FOCUS ON PHILATELY

by Ingert Kuzych

Tracking down Mykola Ivasiuk's sources

In a previous Focus on Philately feature some years ago, I described the outstanding stamp set of 1920 designed by the famous Ukrainian artist Mykola Ivasiuk1 (1865-circa 1930), which so quintessentially captured the Ukrainian national character. Today that set of 14 stamps is popularly known as the Vienna Issue, after the city where it was printed (Figure 1). Some 15 years ago, I was fortunate to acquire the original illustrations created by the artist when designing these beautiful stamps.

Perhaps it is my familiarity with these renderings that has helped in my subsequent search, but over a period of years, I have come across various source illustrations that were likely used by Ivasiuk in designing these stamps. Included among the resources used by the artist were paintings, photos and engravings.

This article will compare the source images used by Ivasiuk with his completed vignettes.2 Readers will note that the artist reproduced his models accurately, but generally simplified them by leaving out some details. This was to be expected since he was preparing likenesses that would be reproduced in a very small size and where superfluous detail would be an interference.

10 Hryvni - Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky

The portrait design for the stamp honoring this 17th century Ukrainian leader is closely modeled after a contemporary engraving (Figure 2), reproduced in "A Survey of Ukrainian History" by D. Doroshenko Winnipeg: (Trident Press Ltd., 1975, p. 830). Ivasiuk drew his figure wearing a robe and feathered headdress and holding the mace of authority (bulava) in exactly the same pose as the original (Figure 3). He even filled in the background with a cross-hatch pattern reminiscent of the engraving.

Changes made by Ivasiuk include simplifying the elaborate workmanship on the bulava, the buttons, and the throat clasp, and omitting the button loops on the right side of the cloak. In addition, the edging of the cloak was made to look like white fur and contrasts well with the lower chemise. Finally, a number of areas were shaded over with hatch lines.

15 hryvni - Hetman Ivan Mazepa

The rendering of the 15-hryvni Mazepa stamp is based on an oil painting by O. Kurylas (1870-1951) that depicts the Kozak leader in full regalia. In the painting (reproduced from "Ivan Mazepa: Hetman of Ukraine," a collection of articles and essays, New York: Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, 1960, p. 115) the hetman wears a turban-like hat and an embroidered garment under a fur-collar coat (Figure 4).

Ivasiuk probably felt that a stamp design closely modeled after the original would show the hetman as too small a figure. He therefore decided to recreate only the upper half of the painting and produce a bust view that would more closely resemble the forms of Khmelnytsky and Shevchenko on the 10- and 20-hryvni values, respectively (Figure 5).

Other alterations made by Ivasiuk include a darkening of the neck area, changes in the embroidery designs and the addition of a lined background. The combination of stippling and lining on the face of Mazepa is much better than the simple hatching used on the 10-hryvni value. Unfortunately, this shading did not reduce to stamp size very well.

20 hryvni - Taras Shevchenko

The 20-hryvni value showing Ukraine's famous poet wearing a woolen hat is most likely modeled after an oil painting (Figure 6, shown on a postcard) by I. Kramskoy (1837-1887) presently in the Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow. As with the 15-hryvni design, Ivasiuk only reproduced about half of the original painting in order to focus in on his subject's facial features (Figure 7). The change in emphasis proved successful; this portrait is easily the most striking of the four in the Vienna Issue.

Kramskoy may have based his painting on a 1860 pen-and-ink self-portrait by Shevchenko (seen on a 1972 postcard, Figure 8). There is a chance that Ivasiuk used this sketch directly, but a number of details - ranging from the slight tilt of the poet's head to the more mottled appearance of the coat collar - would seem to indicate that the oil painting served as the immediate source of the stamp.

60 hryvni - Ukrainian Parliament building

The inspiration for the 60-hryvni stamp is a 1918 photo post card (Figure 9). The scene on the card is virtually identical to that on the stamp vignette design (Figure 10). Both items show the building from exactly the same angle; in both the subject fills up most of the frame. The sun angle is also the same in both scenes, since the shadows fall in the same direction.

