Heaven on earth. Collection of Ukrainian folk icons collected by Ivan Honchar

Every artwork you will see in this exhibition has been pressure passed by wars and the politics of the russian-communist regime

Three-part icon, Gabriel (archangel) and St. Barbara, Praying to the Chalice, St. Michael (archangel)., Anonymous, 1880/1920, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Icon, The Virgin of Pochaiv. (1880/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Ivan Honchar, when he was forming a collection for his museum, was one of the first to pay attention to the village icon as an artistic value and began its rescue and popularization.

Three-part icon, St. Stephen; Crucifixion of Jesus with attending Saits: Theotokos and John the Apostle; St. Barbara. (1851/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Icon, The Lord of Sabaoph., Anonymous, 1801/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
,
Icon, St. Parasceve the Martyr., Anonymous, 1880/1920, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more
Four-part icon, St. Barbara and St. Parasceve the Martyr, Resurrection of Jesus, Coronation of Mary, Sts. Mitrophan and Nicholas., Anonymous, 1801/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Four-part icon, St. Barbara and St. Parasceve the Martyr, Resurrection of Jesus, Coronation of Mary, Sts. Mitrophan and Nicholas. (1801/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Two-part icon, The Ascension of Jesus, The Pentecost. (1680/1720) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Icon, Nursing Madonna., Anonymous, 1989/1989, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

From the 16th century, powerful craft centers of icon painting were formed in Ukraine — in Volyn, Kyiv, Lviv, Przemyśl, Pidlyash and other cities, which worked for churches and monasteries. These images also decorated the estates of the nobility.

Icon, "Cathedral of the Archangels", Anonymous, 1700/1750, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more
Icon, "The Nativity of the Virgin", Anonymous, 1680/1750, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Icon, The Entombed (The Shroud). (1851/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

The represented samples of folk icon painting belong to both church and household use. They were written on wood, canvas, glass and factory glass in the period from the end of the 17th to the middle of the 20th century.

Icon, Adoration of the Shepherds (from the iconostasis row depicting holy days)., Anonymous, 1651/1700, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

The inability of the church to meet the popular demand for an icon contributed to the development of the folk craft of icon painting. The artistic component of folk icon painting was formed in the same vein as decorative painting, which is characterized by brevity, bright open colors, rhythmic compositions, plasticity of lines, sometimes whimsical forms and bizarre expression characteristic of naive art.

Icon, Thomas the Apostle (from the iconostasis row)., Anonymous, 1601/1700, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more
Icon, St. Floor and St Laurel., Anonymous, 1880/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
,
Icon, St. George the Dragon Slayer., Anonymous, 1880/1920, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Icons were the embodiment of sincere religiosity of Ukrainians. One lord could count more than a dozen icons of saints revered by the people. It was a kind of home iconostasis. The plot series of icons was dictated by the popular religious worldview, formed by both Christian and pagan traditions. The icon played the role of a kind of talisman against all kinds of troubles and misfortunes. The Mother of God is the patroness of the poor, Nicholas the Wonderworker is the patron of travelers, sailors and fishermen. George the Winner is an animal protector.

Five-part icon, St. Parasceve the Martyr, St. Nicholas, The Virgin and The Child, St. Pantaleon St. Barbara., Anonymous, 1880/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Five-part icon, St. Parasceve the Martyr, St. Nicholas, The Virgin and The Child, St. Pantaleon St. Barbara. (1880/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Icon, St. George the Dragon Slayer., Anonymous, 1880/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Saints on icons were considered "living gods" who watch over people's lives. In cosmogonic carols and proverbs, God and the saints are close to earthly life:
"... Saint Peter chases the wolf,
Jesus Christ himself follows the plow
The Mother of God wears food..."

Three-part icon, Guardian Angel, The Trinity, The Virgin and the Child. (1890/1890) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Three-part icon, St. George the Dragon Slayer, The Virgin and the Child, St Nicholas. (1801/1850) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Saint images were perceived by people as close and dear to them, because the people of God, as they were sometimes called, introduced the features of their relatives and fellow villagers into them, transforming canonical images into folk images: "...I will draw my mother on the shrine in the house, I will look at the shrine - I will remember my mother..."

Icon, The Virgin Elousa., Anonymous, 1850/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
,
Icon, Christ the Pantocrator., Anonymous, 1851/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
,
Icon, The Virgin of Pochaiv., Anonymous, 1840/1860, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Folk painters also painted icons of a symbolic and allegorical nature: "The Restless Eye", "Christ the Vine", which can be considered as a kind of echo of the Baroque era.

Icon, Christ the Vigilant Eye., Anonymous, 1801/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more
Three-part icon, St. Peter, Christ the Vine, Paul the Apostle., Anonymous, 1880/1920, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Artistic solutions of folk icons have certain regional trends. So, the icons of the 19th century from the crafts workshops of Kurenivka on Podil in Kyiv, painted on wood, small in size, with floral decoration.

Icon, The Dormition of the Virgin., Anonymous, 1850/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more
Icon, Christ the Pantocrator., Anonymous, 1851/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
,
Icon, The Virgin of Pechersk., Anonymous, 1880/1920, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

The icons of Chernihiv Oblast are larger, made mainly in "sunny" shades of yellow, red and orange colors with floral ornamentation, which in some samples imitates levkas carving.

Icon, St. Nicholas., Anonymous, 1880/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
,
Icon, The Virgin of Pochaiv., Anonymous, 1880/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

The icons of Pokuttia and Hutsulshchyna made on thick glass, as well as multi-figured icons on wood from Bukovyna are peculiar in style, in the linear means of artistic expression of which a connection with church engraving and religious painting on glass of Romania, Slovakia, and Poland can be traced.

Three-plot icon, The Crucifixion with attending John the Apostle, St. George the Dragon Slayer, The Virgin and the Child. (1880/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Three-part icon, John the Apostle, St. George the Dragon Slayer, St. Barbara. (1880/1920) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

A certain artistic integrity is made up of the multipart icons on the canvas of Cherkassy and Eastern Podillia, which are partially Latinized, written with a tendency towards psychologism and realism.

Multi-subject icon, St. Nicholas, St. Parasceve the Martyr, Christ the Vigilant Eye, St. Barbara., Anonymous, 1852/1855, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more
Three-part icon, St. Nicholas, Dormition of the Mother of God, St. Barbara., Anonymous, 1880/1900, From the collection of: National Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"
Show lessRead more

Three-part icon, St. Nicholas, Dormition of the Mother of God, St. Barbara. (1880/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Ukrainian folk icons are a bright page of Ukrainian folk painting that appeared in many traditions of the past. Mythopoetic, religious ideas of the people, national values and ideals were reflected in it.

Three-part icon, St. George the Dragon Slayer with unknown Saints. (1880/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Four-part icon, St. Mary of Egypt, Elijah, St. John the Warrior, St. Parasceve the Martyr. (1851/1900) by AnonymousNational Center of Folk Culture "Ivan Honchar Museum"

Credits: Story

Author of the idea and concept, curator of the project: Petro Honchar
Scientific editors and authors of texts: Petro Gonchar, Tetiana Poshivaylo, Nataliya Tymoshenko
Selection of exhibits: Petro Honchar, Victoria Kutsuruk
Translation: Hanna Shendryk, Yuliia Novoseltseva
Photographers: Anastasia Telikova
Designers: Olga Vashchevska, Mykola Honcharov
Copywriting and technical implementation: Yuliia Novoseltseva

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Explore more
Related theme
Ukraine is Here
Preserving and celebrating Ukrainian arts and culture
View theme
Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites