ARTISTIC FEATURES OF WOODEN SHUTTERS OF CHERNIHIV REGION OF THE 19TH AND FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURIES

Abstract

The window frames of the Chernihiv region of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries are a unique artistic phenomenon on the map of Ukraine, which currently requires protection and preservation. The history of the art of artistic woodcarving of the region dates back to the Kievan Rus’ times, when the principality of the same name was a craft center for masters of decorative and applied arts: jewelers, glaziers, carvers, etc. It was at this same time that the foundations of creative thinking of architects and mosaic artists, icon painters were laid, which laid the foundation for the establishment of a unique art school here, famous in the times of the Rurikovichs, Gediminas, and later – in the era of the Hetmanate. Over time, the openwork wooden carvings of low, usually one-story houses of the specified region, which reminded of the almost suburban calm, comfortable rhythm of life of this cozy area, mostly 200–100 years old, gradually began to come to a state that requires either restoration or replacement. Therefore, every year in large cities of the region such as Chernihiv, Novgorod-Siversk, Nizhyn, 5–7 such artistic window decorations have been lost over the past few decades. Some buildings are sheathed with clapboard, covered with siding, due to which most of the authentic facade is radically redesigned in the direction of simplification, unification and deprivation of unique carved decor. Located on the border areas immediately adjacent to the territories of the two states, from where there are flights and high risks of further destruction during a full-scale invasion, the specified elements of the carving of the facades of buildings are increasingly threatened and real losses. Therefore, the shutters, which are an ornament of local openwork ensembles of entire streets and require state protection, have become part of the heritage of the region under the name «Artistic woodcarving of Chernihiv region» and have already been included by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in the National List of Elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine under No. 510 dated 04.07.2019 (protection number – 017nks), now they should be studied even more thoroughly, preserved, and entered into the bank of forms and patterns.