Taras Shevchenko 1814 - 1861

Taras Shevchenko
1814 - 1861
And in the great new family,
The family of the free,
With softly spoken, kindly word
Remember also me.
Taras Shevchenko. My Testament. 1845
He was the son of a peasant and has become a prince in the realm of
the spirit. He was a serf, and has become a giant in the realm of human
culture. He was unschooled, and has shown to professors and scholars
newer and freer paths. Fate pursued him cruelly throughout life, yet
could not turn the pure gold of his soul to rust...
Ivan Franko
"The history of my life is a part of
the history of my homeland."
Years and centuries pass, generations succeed one
another, but great works of art remain, long surviving their creators and the message they bring
is fresh in each new age. Great poets speak for
their people, speak in their people's names and express their most cherished dreams, thoughts and
aspirations. Taras Shevchenko was such a poet.
Vasyl Kassian. TARAS SHEVCHENKO. Engraving
His poetry is national and yet so international and
humanistic, so distinctive and yet so universal, that
it appeals and speaks for all people. Founder of the
modern literary Ukrainian language, Shevchenko
became the first Ukrainian poet to achieve an international reputation. Also a great artist, he was
three times celebrated as a champion of people's
freedom by UNESCO.
Taras Shevchenko, the son of serfs, was born on the estate of Baron Vasili
Engelhardt on March 9, 1814. One of six children, at his birth he was little more than another possession of his lord and master. The place of his birth was the village of Moryntsi,
some 120 miles or 200 kilometres to the south of Kyiv, an area which in earlier generations
had been the home of the Zaporizhian Cossacks. In 1816 the Shevchenko family moved to
the village of Kyrylivka (now Shevchenkove), where Taras spent his childhood years.
That tranquil cottage in the grove
You call a paradise — I know.
In such a cottage once I dwelt,
'Twas there my first hot tears were
spilt,
My early tears! I know no vice,
No wrong or ill, however rare,
That's not found in that cottage
fair ...
And yet they call it paradise!
T. Shevchenko. Paternal House in Kyrylivka. Oil. 1843
Taras Shevchenko
Young Masters, if You Only Knew...,
1850
Serfdom, especially in the Russian Empire where it existed for the longest time in a
most brutal form, was very similar to slavery.
Shevchenko’s parents, Hryhoriy and Kateryna, worked the fields of Baron Engelhardt, as did
his older brother Mykyta. As was usual in those
times, the serfs laboured five days for their master
and one for themselves. Kateryna spent the winters at home, as did most peasant women, spinning and weaving for the master. Often, in serf
families there was a shortage of material needs
and food, particularly after the hard winter months.
...It's frightening how bad
That lovely village has become.
People blacker than the blackest earth
Wander aimlessly about,
Verdant groves have shriveled,
Homes once white
Are stained and rotten,
Ponds are filled with weeds.
It seems the place has burned,
The people have gone mad,
As serfs they trudge without a word
And bring along their little children!...
As serfs they trudge without a word
And bring along their little children...
Vasyl Kassian.Watercolour. 1934
People were their master’s property, just like dogs and horses.
They could be punished, sold,
exchanged and separated from
their families.
Taras Shevchenko.
On Foreign Soil I Grew Up..., 1848
I. Izhakevych. Peasants Being Traded for Dogs. Oil. 1952
Amongst the peasantry, burdened by the brutal and unjust system of serfdom, tales
about Zaporizhian Cossacks
and their struggles for freedom were commonplace, a relief from the toils of the day,
as well as a hope for a better
future. It was in such an environment that the young Taras
and his siblings were raised.
I. Izhakevych. Haidamaky Rebellion. Oil. 1938
A great influence on the young boy was
his paternal grandfather, Ivan, who often
related stories to Taras of the struggles
of the peasantry and the frequent rebellions and violent uprisings. These stories are likely the basis for much of the
poet's later works, such as Haidamaky.
V. Kassian. Haidamaky.
Etching. 1939
Atop a high burial mound, an old Kobzar sits, singing and playing his kobza. His grey head seems to
touch the clouds; his song of freedom soars skyward
like a grey eagle.
V. Kassian. Illustration to Taras
Shevchenko's Poem “The Rambler“
(Perebendya). 1968
Taras Shevchenko would call his future book of
poetry Kobzar (Minstrel).
As a youngster, Taras stood out amongst his peers.
He was inquisitive and adventurous, often wandering
away to search out answers to his many questions.
Taras’grandfather’s and father's stories of
Ukraine’s heroic past captured the young lad’s
imagination, as did the Kobzars’ (Minstrels)
tales.
V. Kassian. Little Taras Listening to the
Kobzar. Etching. 1956
When Taras was about seven years
old, he was one of twelve village
boys chosen to study with a deacon to learn to read and write. He
excelled at his studies and was
sometimes sent to read psalms for
the dead in the deacon’s place.
M. Derehus. Taras Listening to his Grandfather’s
Stories. Engraving
B. Blank. Little Taras Drawing in a Weedy Meadow.
Lithograph
At that time, young Taras was already sketching and
wanted to become an artist. He would often copy liturgical materials and illustrate the margins of his pages with
various designs.
