Stylistic Features of Ukrainian Ornament of the Art Nouveau Period: Synthesis of European Influences and National Traditions

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to study the stylistic features of Ukrainian ornament of the Art Nouveau period in the context of the synthesis of European artistic influences and national traditions; to consider the specifics of form formation, decorativeness, and symbolic content of the ornament as an expression of national identity in the conditions of pan-European cultural transformations of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is the principles of historical and cultural, art history, and stylistic analysis. A comparative typological method was used to identify the mutual influences of the Ukrainian and European ornamental traditions, as well as a culturological approach, which allows interpreting the ornament as a carrier of the national cultural code. The analytical method was used to systematise artistic forms and motifs in the work of Ukrainian artists. Scientific novelty. The work summarises the Ukrainian ornament of the Art Nouveau period as a phenomenon of artistic synthesis, which combines the European modernist aesthetics of Europe with the national tradition of folk decorative art. It is proven that Ukrainian artists not only adapted the forms of the Art Nouveau style, but also transformed them in accordance with their own system of symbols and plastic language. The ornament appears not only as a decorative element, but also as a means of artistic thinking, through which the philosophy of harmony of man, nature and nation is revealed. Conclusions. The Ukrainian ornament of the Art Nouveau period was the result of a complex process of cultural interaction, in which the fusion of European influences and national traditions created a unique type of national style. Its characteristic features are linearity, stylisation of natural forms, symbolism, rhythmic coherence, and coloristic harmony, which in combination formed the visual image of Ukrainian culture, oriented towards modern European trends, but deeply rooted in the folk worldview. Art Nouveau ornament became one of the leading forms of self-expression of Ukrainian artistic modernism and an important factor in the formation of national artistic identity.