Ukrainos Podolės regiono XIX a. ikonų techniniai ir ikonografiniai ypatumai

19th century folk icons of Podolia region (Ukraine) were not taken into consideration by art critics as historically valuable until the late 19th century. The first articles devoted to this theme by L. Popova, V. Svencickaya and V. Otkovich appeared in the mid 80’s. Podolia region icons differ technically compared to icons of other regions of the same period, since painters of Podolia region icons were the first to start using canvas. This may have been influenced by Western European artists or may have been a solution of the lack of wood industry in the region. Painting technique is oil painting. Besides icons on canvas there are also a few on wood. The icons make up 3 main groups by size: icons on canvas which were painted for the interiors of churches are 140–170 cm long and narrow – 50–70 cm wide; icons on canvas which were placed in the interiors of houses are 52 x 82 cm; the third group is icons on wood – 35 x 26 or 40 x 30 cm. Stylistically Podolia region icons differ from icons of other regions in realistic painting of faces and hands of figures, although the background and clothes still remain in decorative style. The colours are bright but never dissonant. The most common colours of backgrounds are dark. The style of these icons is based on folk traditions.