Anthropology of Art as an Approach to the Study of Ukrainian Painting

Abstract

Anthropology of art arose as a reaction to the need to include works of art in the study of various forms of human life. It is customary to refer to works of art as something made by a person, accordingly, it has an anthropogenic origin, and therefore should be the field of study of anthropology. Art is an embodiment of various socio-cultural processes, an indicator of transformations and an embodiment of progressive social ideas. Art appears as a challenge to established social norms, it denies previous standards and sets new ones. Turning to Ukrainian art, which developed in the context of European currents and trends, it can be argued that it naturally became a reaction to social challenges. Anthropology of art as a field of research opens new perspectives for the study of Ukrainian painting. It can offer a complex of approaches and methods for analysis, understanding of the role and significance of art in the formation of the cultural identity of the Ukrainian people. This work provides an analysis of the essence of the anthropology of art and its potential for the study of Ukrainian culture. Art in this context acts as a source for the study of the cultural characteristics of the people, its specificity and unique features, demonstrating the connection between man, society and the environment. This approach makes it possible to better interpret the symbolic meanings embedded in the works of Ukrainian painting. The works of Mykola Pymonenko, Serhii Vasylkivskyi, KostiantynTrutovskyi, Ivan Trush, and others occupy an important place in the history of Ukrainian culture and play a great role in the study of Ukrainian painting, which allows us to reveal its anthropological essence. An anthropological approach to the study of the work of these artists helps to reveal the connections between art and Ukrainian culture. The artists managed to create works that perfectly recreated the unique outlook of the Ukrainian people, their attitude to nature, religion and social life. The use of tools, methods and approaches of the anthropology of art to the study of Ukrainian painting creates the basis for the formation of an idea about the Ukrainian people, their culture, traditions, everyday life, mentality and worldview. This scientific direction is designed to reveal the characteristic features of the development of Ukrainian painting in the context of world art, general historical events, which, in turn, contributes to the understanding of general trends in the visual arts of this period, the choice of subjects, motifs, styles and directions. This approach makes it possible not to separate the artist from his work, from the political, social and cultural events of this period, comprehensively studying their influence on the ideas of the time.