A. Kushch. Little Taras. Sculpture in the village of Moryntsi,
Ukraine.
... There to her grave
My gentle mother, young in years,
Was sent by want and toil and cares.
There father, weeping with his
brood
(And we were tiny, tattered tots),
Could not withstand his evil lot
And died at work in servitude...
And we — we scattered where we
could
Like little field mice. I to school —
To carry water for the class...
Taras Shevchenko. If You But Knew,
1850
M. Derehus. On Mother's Grave. 1949
When Taras was nine, his mother died. Soon after, his father remarried, but life was unbearable with
his new stepmother. She had brought three children with her whom she favoured over the Shevchenko
children. When Taras was eleven, his father died.
M. Derehus. Taras in a Deacon's School.
Lithograph
I was thirteen. I herded lambs
Beyond the village on the lea.
The magic of the sun, perhaps,
Or what was it affected me?...
But not for long the sun stayed kind,
Not long in bliss I prayed....
It turned into a ball of fire
And set the world ablaze.
As though just wakened up, I gaze:
The hamlet’s drab and poor,
And God’s blue heavens -- even they
Are glorious no more.
I look upon the lambs I tend -Those lambs are not my own!
I eye the hut wherein I dwell -I do not have a home!
God gave me nothing, naught at all....
I bowed my head and wept
Such bitter tears....
Taras Shevchenko. I Was Thirteen, 1847
I. Izhakevych. Taras as Shepherd.
It was soon after this that Taras, now experiencing intolerable home-life as well as the constant abuse
and beatings of the drunken deacon, ran away in hope of finding an art teacher. Being unsuccessful,
Taras returned home around the age of thirteen. Here, while serving as a shepherd, he took the opportunity to continue his sketching.
At that time Taras came to the attention
of Paul Engelhardt who had just inherited the estates of his late father. Taras
was now at the age when he was expected to enter formal servitude. He was assigned to be his kozachok, or servant,
performing various menial chores.
House of Engelhardt Where Taras Shevchenko
Served as a Servant. Photo. 1974
...My landlord, who had just come
into his paternal heritage, needed
a clever page-boy. I was told to discard my rags and put on a twill
jacket with trousers to match, and
as a full fledged page-boy I entered
upon my new duties...
Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography.
1850
K. Trutovsky. Taras - Servant at Landowner
Engelhardt's Estate. Pencil.
In 1829, at age fifteen, Taras travelled in his master's entourage, first to Kyiv, and then to Vilnius in
Lithuania, the Engelhardt ancestral homeland. It
was in Vilnius that Taras entered his adult life.
M. Derehus. Taras Shevchenko Reading Polish
Poet, Adam Mickiewicz. Ink. 1949
>>>>
One evening, the master and his wife went out to
a ball. In their absence, Taras pulled out his materials and began sketching by candle light. He
was so engrossed in this that he didn't hear the
Engelhardts' return. What ensued, Shevchenko
described in the following words:
...The master savagely pulled me by the ears
and slapped my face, on the pretext that not
only the house, but the whole city could have
burned down. The next day the master ordered the coachman Sidorko to give me a
good whipping, which was properly administered...
K. Trohymenko. Engelhardt Punishes Taras
for Painting by Candle Light. Oil. 1939
Taras Shevchenko arrived in St. Petersburg
from Vilnius, along with the rest of the servants
of Paul Englehardt in 1831. He was seventeen
years old. Here, in the Tsarist capital and the
centre of the cultural life of the Russian Empire, Shevchenko matured first as an artist and
then as a poet, writer and activist.
A. Havadzynsky. Taras on his Way to
St. Petersburg, Russia. Oil. 1961
Englehardt apprenticed young Taras in
1832 to the master painter V. Shyrayev,
known to be both stern and arbitrary.
Shyrayev was also a famous painter,
decorator and art expert who ran an
enterprise engaged in painting St. Petersburg churches, public buildings and
homes of the elite.
M. Derehus. Taras Painting the Opera House
in St. Petersburg. Ink. 1949
In St. Petersburg I could spend the moonlight
spring nights in the St. Petersburg Summer Garden and make drawings of the statues which embellished that creation of Peter the Great. It was
there that I made the acquaintance of the artist
lvan Soshenko, a fellow countryman who has
been like a brother to this day. Upon his advice, I
began to try my hand at watercolor studies from
nature.
Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography. 1850
<<<
P. Borysenko. Shevchenko Meets Artist Soshenko
in the St. Petersburg Summer Garden. Engraving
His meeting of Soshenko was a significant turning
point in his life. Now moving in this circle of the
Russian intelligentsia, Shevchenko won the hearts
of this enlightened segment of society, which quickly recognized the young man's talents and realized
that they could only be properly developed if he
were a free man. The 2,500 rubles required were
raised through a lottery in which the prize was a
portrait of the poet, Zhukovsky, painted by Karl
Bryullov.
Karl Bryullov.
Portrait of Vasyli Zhukovsky, for which
Shevchenko's freedom was purchased.
Oil. 1838
...In 1837, Soshenko introduced me to V. I.
