Unbreakable Art: Odesa Fine Arts Museum
Take a look at some of the brilliant pieces of Ukrainian artists' works belonging to a museum damaged by a Russian airstrike.
On November 6, 2023, Odesa National Fine Arts Museum was going to celebrate the 124th anniversary of its opening. On November 5th, the eve of this special day, the museum was damaged in the course of a Russian missile attack at Odesa.
Odesa National Fine Arts Museum was built between 1824 and 1828 as a palace and was owned by Countess Olga Naryshkina (born Potocka). In 1888, it was acquired by Hryhoriy Marazli, the mayor of Odesa and a well-known public figure, who, in 1892, transferred the palace to the city for it to become a museum of fine arts in 1899.
The museum holds a rich collection, including many works by prominent Ukrainian artists. Take a look at some of the masterpieces from the Odesa National Fine Arts Museum.
Flowers (1908) by Mykhaylo ZhukCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Flowers
Flowers is a 1908 piece by one of the most prominent Ukrainian artists of the XX century, Mykhaylo Zhuk. In the center of the composition, there is a bouquet of white lily flowers (Lilium regale) with a yellow and blue middle part and petals outlined by gray.
Female Portrait
A 1916 portrait piece by Mykhaylo Zhuk. The artist also had immense literary talent and wrote prose and poetry. The Odesa Fine Arts Museum collection includes quite a few masters' works, and for a reason. In the latter half of his life, the artist spent almost 40 years in Odesa.
Self Portrait
The author in the portrait is artist and poet Veniamin Babadzhan. He played a valuable role in Odesa cultural life and modernist art movements, such as the Community of Independent. He studied art at the studio of brilliant Ukrainian avant-garde leader Oleksandra Ekster.
Жовті будинки (1929) by Mykola ShelyutoCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Yellow Houses
The landscape was created in 1929 by Mykola Shelyuto. Born in Belarus, he spent almost all his life in Odesa and became known as a Ukrainian artist. Shelyuto created many works in various genres. However, the landscape remained the leading one.
Female Portrait
This 1911 piece harmonizes a philosophical woman's gaze with a background of a green yard. Portraits were one of the key genres of Mykhaylo Zhuk's works. The artist belonged to the Ukrainian intelligentsia and often depicted his contemporaries in his works.
Sunlit Street. Etude by Vasyl KandinskyCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Sunlit Street
The Odesa Fine Arts Museum collection includes several pieces by Vasyl Kandinsky, one of the world's most prominent and revolutionary figures in abstract art. Among them is Sunlit Street. A significant part of Kandinsky's work is connected to Ukraine and Odesa in particular.
Family
This picture of a big family was created by Maria Siniakova-Urechina in 1918. Maria actively participated in the avant-garde and futuristic movements of the beginning of the XX century and was a member of many artistic communities.
Still Life
This piece, depicting rich scenery of flowers and fruit on a dark blue background, was created by Isaac Rabinovych. The artist worked in various genres, including theatrical decorations.
Bathers by Amshey NurenbergCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Bathers
Bathers is a cubist work of Odesa's prominent avant-garde artist Amshey Nurenberg. His studies in painting began with another great Ukrainian artist, Kyriak Kostandi, and continued in Paris. He later became a key avant-garde figure and led the Odesa Independent movement.
To Perfection
To Perfection was created in 1914 by Pavlo Nitshe, another Odesa artist and a member of the Odesa Independent community, alongside Amshey Nurenberg. The still figures create beautiful contrast with the dynamics of the wind blowing among the trees and the waves of their branches.
Girl with a Fire Crown
Another Mykhaylo Zhuk portrait-like piece depicts a beautiful woman crowned in the flames. The girl’s white gown with the dark blue background together form a mesmerizing contrast and a somewhat cosmic atmosphere.
Steel melting. Sketch (1927) by Mykola ShelyutoCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Steel melting
This esquisse by Ukrainian artist Mykola Shelyuto was introduced in 1927. The piece is not typical for the artist, as he specialized mostly in the landscape genre and lyrical realism was his preferred style. This work in a bold blue demonstrates a more avant-garde cubistic style.
The recent attack damaged the museum's building, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, causing shattered windows, cracked walls, and covering the floors with pieces of debris. However, the main Odesa National Fine Arts Museum collection remains untouched. It was evacuated and is being kept in a safe place.
The November 5 attack was condemned by UNESCO. The brilliant Ukrainian museum remains in danger but hopes to soon resume its full exposition with all preserved masterpieces.
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