A local historian tells how Odesa inspired the first designer of "Kobzar"

Dmytro Zhdanov, a regular contributor to Intent, a local historian and writer, gave an open lecture at the Odesa National Art Museum about the artist Ambrosiy Zhdakha, the first designer of the Kobzar.

During the lecture, Dmytro Zhdanov showed previously unknown postcards by Ambrosii Zhdakha and revealed the artist's real date of birth.

The life of Ambrosii Zhdakha began in 1855 in Izmail, Odesa region. The artist lived and worked in Odesa for most of his life. This year marks the 170th anniversary of the artist's birth.

Dmytro Zhdanov told us:

• how an employee of an Odesa bank became an outstanding artist;
• where in Odesa the master lived and worked, and how Odesa inspired him to create national images;
• about his collaboration with the luminaries of Ukrainian theater and the design of Ukrainian books;
• about Zhdakha's unique postcards that made the artist a global figure.

Ambrosii Zhdakha is a Ukrainian illustrator and painter. He was the first Ukrainian graphic artist to work on the comprehensive design of Taras Shevchenko's Kobzar. Ambrose Zhdakha is also the author of the publishing marks of the Odesa publishing houses Matezis, Dnipro, and Narodnyi Stryi, and the Kyiv publishing house Chas, which in 1911-1914 published 28 color postcards with reproductions of illustrations to Ukrainian folk songs and the novel By the Beaten Path by Ravita-Gavronsky.

In 1911, he participated in the first exhibition of Ukrainian artists in Kyiv. During the Ukrainian national liberation struggle of 1917-1921, he participated in the art contest "Expeditions for the Procurement of State Papers". In 1920, he taught at the Odesa Trade and Industrial School and the Polytechnic of Arts. He was a member of the Odesa Society of Artists named after Kostandi. He died on September 8, 1927. He was buried at the Second Christian Cemetery in Odesa.

Кирило Бойко