Gregorovich, secretary of the Academy of Fine
Arts, and begged him to deliver me from my low
misfortune, my condition of serfdom. Gregorovich transmitted this request to the poet V. A.
Zhukovsky, who immediately made a provisional offer to my master and commissioned Karl
Bryullov to paint his portrait, with the intention
of making it the prize in a private lottery. In a
brief time the great Bryullov had Zhukovsky's
portrait ready. Zhukovsky, with the assistance
of Count Vielhorsky, organized a lottery. The
tickets were easily sold, and at the price of 2,500
rubles, my liberty was bought on April 22, 1838.
Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography. 1850
I. Ivanov. In the Academy of Art. 1829
People who helped free Taras Shevchenko out of
serfdom included K. Bryullov, V. Zhukovsky,
O. Venetsianov, M. Vielgorsky, V. Gregorovich,
A. Mokrytsky, Y. Hrebinka. Yevhen Hrebinka became the first literary teacher of young Taras.
Karl Bryullov
O. Venetsianov
Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of
Yevhen Hrebinka. Watercolour. 1837
M. Vielgorsky
V. Gregorovich
In 1838, Shevchenko was accepted into
the Royal Academy of Arts as an external student, practising in the studio of
K. Bryullov. He lived in the attic of the
Academy.
In the library of Yevhen Hrebinka, he
became familiar with anthologies of
Ukrainian folklore and the works of
I. Kotlyarevsky, H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko and the romantic poets, as well
as many Russian, East European and
world writers.
G. Melikhov. Young Taras Shevchenko in the
Art Studio of Karl Bryullov. Oil. 1947
...I live and study. I don't
bow to anybody and I am not
afraid of anybody... it's a great
fortune to be a free man...
From Shevchenko's letter to his
brother Mykyta. 1838
Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Oil. 1840
This earliest of Shevchenko's self-portraits represents a 26-year old student of
St.Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts.
Taras Shevchenko. Head of a Woman. 1830. Pencil
This is the earliest surviving art work of Taras
Shevchenko that he did at the age of 16.
>>>
In 1840, the world first saw the
Kobzar, Shevchenko's first collection
of poetry. Later Ivan Franko wrote that
this book, "immediately revealed, as it
were, a new world of poetry. It burst
forth like a spring of clear, cold water,
and sparkled with a clarity, breadth and
elegance of artistic expression not previously known in Ukrainian writing."
First edition of Kobzar. 1840
In that same Summer Garden and at the same time I began to make excursions into the
art of versification. Out of numerous attempts I eventually published only one - the ballad
"The Bewitched".
- Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography. 1850
V. Slyshchenko.
Illustration to the poem "The Bewitched". 1950
The mighty Dnieper roars and
bellows,
The wind in anger howls and
raves,
Down to the ground it bends the
willows,
And mountain-high lifts up the
waves.
The pale-faced moon picked out
this moment
To peek out from behind a cloud,
Like a canoe upon the ocean
It first tips up, and then dips
down...
Taras Shevchenko.
The Bewitched. 1837
The Rambler, old and blind Is there anyone who knows him not?
He wanders all about
Playing on his kobza.
People know the one who plays
And they thank him for it:
He dispels their longing,
Though he roves the world aimlessly...
Taras Shevchenko.
The Rambler (Perebendya). 1839
M. Derehus. The Rambler (Perebendya)
In September of 1841, the Academy of Arts awarded
Shevchenko with the third Silver Medal for his picture
The Gypsy Fortune Teller.
As his artistic talent developed, Shevchenko continued
to move in the circles of the progressive intelligentsia
and also broadened his world view. He avidly read literature - Homer, Goethe, Schiller, Sir Walter Scott, Dickens,
Shakespeare, Defoe, Mickiewicz, Pushkin, Gogol and
many others. In art, he became a critical realist and applied his approach to portraiture, etching and illustrating.
Taras Shevchenko.
The Gypsy Fortune Teller.
Watercolour. 1841
...No more songs; the dark-browed maid
Curses now her plight.
In the meantime evil tongues
Freely vent their spite Daily grow their vicious tales...
Taras Shevchenko. Kateryna. 1838
Taras Shevchenko.
Kateryna. Oil. 1842
>>>
The storm whistles through the meadows,
But Katrya plods on, Bast-shoes on her feet what grief! A thin coat for warmth...
The blizzard howls, roars and thunders,
Through the meadows sweeping;
Katrya, standing in its centre,
Can't control her weeping...
Taras Shevchenko. Kateryna. 1838
<<< Vasyl Kasian.
Illustration to the poem “Kateryna”. Engraving
In the 18th century, Ukraine was under the rule of Poland in
the west and Russia in the east. During all this time, there
were many rebellions by Ukrainian people against Polish
rule. Shevchenko’s epic poem Haidamaky was about the
1768 rebellion.
... ”May the enemy die!
Take your knives! They're blessed.”
A roar resounded in the grove:
“They are blessed!”
In chills the heart!
“They are blessed, they are blessed!”
Die gentry die!
Each took one, they flashed
Throughout Ukraine...
