Chernivtsi Regional Art Museum

The Chernivtsi Art Museum was created in 1988 from the art department of the Chernivtsi Regional Museum of Local Lore (Chernivtsi Museum of Local History). This collection, dating from the decades following Regional Museum's foundation ~1863,[1] formed the basis of the collection of the newly created institution. The new art museum opened in 1988 in Chernivtsi's then inactive Holy Spirit Cathedral.

In 1991, the museum was moved into the historic Bukovyna Savings Bank building in Chernivtsi's city center. The collection was subsequently enhanced and expanded with transfers coordinated by the Directorate of Art Exhibitions of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, as well as charitable gifts to the museum from individual artists and patrons.

In 1996, after substantial restorations, a permanent exhibition was opened, featuring the art and culture of the historic Bukovyna region and regional decorative arts of the 17th-20th centuries.

Large-scale restoration of the interior stained-glass windows was undertaken in 2011.

The building of the Chernivtsi Art Museum is a unique architectural monument of national significance, built in the tradition of the Vienna Secession in the Art Nouveau style for the Bukovyna Savings Bank (1900) to designs by architect Hubert Gessner and Prokop Šupich (1870–1947). Construction — together with Robert Vitek (Robert Vitek, 1871–1945) was completed 1900-01. The original exterior and interiors have been generally preserved, and are now part of the sightseeing tour.

Exterior and Facade

Majolica Facade Mural (1900), Chernivtsi Regional Art Museum

On the main facade, there is a risalit with a balcony on consoles and a luxurious polychrome Majolica panel, credited to artist Joseph Adolph Lang[2] and signed "J. Lan[g])." The work features a complex composition on a mythological theme, interpreted as representation paralleling the Roman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time of Franz Joseph I. The images of 12 gods depict the 12 most important provinces of the empire. Bukovyna is represented by the fourth figure from the left, carrying green and white branches. The gods are arranged in picturesque groups according to the main principle of Art Nouveau: dynamic balance instead of mirror symmetry.

Two female sculptures are installed on the roof above the eaves. At the level of the windows of the second floor, the building is decorated with a frieze in the form of picturesquely scattered leaves, formerly covered with gilding. The doors of the central entrance are forged metal with floral ornaments and horizontal inserts incorporating the image of bees. On the pylons on both sides of the door are sculptures of two eagles, which seem to be guarding the entrance to the building.

Interior

Main Staircase and Atrium (1900) Chernivtsi Regional Art Museum

The building has an extremely expressive interior. The lobby of the first floor is decorated with six majestic columns. At the beginning of the grand staircase are two pylons ending with male and female busts on figured pedestals. A wide staircase framed by wrought iron bars with floral and ornithomorphic ornaments leads from the first to the second and third floors. The staircases between the floors are decorated with large stained-glass windows with plant motifs — images of bright flowers and green leaves.

On one of the stained-glass windows on the third floor, the ancient coat of arms of Bukovyna is inscribed in plant motifs (the head of the coat of arms on a blue-red field framed by three hexagonal stars).

In the center of the second-floor lobby are four columns and a trapezoidal marble fireplace decorated with wrought copper with floral ornamentation. The space of the second and third floors is united by an oval opening, decorated with a relief ornament and forged bars, identical to those on the stairs. The contours of this slot are repeated in the oval picturesque ceiling on the ceiling of the third floor. This large allegorical composition on canvas with images of female figures and putti is somewhat different from the rest of the decor, stylistically approaching academic art. Its performance is attributed to the Ukrainian-Bukovynian artist Mykola Ivasyuk (1865–1937).

The color scheme and ornamentation of the walls, together with the doors, the mosaic polychrome floor, and the harmonious combination of master forging, stained glass and sculpture, create the impression of a complete work of art, expressing the main idea of the Art Nouveau style.

The collection includes about 12,000 exhibits of the main and research and auxiliary funds.

The basis of the museum collection is Bukovynian art of the 17th–20th centuries.

The collection of icon paintings of the 17th–20th centuries includes Bukovyna household images, icons on glass, valuable works of folk and professional icon painting. Painters of the 18th–19th centuries, including German painter Eduard von Grützner and E. Buchevsky.

During the museum's tenure, a significant number of exhibitions have been organized, and projects developed. Prior to February 2022, a series of annual openings were developed, including art actions and events for the enhancement of the cultural life of the city and the country.

The exhibition work of the Chernivtsi Art Museum is closely related to scientific and educational activities. Employees of the Chernivtsi Art Museum are the authors of numerous publications on art, including scientific publications, a number of catalogs and booklets about the work of Bukovyna artists.

These include

• Tetyana Dugayeva, Iryna Mishchenko. Artists of Bukovyna. Encyclopedic reference book, volume 1. (1998)
• Iryna Mishchenko. Eusebius of Lipetsk. Artist and personality. (2001)
• Tatiana Dugaeva. Sculptor, doctor of medicine Opanas Shevchukevich. (2002)
• Olena Guzhva. Augusta Kokhanovskaya. 1868–1927. Exhibition Catalogue. (2004)
• I. Kitsul, V. Lyubkivska, O. Guzhva. Chernivetsk Art Museum. (2006)
• I. Kitsul and V. Lyubkivska, text by O. Guzhva. Leon Kopelman. (2006)
• I. F. Kitsul and P. B. Anikin. Semernia Oles Fedorovych. (2007)
• V. Lyubkivska  Art museum of the beginning of the 21st century and its role in shaping the modern cultural environment Materials of the international scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Chernivtsi Regional Art Museum. (2008)
• Tatiana Dugaeva. "Talents of Chernivtsi". 2008 [Archived 7 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine.]
• Valentina Lyubkivska. Love Oak: Selected work. Catalogue (2009)
• I. Kitsul, Larisa Kurushchak. Pilgrimage Icon "Holy City of Jerusalem" (restoration and research) (2010)

Category:Museums in Ukraine by oblast

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