The History of Taras Shevchenko’s Photographs: Unity of Words and Pictures (to the 180th Anniversary of Photo Art)

The article describes the value of photo art in the fate of T. H. Shevchenko – a cult figure of Ukraine. T. H. Shevchenko’s self-portraits are the works of art and simultaneously the artistic documents of the poet. The copies of T. H. Shevchenko’ self-portraits presented to his friends became so-called “Shevchenko Photo Fest” in 1858. The photos of T. H. Shevchenko made an impression on the outstanding creative people of the country and abroad, in particular the outstanding women of that time (M. Vovchok and others). Each of his photographs contains not only historical information about the life of Kobzar, but also plays a greater role in development of photo art in Ukraine. Moreover, it deals with outstanding people of photo art and their photo works. Also it is particularly interesting to note the history of preservation of T. H. Shevchenko’s photographs in Ukraine and other countries.