O. Slastion. Illustration to the poem
Haidamaky. 1885
Taras Shevchenko. Haidamaky. 1841
As well as poetry, Shevchenko
also tried his hand at writing
plays. In 1843, he completed the
drama Nazar Stodolya.
V. Vasylenko. Nazar Stodolya.
Engraving. 1963
>>>
Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait.
Pencil. 1843
Taras Shevchenko. Illustration to his poem
"A Blind Woman". Pencil. 1842
Taras Shevchenko's poetry marked the birth of a new Ukrainian literature which exceeded the
bounds of provincialism in spite of the oppression by government officials and non-recognition
of the Ukrainian language. By 1842, the full genius of Shevchenko was apparent and the main
characteristic of his poetry - a deep national sense - was evident. “Body and soul I am the son and
brother of our unfortunate nation,” he wrote.
In 1843, the poet visited Ukraine
where, after a fourteen-year separation, he reunited with his brothers
and sisters. The oppressive social
and national yoke borne by workers
and peasants, which Shevchenko witnessed over his nine months of travel,
gave rise to new themes in his poetry.
G. Galkin. Shevchenko Among Peasants.
Engraving. 1961
Taras Shevchenko. In Kyiv. Etching. 1844
Taras Shevchenko. Council of Village Elders.
Etching. 1844
While in Ukraine, Shevchenko began work on a book of engravings to be called Picturesque Ukraine.
“If my homeland were the poorest on earth, it would still seem to me prettier than all Switzerlands
and Italies...”, he wrote to P. Hesse in 1844.
For seven years, Shevchenko
studied at the St. Petersburg
Academy of Fine Arts and in
1845, on receiving the certificate of a free artist, he left for his
homeland.
Taras Shevchenko. Peasant Family. Oil. 1843
In 1844, Shevchenko wrote the poem "A Dream" in which he
fiercely and powerfully protested against despotism, violence
and oppression.
A. Bazylevych.
Shevchenko's Dream. Engraving
...Glance over. In the paradise you're leaving,
They'll rip the patched up tatters
From a cripple's back,
They'll rip them with the skin,
Because there is nothing
Else with which to dress
The feet of little princes;
And for the soul tax over there
They crucify a widow,
And forge irons for her only son,
Only child, and her only hope!
They give him to the army!...
Taras Shevchenko. A Dream. 1844
In the works of Shevchenko, the enemy was
always the oppressor, regardless of ethnicity.
Shevchenko's heroes included the Czech philosopher and reformer, Jan Hus (The Heretic) and the
oppressed peoples of the Caucasus (The Caucasus), and he attacked not only the Russian masters
(The Dream), but the Ukrainian masters as well
(To the Dead, the Living and the Yet Unborn).
A. Danchenko. Illustration to the
poem "Heretic". 1984
In 1845, in Ukraine on an appointment by the Kyiv Archeographic Commission, Shevchenko was
authorized to record in sketches and paintings, significant cultural sites of Kyiv, Poltava and Volyn
provinces.
Taras Shevchenko. Pochaiv Lavra. Southern View.
Watercolour. 1846
Taras Shevchenko. Askold's Tomb in Kyiv.
Watercolour. 1846
In 1845, Shevchenko wrote his immortal Zapovit (My Testament), employing a deceptively simple art form for his
manifesto to the downtrodden to rise up against tyranny
and persecution.
My Testament
When I am dead, bury me
In my beloved Ukraine,
My tomb upon a grave mound high
Amid the spreading plain,
So that the fields, the boundless steppes,
The Dnieper's plunging shore
My eyes could see, my ears could hear
The mighty river roar.
When from Ukraine the Dnieper bears
Into the deep blue sea
The blood of foes ... then will I leave
These hills and fertile fields -I'll leave them all and fly away
To the abode of God,
And then I'll pray .... But till that day
I nothing know of God.
Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait.
Engraving. 1860
Oh bury me, then rise ye up
And break your heavy chains
And water with the tyrants' blood
The freedom you have gained.
And in the great new family,
The family of the free,
With softly spoken, kindly word
Remember also me.
Taras Shevchenko. 1845
in Pereyaslav
V. Kassian. People and Shevchenko’s Word. Engraving. 1962
In Kyiv, Shevchenko first made contact
with the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood, quickly becoming one of the leaders of its radical faction. While some
members of this secret society saw reform as the solution to the ills of society, the radical faction saw rebellion and
popular uprising as the sole means of
overthrowing their masters.
S. Hrosh. Shevchenko Among Members of the
Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood. 1951
The views of the poet had a great influence on the program of this secret society and on the philosophical outlook of
many of his contemporaries.
In 1847, arrests of the members of the
Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood began
and Shevchenko was arrested on April
5 on a ferry crossing the Dnieper River
near Kyiv. He was punished as an author
of audacious poems rather than a member of the society.
"Under strict surveillance, forbidden to
write and to paint," such was the order of
Tsar Nicholas I .
M. Shtaerman. First Arrest of Taras Shevchenko.
The following day, the poet was sent to St. Petersburg, where upon arrival on April 17, 1847, he
was put in prison. It was here that he wrote the cycle of poems In the Dungeon.
