Cossack Baroque

Ukrainian Baroque (), also known as Cossack Baroque () or Mazepa Baroque, is an artistic style that was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the result of a combination of local traditions and European Baroque.

History

Thanks to influences from Western Europe, from the late 16th century the lands of modern Ukraine came under the influence of the secularized Baroque form of art and architecture, which was still unknown in the neighbouring Tsardom of Russia. According to the historian Serhii Plokhy, Petro Mohyla, the Metropolitan of Kyiv from 1633 to 1647, was crucial in developing the style as part of his drive to reform the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and adapt the Church to the challenges of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Ukrainian Baroque reached its apogee in the time of the Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa, from 1687 to 1708. Mazepa Baroque is an original synthesis of Western European Baroque architectural forms and Ukrainian national Baroque architectural traditions.

Architectural style

Ukrainian Baroque is distinct from the Western European Baroque in having more moderate ornamentation and simpler forms, and as such was considered more constructivist. Many Ukrainian Baroque buildings have been preserved, including several buildings in Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and the Vydubychi Monastery in Kyiv. The historian Andrew Wilson has identified All Saints' Church, the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Trinity Gate within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra as good examples of the style, along with St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv and St. Catherine's in Chernihiv. The exterior of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv also underwent significant alterations in the Baroque style. Another example of the style is the Church of St. Elias in Subotiv, where Bohdan Khmelnytsky buried his son Tymish in 1653 after his death in battle. The church is also depicted on the ₴5 note.

Notable architects

Baroque sculptor Johann Georg Pinsel, who was active during the mid-18th century in Galicia, was the subject of a special exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 2012–2013. Pinsel, which demonstrated a unique, masterful expressiveness of form and a highly personal characterization of drapery is now recognized as a leading figure in European Baroque sculpture. Italian Baroque architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who is best known for designing the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg and Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, also made contributions to the Ukrainian Baroque style, designing St. Andrew's Church and Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv. The palace is now used as the official residence of the President of Ukraine. Galician architect Bernard Meretyn designed the ornate St. George's Cathedral, Lviv, used as a mother church by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Other notable Baroque architects active in Ukraine include:
* Andreas Schlüter (c.1662-1714) - German architect and sculptor who worked in Zhovkva.
* Ivan Zarudny (1670-1727) - architect and icon artist from Sloboda Ukraine active in Moscow.
* Johann Gottfried Schädel (1680-1752) - German architect active in Ukraine and Russia.
* Osip Startsev (fl.1676-1714) - Russian architect active in Kyiv.
* Stepan Kovnir (1695-1786) - Ukrainian architect known for his work on Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
* Ivan Grigorovich-Barsky (1713-1791) - Ukrainian architect from Kyiv.
* Andrey Kvasov (c.1720-c.1770) - Russian architect who worked in Ukrainian cities of Kozelets, Baturyn and Hlukhiv.
* (fl.1770-1775) - Silesian archiect who worked in Lviv, Buchach and Pochaiv.

Influence

Certain features of Ukrainian Baroque architecture influenced the Naryshkin Baroque movement in the 17th–18th century in Moscow. Modern Ukrainian church buildings, such as Troieshchyna Cathedral, are also built in this style, but it is not typical for Ukrainian Baroque. Elements of the Ukrainian Baroque style were later adapted by the Ukrainian-Canadian community when building their own churches, adapted for the wooden church architecture more typical in Canadian-Ukrainian churches.

Ukrainian Baroque art

Baroque style in Ukrainian art dominated from around 1600 until the late 18th century. Starting from the 16th century Ukrainian religious artists abandoned most elements of Byzantine art and adopted a clearer, more laconic style influenced by folk art motives and characterized by joyous features. Ukrainian icons created during that period are characterized with saturated colours and rich decorative elements. Baroque art from Ukraine influenced iconographers in the broader region and was mentioned in accounts by contemporaries, such as Paul of Aleppo. The best examples of Baroque painting

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