KHARKIV LANDSCAPE SCHOOL. VALERY SHMATKO

Abstract

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the landscape genre development in the works of contemporary Ukrainian painter Valerii Shmatko, who follows the traditions of the famous Kharkiv landscape school. Its creators were prominent artists of the last quarter of the ХІХ – early ХХ centuries: Serhii Vasylkivskyi, Mykhailo Tkachenko, Petro Levchenko, Mykhailo Berkos, whose artistic heritage inspires artists to this day. Exploring the development of the Ukrainian national school of fine arts, art historians now highlight not only the features and achievements of regional schools of their formation, but also the continuation of traditions in the work of contemporary authors. The creativity of Valerii Shmatko is important in the development of Ukrainian painting of the late XX– early XXI century, but today the study of his artistic heritage is devoted to separate articles of Kharkiv art critics O. Denysenko and L. Starodubtseva for catalogues and albums. Landscape is the main genre in the painting of V. Shmatko. The artist sincerely conveys the experience of what he saw, the mood, depicting nature, cities, architecture and life of the people. In creating landscapes, he pays special attention to colors and light, combining the method of impressionists with the features inherent in the national landscape – generalization, picturesqueness, characteristic coloring of different regions of Ukraine. In the landscape series created in Ukraine and abroad (Middle East, Montenegro, Bulgaria), there is an attentive attitude to local sights and natural features. Based on the analysis of the artist’s works, communication with him, acquaintance with the art projects in which he participated, the features of the creative method of V. Shmatko, stylistic features of the works, modern trends and further directions in creativity are considered.