***
It makes no difference to me,
If I shall live or not in Ukraine
Or whether any one shall think
Of me 'mid foreign snow and rain.
It makes no difference to me,
In slavery I grew 'mid strangers,
Unwept by any kin of mine;
In slavery I now will die
And vanish without any sign.
...
It makes great difference to me
That evil folk lull now to sleep
Our mother Ukraine, and will rouse
Her, when she's plundered, in the flames.
That makes great difference to me.
S. Besedin. Shevchenko in the
Dungeon. Lithograph. 1938
For writing outrageous and extremely insolent poems, the artist Shevchenko, considering his strong physical constitution,
be assigned as a private to the Orenburg
detached corps with the right to promotion, the authorities being instructed to
keep him under strictest surveillance so
that outrageous and libelous writings
should not come from him on any account.
From the report of A. Orlov, Head of the
Third Department, to Nicholas I
Taras Shevchenko
It Makes No Difference To Me... 1847
M. Samokysh. Shevchenko Taken to Exile.
Lithograph. 1939
On June 8, 1847, Shevchenko was exiled to distant Orenburg
and later sent even further to the fortress at Orsk. From the
very first days, Shevchenko violated the tsar's order. He continued to write poetry in a secret little notebook which he kept
hidden in his boot.
Thoughts of mine, thoughts of mine,
My one and only stay,
You at least do not abandon
Me these bitter days.
From the broad and distant Dnieper
Fly to me, my homing
Pigeons, on your blue-grey pinions,
Through the steppe go roaming...
Taras Shevchenko.
Thoughts of Mine, Thoughts of Mine... 1847
Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait.
Pencil. 1847
...O my fate! O my country!
When will I escape these
desert wastes?
Or maybe, God forbid,
I'll simply perish here.
And the crimson field will
blacken...
Taras Shevchenko.
To A. Kozachkovsky. 1847
S. Kruchakov. Taras Shevchenko in the Barrack of Orsk
Fortress. Oil. 1939
...The prince is dancing, guests are dancing;
They all rolled over on the floor...
He revives again tomorrow,
To drink again, to dance again,
And thus the days go by,
As peasant souls begin to squeal.
Judges beg the Lord above...
The drunkards, know this, shout:
"A patriot!... Vivat! Vivat!"
And the patriotic paupers' brother...
Takes a peasant's calf and daughter...
And God knows not, perhaps He does,
But stands aside in silence...
Taras Shevchenko. The Princess. 1847
V. Kassian. Illustration to the poem
"The Princess". Watercolour. 1934
In 1848, while still in exile, Shevchenko was included as an artist in the Aral Sea Survey Expedition during which time he depicted the landscape of the Aral
Sea (and its shores) with great expressiveness and
sensitivity. In time, these sketches and watercolours
came to serve as important and interesting artistic
documents.
While on Kosaral Island Shevchenko also wrote prolifically. The lyrics penned during this period became
a poetic record of his life in an “unlocked prison”.
Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait.
Sepia. 1849
***
Drowsy the waves
and dim the sky,
Across the shore
and far away,
Like drunken things
the rushes sway
Without a want. O God on high,
Is it decreed that longer yet
Within the lockless prison set,
Beside this sea that profits naught,
I am to languish? Answering not,
Like to a living thing, the grain
Sways mute and yellowing
on the plain;
No tidings will it let me hear,
And none besides to give me ear.
T. Shevchenko. Fire in the Steppe. Watercolour. 1848
T. Shevchenko. Garden Near Novopetrovsk Fortress. Watercolour. 1854
Taras Shevchenko.
Drowsy the Waves...
Kosaral. 1848
T. Shevchenko. Nikolai Island. Watercolour. 1854
The drawings of the exile period show us Kazakh
steppes, shores of the Aral and Caspian Seas, people
of this land, Shevchenko's friends and Shevchenko
himself in a yurt, in barracks or with children.
T. Shevchenko. Kazakh Boy Playing
with a Cat. Sepia. 1856-1857
Y. Kyianchenko. Taras Shevchenko in Exile.
***
That mighty valley I shall not forget,
That evening hour, the high mound
where we met,
And what was dreamed and spoken by
us twain.
What does it matter? For we left again,
Parted like strangers, in two different
spheres.
And in the meantime all the precious
years
When we were young have vainly
passed us by.
Thus both of us, as sorrows multiply,
Have wasted into nothing, bad or good:
I—in my exile, you—in widowhood;
We do not live, but wander at a distance,
Remembering those years of true existence. Taras Shevchenko.
That Mighty Valley... 1848
T. Shevchenko. In Prison.
India Ink. 1856-1857
In 1850, Shevchenko was arrested for violating the tsar's order. The poet was sent to
a remote fort in Novopetrovsk. Once again,
strict discipline was imposed, and the poet
was subjected to more rigorous surveillance.
It was not until 1857 that Shevchenko finally returned from exile, thanks to the efforts
of friends.
Ten years of exile did not manage to erode Shevchenko’s dignity as a human being or destroy his
talent as a poet and artist.
...More so when I see a village boy
He seems broken from a branch, Dressed
in ragged burlap, Sitting by a fence alone.
He, it seems, is I,
And his youth my own.