Changes made by the artist include the elimination of prosaic details in front of the building - a streetlight, a telegraph pole and wires, a coal pile, and several pedestrians - as well as the inscription and Romanov crest on the façade. The front lawn of the building was extended to include the entire foreground, while some details along the sides were deleted or simplified. Overhead, clouds were put into the sky by the use of stippling.

Careful observation and measurements of both the original photo and Ivasiuk's drawing indicate that the artist "rebuilt" the Parliament Building to improve its dramatic impact. The front curve of Ivasiuk's building is different and seems to put the left endpoint at a lower level than the corresponding point on the right. Elimination of the clutter around the building points out its kinship with the Pantheon in Rome. The reduction of the wings to favor the rotunda (see dimensions) also echoes the shape of the Pantheon.

The reverse of the postcard carries the following Ukrainian inscription in the upper left corner

2. Kyivskyi Pedahohychnyi Muzei. Tymchasovyi Ukrainskiy parlament.

(2. Kyiv Pedagogical Museum. Provisional Ukrainian Parliament.)

The lower left corner has a single-line Ukrainian inscription: Viden Vyd. P. Diatlova.

(Vienna. 1918. Released by P. Diatlova.)

The number 2 indicates the postcard was part of a set, possibly a series depicting scenes from Kyiv or Ukraine. If so, another card from this set may have served as the model for some other Vienna Issue stamp (perhaps the 100-hryvni value depicting St. Volodymyr's statue).

200 Hryvni - Windmill on the Steppes

The source for the 200-hryvni stamp was found in Volume I of Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1963). The windmill (Figure 11) appears on page 296 as Figure 208 under the encyclopedia entry "Material Folk Culture" and is described as being from the Poltava area. The entry mentions that this mill is of an older type on a movable wheel (post mill type) and the entire structure could be turned into the wind. Newer windmills in Ukraine used a "Dutch" system in which only the roof moved.

In examining the photo and comparing it to the two windmill designs prepared by the artist (Figure 12, an earlier design and Figure 13, a later, simplified view), we see that all three pictures are apparently related. Striking similarities include: the same angle of view, a ladder with four rungs on the left side, a porch supported by three beams and having only one cross railing, three holes (vents?): two in the gable and one next to the door, the door set slightly left of center, the grains of wood planks all running the same direction, one plank missing along the bottom of the side and deep shadows in virtually identical locations. The major change made by the artist was to redraw the sails. He also straightened most of the vertical lines to make the mill look less dilapidated.

Other sources yet to be identified

Of the nine stamps remaining in this set, five are almost certainly entirely original renderings by Ivasiuk and, therefore, would not have any outside sources of inspiration to track down. These would be the 1-hryvnia stamp (the Trident), the 2-hryvnia (woman supporting the Ukrainian flag), 30-hryvnia (Hetman Pavlo Polubotok imprisoned), 50-hryvnia (Kozak playing the bandura), and 80-hryvni (Kozaks rowing a chaika). The 3-hryvni (Ukrainian peasant cottage) and 5-hryvni (a chumak, or trader with a yoke of oxen) are probably also original drawings, but there is a chance that some photo or illustration served as the inspiration of one or both.

That leaves two stamps with unidentified sources: the 40-hryvni value of Symon Petliura and the 100-hryvni of the St. Volodymyr Monument in Kyiv. I urge readers to "keep their eyes peeled" when examining dated Ukrainian pictures. Perhaps the source materials for these Ukrainian stamp designs may yet turn up.

1. Mykola Ivasiuk was one of Ukraine's foremost realist painters of the early 20th century. His most important works deal with historical themes and his most famous painting is Khmelnytsky's Entry Into Kyiv (1912).

2. Most stamps of the early 20th century were composed of two elements: 1) a vignette (picture) of the person or thing being commemorated and 2) a frame (often including lettering) that would surround the vignette.

Dr. Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA 22150, or via e-mail at [email protected].

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 9, 2006, No. 28, Vol. LXXIV

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