AN IMMORTAL POEM IN THE WORKS OF UKRAINIAN ARTISTS

Abstract. For the first time, the article highlights the continued interest of researchers and artists in the memorial of ancient Russian literature of the end of the 12th century, "The Tale of Igor’s Campaign" at the present stage. The peculiarities of the decoration of editions dedicated to the poem performed by domestic artists in the second half of XX — beginning of XXI centuries are investigated. The pearl of ancient Russian literature of the end of the XII century, «The Tale of Igor’s Campaign» does not leave many generations of its admirers indifferent. The 200 th anniversary of the release of the monument of Ukrainian culture has passed, and the interest in the «The Tale of Igor’s Campaign» has not subsided. The magic of this work continues to attract new researchers and artists. Anniversary dates helped to increase interest in the landmark. On the occasion of the 150 th anniversary of the first printing of the poem, J. Hnizdovsky in New York illustrated and artfully decorated the anniversary edition. A quarter of a century the design and illustrations for the poem were performed by Kyiv’s I. Selivanov. G. Yakutovich’s editions, created in the Dnipro publishing house as souvenirs, look like real masterpieces. The engravings of G. Yakutovich were already heard in another edition of «The Tale of Igor’s Campaign», which came out of print in the Kiev publishing house Veselka in 2008. In 1989, the publishing house «Soviet School» published a thorough edition of «The Tale of Igor’s Campaign», illustrations, layout and decoration of which were made by V. Lopata, and the editing and notes by O. Mishanych. The artist’s works are multifaceted in composition and imbued with special drama and symbolism with expression. Equally interesting was the 2015 edition, commissioned by the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine under the Ukrainian Book program. Particularly noteworthy are the graphic works by V. Yefimov from Odessa and M. Bondarenko from Sumy region, who embodied their preferences and unique manners in the work on the poem.