To me it seems that youngster
Won’t ever witness freedom,
Freedom oh so sacred...
Taras Shevchenko.
I’m Not Sorry, May You Know... 1849
V. Kassian. Illustration to the poem
I’m Not Sorry, May You Know...
Engraving. 1934
The lights are blazing, music's playing,
Like jewels gleaming in the night
The eyes of youth are shining gaily,
Alight with hope, with pleasure flaming;
...
So all are laughing, all are jolly,
And all are dancing. Only I,
As though accursed, in melancholy
Look on and wipe a mournful eye.
Why do I weep? ...
My youth has uselessly slipped by.
Taras Shevchenko
The Lights Are Blazing... 1850
T. Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Pencil. 1857
...There's not a family, not a home,
Not a brother or a sister,
That walks and does not weep,
Or is not tortured in a prison,
Or is not drilled in far off-lands,
In British or in Gallic legions.
O Nero! O cruel Nero!...
Taras Shevchenko. Neophytes. 1857
Taras Shevchenko. In The Stocks.
India Ink. 1856-1857
Shortly before his long-awaited freedom, Shevchenko began to keep a diary. He had no idea that his journal would
become one of his most significant and remarkable works.
More than a biographical document, it is also a unique selfportrait.
When Shevchenko was finally released
in 1857, already during the reign of Tsar
Alexander II, the poet seemed to have
been born anew as though he had cast
off the hard years of exile. Forbidden
to enter St. Petersburg and Moscow,
Shevchenko lived in Nizhny Novgorod
for six months. “Now I am free... as
free as a dog on a chain” he wrote to
his friend M. Shchepkin.
FATE
You did not play me false, O Fate,
You were a brother, closest friend
To this poor wretch. You took my hand
When I was still a little tot
And walked me to the deacon's school
To gather knowledge from the sot.
"My boy, just study hard," you said,
And you'll be somebody in time!"
I listened, studied, forged ahead,
Got educated. But you lied.
What am I now? But never mind!
We've walked the straight path, you and I,
We have not cheated, compromised
Or lived the very slightest lie.
So let's march on, dear fate of mine!
My humble, truthful, faithful friend!
Keep marching on: there glory lies;
March forward — that's my testament.
Taras Shevchenko. 1858.
Nizhny Novgorod
I. Shulha. Taras Shevchenko Returning From Exile
on the Boat. Oil. 1939
O. Ivahnenko. Illustration to Shevchenko's
Poem "To the Dead, the Living and the Unborn...". Engraving. 1989
...Oh tsar of wickedness and woe,
And persecutor of the right!
Oh, what you've done upon the earth!
And as for You, All-Seeing Eye!
As You looked down, did You not spy
How throngs of saints in chains they drove
Into Siberia's frozen wastes,
How tortured them 'mid ice and snow,
And crucified!...
Taras Shevchenko. The Half-Wit.
1857. Nizhny Novgorod
V. Kassian. The Half -Wit. Engraving. 1949
In six months, Shevchenko finally received
permission to enter the capital of the Russian
Tsar. He arrived in St. Petersburg in the spring
of 1858. The freedom that awaited him there
was but an illusion, as he would be under constant police surveillance.
Shevchenko was enthusiastically welcomed
by the foremost leading Russian intellectuals.
G. Bon'. Taras Shevchenko at a Literary
Evening in the House of Martynov. Oil. 1949
A wave of new impressions overwhelmed the poet. He realized that an
intense struggle to destroy the autocracy
was beginning to gain momentum. During this period, Shevchenko’s political
poems became especially mature and
poignant.
...Await no good,
Expected freedom don't await —
It is asleep: Tsar Nicholas
Lulled it to sleep. But if you’d wake
This sickly freedom, all the folk
Must in their hands sledge-hammers take
And axes sharp — and then all go
That sleeping freedom to awake...
Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of M.
Shchepkin, Russian Actor and
Friend of Shevchenko. Pencil. 1858
Taras Shevchenko. I Am Not Unwell. 1858
In 1858, Shevchenko became friends with
the African actor-tragedian, Ira Aldridge who
came to perform in St. Petersburg. They had
much in common – both were noble spirits;
both were artistic; both were oppressed in
the years of youth...
K. Yunge. Memories About Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of Ira
Aldridge. Pencil. 1858
In May 1859, Shevchenko received permission to go to Ukraine where he visited
relatives and his old childhood haunts. He
also intended to buy a plot of land near
the village of Pekariv where he planned to
build a house and settle down.
... In the garden cool I see,
'Neath a shady cherry-tree,
My one and only sister dear!
My much-suffering sister saintly!
As if in Eden's Garden waits
To see me, poor thing, appear
From beyond wide Dnieper's waves.
To her it seems a boat's emerging,
From the waves, shorewards surging...
Then into the waves submerging.
"My joy!" "My brother!" rang the cry And then we awakened. You're...
A serf, and still unfree am I!...
K. Trutovsky. Taras Shevchenko Above the
Dnieper River. Oil. 1975
Taras Shevchenko. To My Sister. 1859
H. Kyianchenko. Taras Shevchenko Visiting
His Sister Yaryna. Oil. 1964
"It is terrible to me that my brothers
and my sister are still serfs." - From Taras
Shevchenko's letter to the editor of the magazine Narodnoe Chtenie, February 18, 1860.
