Samchykivsky painting

It is probably difficult to find a person in Ukraine who has not heard of the world-famous Petrykivka painting, which traces its origins to traditions that originated in pre-Christian times. But few people know that the habit of decorating village huts with amazing multi-colored birds, flowers, bouquets, wreaths, stars, and curls was also characteristic of the northern Odessa region, and the Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia regions.

It was in southeastern Volyn, on the border with Podillia, that houses were painted with floral patterns from ancient times, which were considered amulets. Drawings on the walls were the calling card of every beautiful housewife, and young men would look at them carefully if an unmarried girl grew up in the house.

The huts in the village of Samchyky, Starokostyantynivskyi district, Khmelnytskyi region, were especially famous for their paintings, where this miracle could be seen with one's own eyes back in the fifties of the last century. Here in ancient times, picturesque painting appeared, disappeared over time, and recently was revived and spread throughout Ukraine and the world, created on the basis of traditional folk decorative and applied art.

The revival of Samchykivsky painting

Where these traditions came from, unfortunately, is not known for certain today, as mentions of them have been found only in folk songs and on household items with elements of painting, which have been preserved in museums and in some pantries and chests of local residents.

Even at the beginning of the 20th century, painting the whitewashed walls and shutters of village houses with fantastic floral ornaments was very common. Talented craftsmen painted houses with unique patterns on commission and developed a new direction in this art – “malovka” (painting applied to separate sheets of paper).

It was the "paintings" and found painted household items in the sixties of the 20th century, when wall painting had almost disappeared from houses, that helped the local creative intelligentsia, led by Oleksandr Pazhymsky, give new life to the almost lost art and open its unique world to the general public.

Samchykivskyi painting is mainly subject-based, executed with a large toothed pattern, similar to a tapestry.

Amateur artists, folk craftsmen-enthusiasts, taking folk decorative traditions as a basis, carefully developed and enriched them, adding new plots, ornaments and colors. Traditional painting, supplemented with new content and updated, was transferred to paintings, plates, household items. Thus, a practically new, unsurpassed type and a real pearl of Ukrainian decorative and applied art appeared - Samchykiv painting.

The main motifs of the Samchykivsky painting

There is something of Easter egg painting, something of embroidery, something of Hutsul carpets in Samchykiv painting, because it combines traditional local Ukrainian elements of ornaments with the ornamentation of ancient tribes that once lived on this land. In it, you can find techniques inherent in the Trypillya and Chernyakhiv cultures, because the masters from Samchykiv, creating their school of painting, tried to preserve in it the entire multifaceted history of Ukraine and its people. With fantastic plots, combining real life with the world of fairy tales, the masters of Samchykiv take us to the life of our ancestors, to the thousand-year-old traditions that were created and preserved on our land. Just as in ancient times, they turn to Mother Nature herself, observing her and recreating her phenomena on their canvases. Every element of the pattern, every shade, every shape of this painting carries information that, when viewed, can be revealed to you in a new way every time.

Samchykivskyi painting is mainly subject-based, executed with a large toothed pattern, similar to a tapestry.

The main theme of this painting is plant motifs in their most diverse interpretations. Each ornament had its own name, by which it could be immediately recognized. Periwinkle, sunflowers, rose hips, spikelets, poppies, bells, berries, buds, viburnum, twigs, leaves are most often found in the works of artists. In the drawings, flowers from familiar and ordinary suddenly become fabulous, fantastic plants, acquire an unsurpassed Ukrainian flavor.

One of the most beloved and most common ornaments is the image of a flowerpot as a symbol of the universe, the "tree of life", as our ancestors understood it in ancient times. This is a fairy-tale tree, at the base of which there may be an Easter egg, as a symbol of the beginning of the family, or acorns from which the tree sprouts. The trunk of the tree symbolizes the continuation of life and the family. Near it or in the crown of the tree, birds are often depicted, which are inseparable companions of life. Thus, the floral ornament organically intertwines in the painting with elements of the animal world.

The most universal birds are most often drawn - chicken, rooster, nightingale, goose, stork, magpie, pigeons, swans. There are also images of animals that have always been most closely associated with people's lives and everyday life (dogs, cats, horses, foxes, hares, squirrels).

The authors of the Samchykivskyi painting also add images of people to their works, mostly Cossacks or beautiful Ukrainian women.

Artists also use elements that are more typical of Easter egg painting: stylized paws, horns, curls, crosses, stripes, stars, curves, and dots.

Important elements of the Samchykivsky painting

The colors, execution technique, and composition distinguish Samchykivskyi painting from others.

The traditional materials that craftsmen use for their products are pure paint - ocher and clay.

The color scheme of the Samchykivsky painting has a traditional sacred meaning, which is based on Slavic beliefs and ethnic culture. Red, blue, green, yellow - these are the main colors that underlie this painting. Additionally, black, brown, pink, purple paints are also used.

Large elements are placed at the bottom, which become smaller and smaller towards the top of the picture. It is this structure that makes the completed picture the most accessible and understandable for perception.

Most often, masters use white as the background for their works - a symbol of purity, innocence, beauty, youth and joy. Even if the ornament is drawn on a gray, black or bluish background, white is necessarily added to the main ornament - flowers, leaves, etc. The pattern itself is mainly made in red, which symbolizes the fullness of life, energy and freedom. Black is added to emphasize the ornament and enhance other colors.

The composition of the works consists of a planar ornament, the plot of which includes elements, the number of which should not exceed seven. It is always clear, consists of a bottom, middle, top and end. Large elements are placed from the bottom, which become smaller and smaller towards the top of the picture. It is this structure that makes the finished picture the most accessible and understandable for perception.

And the main element of Samchykovo painting is, of course, the bright talent, inspiration, and love for their craft of its masters.

Samchykivskyi painting in its modern form is only a little over half a century old, but it has already found its supporters, connoisseurs and followers. The artists' works take their rightful place in many museums, art galleries of Ukraine, in private collections, including foreign ones, at exhibitions, competitions and festivals.