Nil Khasevych, Artist Ukrainian Underground Art Album Of The Woodcuts Made In Ukraine, 1947-1950

Page 5 of 5  table of contents     previous   SERIES: FIGHTING VOLYNIA WOODCUT MADE IN 1948 "The forest is our father while the night our mother," says the caption. The hiding places of the Ukrainian insurgents are painstakingly built in the deep forests which marches are made generally at night by routes known only to the fighters themselves. ("Ukrainian Underground Art", Page 45) "THE FOREST IS OUR FATHER WHILE THE NIGHT OUR MOTHER" The Ukrainian Is A Real Farmer, Too, Firmly Rooted In The Earth SERIES: FIGHTING VOLYNIA WOODCUT MADE FEB. 5, 1949 The Ukrainian is a real farmer, too, firmly rooted in the earth. His intimacy with Mother Nature is reflected in the attitude of this insurgent who has found a wild pig in the wilds of Polissya. ("Ukrainian Underground Art, Page 47) SERIES: FIGHTING VOLYNIA WOODCUT MADE MARCH 12, 1949 Marching Group of Ukrainian insurgents in Polissya. This inaccessible part of Northern Ukraine along the Pripet River is ideal terrain for guerilla warfare. It consists of extensive fens, meadows and forests with islands of clay or sand on which the villages are built. Limited routes and difficult communications prevent penetration by the enemy. ("Ukrainian Underground Art", Page 47) Marching Group Of Ukrainian Insurgents In Polissya Ukrainian Insurgents Visiting A "Khutir" (Farm) SERIES: FIGHTING VOLYNIA WOODCUT MADE MAY 9, 1949 Ukrainian insurgents visiting a "khutir" (farm) in the forest. Everywhere they are gladly received. Old and young alike love their heroes, who fight for a better life in a liberated Ukraine. ("Ukrainian Underground Art", Page 51) Four Book Plates By Nil Khasevych Some of the work produced before World War II challenges comparison with the finest productions of foreign artists. Here are four book plates for which Khasevych won the third prize at the International Exhibition of Woodcuts in Warsaw (1936-1937). ("Ukrainian Underground Art", Page 25) FROM TALEY LESHNER'S BOOKS (top left) FROM IVANNA LEVYTSKA'S BOOKS (top right) FROM ANDRIY LIVYTSKYI'S BOOKS (left bottom) EX-LIBRIS or BOOK PLATE KULAK'S HOUSE (right bottom) GOLDEN GATE-KYIV FROM V. PROKOPOVYCH BOOKS Some works of Nil Khasevych bear a strong imprint of the old Ukrainian tradition. Here is the "Golden Gate" of Kyiv designedby the artist on a book plate made for a former Ukrainian Minister just before World War II. ("Ukrainian Underground Art", Page 29) HIS EXCELLENCY METROPOLITAN ANDRIY SHEPTYTSKYI IS GIVEN THE TITLE OF THE FIRST HONORABLE MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UKRAINIAN ART CIRCLE (CLUB) "SPOKIY" (tranquillity) FOR GREAT MERITS ON BEHALF OF UKRAINIAN ART 29 MARCH 1936, CIRCLE BOARD, HEAD, SECRETARY To Nil Khasevich the Ukrainians owe the revival of fine Ukrainian calligraphy. Though he learned from Ukrainian medieval manuscripts, his own beautiful hand is individual and underived. The script is a presentation address issued by Ukrainian artists to Count Andrew Sheptitsky, Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, renowned protector of Ukrainian Arts. ("Ukrainian Underground Arts", Page 27) ARTUKRAINE EDITOR'S NOTE: According to Volume Two of the Encyclopedia of Ukraine (University of Toronto Press), Nil Khasevych (Chasevych) died in 1952. He was killed by Soviet counterinsurgency forces. His nom de guerre was Bei-Zot. The first album of his works was published in 1939 - Ekslibrys Nila Khasevycha (Bookplates by Nil Khasevych, 1939), the second being Ukrainian Underground Art, Album Of the Woodcuts, (Hrafika v bunkrah UPA), (Grafika v bunkrakh UPA), 1952. Khasevych was born in 1905 in Diuksyn, Rivne, Volhynia gubernia. He was a student of the Warsaw Academy of Arts (1925-37). He joined the UPA in 1943. Nil participated in exhibitions in Berlin and Prague, and in the International Exhibition of Woodcuts in Warsaw (1936-37).  table of contents     previous