Taras Shevchenko's Brothers Yosyp
and Mykyta. Photograph
"...There is rumor that Shevchenko, besides
blasphemy, said that there is no need in the
Tsar, the masters and the priests..." - From
the police report to Kyiv Governor. July 15,
1859
In July 1859, Shevchenko was arrested on a
charge of blasphemy and was sent to St. Petersburg. Nevertheless, to the end of his life,
the poet hoped to settle in Ukraine.
V. Kassian. Taras Shevchenko Among Villagers.
Lithograph. 1939
Arriving in St. Petersburg, Taras
Shevchenko busied himself enthusiastically with engraving, believing it to be
a marvellous means of propagating his
art. And the etchings and engravings he
produced were met with significant success. On September 2, 1860, the Council
of the Academy of Arts granted him the
title of Academician of Engraving.
V. Kassian. Taras Shevchenko Printing
Engravings. Lithograph. 1939
“Of all the fine arts, engraving appeals to
me the most. To be a good engraver means
to be a proponent of that which is beautiful and educational in the world around,
and that means to be a proponent of the
light of truth.”
Taras Shevchenko. Diary. June 26, 1857
Taras Shevchenko. Beggar in
Graveyard. Etching. 1859
OH SHINING WORLD
Shevchenko's Kobzar, the third edition during his lifetime, was published in 1860.
Oh shining world! Oh quiet world!
World untrammelled, world so free!
Why is it, brother-world, I see
That in your own, your warm good home
You are chained up, you are walled up,
(You, the wise one, made a fool of),
By robes of purple choked your breath,
By crucifixes done to death?
Not done to death! Why then, arise!
Over us enlightenment shine,
Enlightenment! ...We'll, brother mine,
Tear up purple robes for foot-rags,
From incense-burners pipes we'll light,
With wonder-icons stoves ignite,
And, brother, with aspergills then
Our new home we'll sweep and cleanse!
Taras Shevchenko. Photograph.
St. Petersburg. 1859
Taras Shevchenko. 1860
The decade of exile took a punishing toll
on Shevchenko, and his declining state,
already weakened by scurvy, malaria and
rheumatism, was further compromised by
unimaginable grief and longing for his
homeland. By the end of 1860, his health
had deteriorated to such a degree that by
the early months of 1861, he had become
confined to his bed.
Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait.
Engraving. 1860
***
On the night of March 8, 1861, Shevchenko
suffered a heart attack. The following day,
friends gathered around him to celebrate
his 47th birthday and to read him greetings from well-wishers. On the morning of
March 10 he rose, lit a candle and holding
on to the wall, started down the staircase
where he stumbled and fell. Death was instant – a sudden heart attack. This was 5:30
on the morning of March 10, 1861.
V. Savvin. Death of Taras Shevchenko.
Autolithograph. 1939
V. Vereshchagin. Shevchenko Lying in State.
Lithograph. 1861
***
Immediately following the death of Taras
Shevchenko, the sad news spread throughout the community. Countless mourners
came to the funeral. On March 10, 1861,
after an initial prayer service, Shevchenko's body was taken to the Academy of Arts
church. Several artists sketched portraits of
the late poet in his coffin, while sculptor
P. Klodt created a gypsum death-mask of
his face. Both the church and the corridors
of the Academy were packed with people
- students, writers, journalists, artists, academics as well as members of the general
public.
Shevchenko was interred first at the
Smolensky Cemetery. On the day of
the burial, speeches were delivered
in Ukrainian, Polish and Russian.
Police were everywhere for fear of
student and activist protests against
the government.
V. Petukhov. Funeral of Taras Shevchenko at the Smolensky
Cemetery. Oil. 1949
On the day that Taras Shevchenko died, his closest friends decided to honour his memory in accordance with his Zapovit and bury him in Ukraine. However, Shevchenko continued to be considered a political criminal. As such, to have him buried in Ukraine, official Russian state permission
was necessary. In April 1861, official permission for the removal of his remains from Smolensky
Cemetery to Ukraine was granted by the Government.
On April 26, 1861, Shevchenko's coffin
was dug up and placed on a wagon. The
funeral procession travelled to Kaniv,
Ukraine for almost two weeks. On May
22, Taras Shevchenko was buried on
Chernecha Hill in Kaniv. Soon after the
burial, Chernecha Hill became a sacred
site for the Ukrainian people.
Taras Shevchenko's Grave in Kaniv, Ukraine.
Photograph. 1861
Even after his death, Shevchenko's name
inspired fear and hate in the tsar's authorities. The Russian Government placed police
guards on his grave and prohibited visitors
on the centennial of his birth in 1914.
The works of Shevchenko were either
banned, distorted, or highly censored by the
authorities.
Gendarmes at the Taras Shevchenko's Grave.
Photograph. 1914
Taras Shevchenko’s philosophical ideas inspired the
most prominent Ukrainian writers of the 19th and early 20th century - Marko Vovchok, Panas Myrny, Ivan
Franko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Lesya Ukrainka, Vasyl Stefanyk, and Olha Kobylianska. They all considered themselves to be Taras Shevchenko’s followers.
