2. Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko
Was a Ukrainian poet and artist. He is also known
under the name Kobzar after his most famous literary
work, a collection of poems entitled Kobzar. His
literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of
modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the
modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko is also
known for many masterpieces as a painter and an
illustrator.
3. B O R N I N T O A S E R F P E A S A N T F A M I LY O F H R Y H O R I Y I V A N O V Y C H
S H E V C H E N K O A N D K A T E R Y N A Y A K Y M I V N A S H E V C H E N K O
( B O I K O ) O F C O S S A C K D E S C E N T I N T H E V I L L A G E O F
M O R Y N T S I , O F K Y I V G O V E R N O R A T E O F T H E R U S S I A N E M P I R E
( N O W I N C H E R K A S Y O B L A S T, U K R A I N E ) S H E V C H E N K O G R E W U P
I N T H E N E I G H B O R I N G V I L L A G E O F K Y R Y L I V K A T H A T T O D A Y
C A R R I E S T H E N A M E S H E V C H E N K O V E . T H E S H E V C H E N K O F A M I LY
M O V E D T O K Y R Y L I V K A S O O N A F T E R T H E B I R T H O F T A R A S . T W O
Y E A R S L A T E R I N K E R E L I V K A , T A R A S ' S S I S T E R Y A R Y N A W A S
B O R N . I N T H E F A L L O F 1 8 2 2 T A R A S S T A R T E D T O T A K E S O M E
G R A M M A R C L A S S E S A T A L O C A L D Y A K .
4. " E N G E L H A R D T N O T I C E D S H E V C H E N K O ' S A R T I S T I C T A L E N T , A N D
A P P R E N T I C E D H I M I N V I L N I U S T O J A N R U S T E M , T H E N I N S A I N T
P E T E R S B U R G T O V A S I L I Y S H I R I A E V F O R F O U R Y E A R S . . . T H E R E
H E M E T T H E U K R A I N I A N A R T I S T I V A N S O S H E N K O , W H O
I N T R O D U C E D H I M T O O T H E R C O M P A T R I O T S S U C H A S Y E V H E N
H R E B I N K A A N D V A S Y L H R Y H O R O V Y C H , A N D T O T H E R U S S I A N
P A I N T E R A L E X E Y V E N E T S I A N O V . T H R O U G H T H E S E M E N
S H E V C H E N K O A L S O M E T T H E F A M O U S P A I N T E R A N D P R O F E S S O R
K A R L B R I U L L O V , W H O D O N A T E D H I S P O R T R A I T O F T H E R U S S I A N
P O E T V A S I L Y Z H U K O V S K Y A S A L O T T E R Y P R I Z E , W H O S E
P R O C E E D S W E R E U S E D T O B U Y S H E V C H E N K O ' S F R E E D O M O N
M A Y 5 , 1 8 3 8
Karl
Briullov
Vasily
Zhukovsky
5. I N T H E S A M E Y E A R S H E V C H E N K O W A S A C C E P T E D A S A
S T U D E N T I N T O T H E A C A D E M Y O F A R T S I N T H E
W O R K S H O P O F K A R L B R I U L L O V. T H E N E X T Y E A R H E
B E C A M E A R E S I D E N T S T U D E N T A T T H E A S S O C I A T I O N
F O R T H E E N C O U R A G E M E N T O F A R T I S T S . A T T H E
A N N U A L E X A M I N A T I O N S A T T H E I M P E R I A L A C A D E M Y O F
A R T S , S H E V C H E N K O W A S G I V E N A S I L V E R M E D A L F O R A
L A N D S C A P E . I N 1 8 4 0 H E A G A I N R E C E I V E D T H E S I L V E R
M E D A L , T H I S T I M E F O R H I S F I R S T O I L P A I N T I N G , T H E
B E G G A R B O Y G I V I N G B R E A D T O A D O G .
Gypsy
Fortune
Teller
Kateryna
6. Shevchenko was imprisoned in Saint Petersburg. He was exiled
as a private with the Russian military Orenburg garrison at
Orsk, near the Ural Mountains. Tsar Nicholas I, confirming
his sentence, added to it, "Under the strictest
surveillance, without the right to write or paint."
Self-portrait as
a soldier
7. TA R A S S H E V C H E N K O S P E N T T H E L A S T Y E A R S O F
H I S L I F E W O R K I N G O N N E W
P O E T R Y, PA I N T I N G S , A N D E N G R AV I N G S , A S W E L L
A S E D I T I N G H I S O L D E R W O R K S . B U T A F T E R H I S
D I F F I C U LT Y E A R S I N E X I L E H I S F I N A L I L L N E S S
P R O V E D T O O M U C H . S H E V C H E N K O D I E D I N S A I N T
P E T E R S B U R G O N M A R C H 1 0 , 1 8 6 1 , T H E D AY A F T E R
H I S 4 7 T H B I R T H D AY.
8. S H E V C H E N KO ' S
" T E S T A M E N T " , ( Z A P OV I T , 1 8 4 5 ) , H A S B E E N
T R A N S L A T E D I N T O M O R E T H A N 6 0 L A N G UAG E S
A N D S E T T O M U S I C I N T H E 1 8 7 0 S B Y H .
H L A D K Y. T H E P O E M E N J OY S A S T A T U S S E C O N D
O N L Y T O U K R A I N E ’ S N A T I O N A L A N T H E M .
Testament (Zapovit)
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 until that
day
I nothing know of God.
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.
9. O U T S I D E O F U K R A I N E A N D T H E F O R M E R U S S R , M O N U M E N T S T O
S H E V C H E N K O H AV E B E E N P U T U P I N M A N Y C O U N T R I E S , U S U A L L Y
U N D E R T H E I N I T I A T I V E O F L O C A L U K R A I N I A N D I A S P O R A S . T H E R E
A R E S E V E R A L M E M O R I A L S O C I E T I E S A N D M O N U M E N T S T O H I M
T H R O U G H O U T C A N A D A A N D T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S , M O S T N O T A B L Y
T H E L E O M O L M O N U M E N T I N W A S H I N G T O N , D . C . N E A R D U P O N T
C I R C L E . T H E G R A N I T E M O N U M E N T N E A R D U P O N T C I R C L E W A S
C A R V E D B Y V I N C E N T I L L U Z Z I O F B A R R E , V E R M O N T . T H E R E I S
A L S O A M O N U M E N T I N S O Y U Z I V K A I N N E W Y O R K
S T A T E , T I P P E R A R Y H I L L I N S Y R A C U S E , N E W Y O R K .
10. Gold commemorative coin
dedicated to Taras
Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko on the
obsoleted 1000000 karbovanets
banknote
Taras Shevchenko
on the current banknote of 100
Transnistrian rubles