated from different scientific directions, namely from art history, cultural studies, and history. Such an interdisciplinary methodology helped to reveal the main theme and value-meaning constants of the combat creativity by O. Kurylas in the ranks of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the cultural-historical and art-historical analysis of O. Kurylas's combat work, which significantly expands the understanding of his work and determines the relevance of his artistic heritage for modern art in the direction of increasing interest in combat fine art. Conclusions. Osyp Kurilas and his fellow artists made an invaluable contribution to the development of fine art, in particular, to battle painting and the portrait genre. The battle legacy of O. Kurylas (graphics, painting) is not just works of fine art, but also invaluable historical and documentary material. Due to the realism, the combat work by O. Kurilas, like other Sich artists, can be called a kind of documentary recording of the events of the Liberation Struggle period, which in terms of truthfulness, scrupulousness, and accuracy of the images can be put on the same level as modern photography. Their work is of great importance not only for preserving the memory of those who died for the will of Ukraine, but also serves as a visual confirmation of the courage, indomitability, and eternal desire of our people to build an independent Ukraine.

Key words: Osyp Kurilas, battle genre, painting, fine art, Ukrainian Sich Riflemen.