Odesa reveals some secrets of the biography of the first designer of the "Kobzar"

Dmytro Zhdanov, a regular contributor to Intent, gave an open lecture at the Hrushevsky Odesa Regional Universal Scientific Library about the artist Ambrosiy Zhdakha, whose book will be presented this fall.

For the first time , Dmytro Zhdanov told about the artist's real place and date of birth and even partially solved the problem of his real surname.

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

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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 Stryj, 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.

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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.

A street exhibition dedicated to the memory of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze opened in the city garden in the center of Odesa. Similar expositions "Diary of Georgiy Gongadze" opened simultaneously in Kyiv and Lviv and will be available throughout the Memorial Week.

Кирило Бойко