Taras Shevchenko. Photograph.
1858
He, first of all in his strong love,
Was clapped in heavy iron,
But served it to the very end
Without deceit or treason.
The power of his loving flame
All burdens bore, and overcame.
The raging blaze of his love true
E'en death itself could not subdue.
Lesya Ukrainka
On an Anniversary. 1911
M. Kotsiubynsky, Lesya Ukrainka, H. Khotkevych, V.Stefanyk, O.
Pchilka, M. Starytsky, V. Samiylenko. Photograph. 1903
Immediately following his death, progressive forces began a movement to preserve the memory of
Taras Shevchenko. The first surviving monument to
the poet - a marble bust by the Russian sculptor V.
Beklemeshev - was erected in 1899 in front of the
Women's Sunday School on Khrystya Alchevska's
estate in Kharkiv.
V. Beklemeshev. Bust of Taras
Shevchenko.1899
Taras Shevchenko's Grave in Kaniv, Ukraine.
Photograph. 1964
M. Hlushchenko. Shevchenko Museum in Kaniv.
Oil. 1948
<<<
There are 1384 monuments to Taras Shevchenko in the
world. An outstanding 16.5-metre high bronze monument that includes a statue of Shevchenko encircled by
various levels of smaller figures symbolizing Ukrainian
history and Taras Shevchenko's poetry was erected in
1935 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Sculptor: M. Manizer.
A majestic 14-metre monument of Taras Shevchenko was unveiled in Moscow in 1964 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the poet's birth.
Sculptors: M. Hrytsiuk, Y. Synkevych, A. Fuzhenko.
>>>
<<<
Monument to Taras Shevchenko
in Winnipeg. Erected in 1961.
Sculptor - A. Daragan.
The poet's great renown has spread far beyond the
borders of his homeland. In 1951, a monument
to Shevchenko, which was a generous gift from
Ukraine to Ukrainians in Canada, was erected in
Oakville, near the city of Toronto (bronze, granite, sculptors: M. Vronsky and O. Oliynyk). The
statue was stolen from the Oakville park in December 2006 and only the head of the statue survived.
Monument to Taras Shevchenko
in Washington. Erected in 1964.
Sculptor - Leo Mol.
Monument to Taras Shevchenko in Ottawa. Erected in 2011.
Sculptor - Leo Mol.
Shevchenko was the founder of the new Ukrainian literature. As Dante in Italian poetry and Pushkin in Russian, he created a poetical language all his own, realistically accurate and saturated with
the imagery, thoughts and feelings of his own people. - Maksym Rylsky and Alexandr Deich
Meeting Commemorating 100th Anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’s Death at his Gravesite in Kaniv,
Ukraine. May 21, 1961. Photograph
Shevchenko’s works, having achieved world
renown, were published abroad numerous
times in thousands of editions and translated
into a host of languages such as English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Vietnamese, Greek, Italian,
Korean, Chinese, German, Polish, French,
Hindi, Japanese, to name but a few.
Taras Shevchenko's Books Published in
Different Languages. Photograph
There are eleven Shevchenko Museums in the world.
The only Shevchenko Museum in the Americas, founded by the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians in
1952, is located in Toronto, Canada.
The National Shevchenko Museum in Kyiv was
opened in 1947. It has 24 halls and over 4,000
exhibits. Of these, 800 original works of art are
by Taras Shevchenko.
>>>
Taras Shevchenko Museum in Shevchenkove (former Kyrylivka). Photograph
The first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada
knew Shevchenko well and many brought his
immortal Kobzar with them to the new world.
Shevchenko was their inspiration. The Taras
Shevchenko Reading Room was operating
in Winnipeg by 1903 and the first recorded
Shevchenko Concert took place on May 1,
1904. The Shevchenko Public School in Vita,
Manitoba was opened in 1906.
Kyiv State University carries the
name of Taras Shevchenko.
Canada has done more then any other English-speaking country to translate the works of
Shevchenko into English language. Outstanding contributions in translation have been made
by John Weir, A.J. Hunter, Florence Livesay,
Honore Ewach, Mary Skrypnyk and others.
Canadian poet Joe Wallace devoted his poem
to Taras Shevchenko.
S. Kyrychenko. Kobzar.
Mosaic. 1964
Taras Shevchenko is revered by artists,
sculptors, poets, writers and composers
of every generation throughout the world.
He was twice celebrated by UNESCO as
an intellect of world stature.
Tribute by a Canadian Poet
He was the Ukraine
In body, soul and brain As the tree is the root
And the river is the rain,
And so his verses go
Thro’ lands he did not know,
Bringing them the light
That he kindled long ago.
We cannot be his peers
But in our smaller spheres
We can make our lives a light
That will set the world aglow.
J. S. Wallace. Toronto. 1959
On the 200th Anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's
birth, he is universally recognized as one of the giants in the ceaseless struggle of mankind for justice, freedom and brotherhood.
V. Kassian. Taras Shevchenko.
Engraving. 1964