Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of history

The article examines the issue of studying portraits from family galleries of the Ukrainian lordship of the 18th century as visual evidence of the social dynamics within this stratum. The concept of the article is based on the statement that a portrait as a historical source represents a person in t...

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Main Authors: Maryna Budzar, Yana Yarmolenko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University 2023-06-01
Series:Київські історичні студії
Subjects:
Online Access:https://istorstudio.kubg.edu.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/361
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author Maryna Budzar
Yana Yarmolenko
author_facet Maryna Budzar
Yana Yarmolenko
author_sort Maryna Budzar
collection DOAJ
description The article examines the issue of studying portraits from family galleries of the Ukrainian lordship of the 18th century as visual evidence of the social dynamics within this stratum. The concept of the article is based on the statement that a portrait as a historical source represents a person in the aggregate of personal characteristics and social role. The purpose of the article is to analyse the reproduction of socio-cultural changes experienced by the Hetmanate's elite during the 18th century in portraits from the Galagan’s collection. The authors used a set of methods of historical-anthropological and historical-artistic analysis. In particular, the facts of the real biographies of the representatives of the family were correlated with the images on the canvases. Changes in the choice of authors of works were analysed, and the evolution of artistic and technical methods of their performance was considered. Elements of clothing and materials from which they are made, the shape of hairstyles, and the presence of accessories were taken into account. Portraits of the Galagan’s illustrate the process of transformation of the Cossack-elderly family into a noble one and show the change of social roles within one family. The works of the family collection eloquently attest to two models in the behaviors of the top Cossacks and their descendants — the imitation of ancestral traditions and the borrowing of the lifestyle of the imperial aristocracy. The change in the artistic style of works is also a mirror of the dynamics of the socio-cultural priorities of society. Over the course of 50 years, the transition from Cossack portraits with characteristic features of the baroque style to academic canvases, combining elements of rocaille, classicism, sentimentalism, and romanticism, took place within one collection. At the same time, these works demonstrate how ancestral portraits became symbolic capital for Galagan descendants already in the 19th century, contributing to the formation of ideas about the Cossack roots of the family.
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spelling doaj.art-af3dae61fe1649c9a1df1b8d434685e72023-09-24T19:44:03ZengBorys Grinchenko Kyiv UniversityКиївські історичні студії2524-07572023-06-0111614415610.28925/2524-0757.2023.117Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of historyMaryna Budzar0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3720-7799Yana Yarmolenko1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4085-5543Associate Professor of the Department of History of Ukraine, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University PhD in History, Associate Professor, Kyiv, UkraineStudent in History and Archeology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University, Kyiv, UkraineThe article examines the issue of studying portraits from family galleries of the Ukrainian lordship of the 18th century as visual evidence of the social dynamics within this stratum. The concept of the article is based on the statement that a portrait as a historical source represents a person in the aggregate of personal characteristics and social role. The purpose of the article is to analyse the reproduction of socio-cultural changes experienced by the Hetmanate's elite during the 18th century in portraits from the Galagan’s collection. The authors used a set of methods of historical-anthropological and historical-artistic analysis. In particular, the facts of the real biographies of the representatives of the family were correlated with the images on the canvases. Changes in the choice of authors of works were analysed, and the evolution of artistic and technical methods of their performance was considered. Elements of clothing and materials from which they are made, the shape of hairstyles, and the presence of accessories were taken into account. Portraits of the Galagan’s illustrate the process of transformation of the Cossack-elderly family into a noble one and show the change of social roles within one family. The works of the family collection eloquently attest to two models in the behaviors of the top Cossacks and their descendants — the imitation of ancestral traditions and the borrowing of the lifestyle of the imperial aristocracy. The change in the artistic style of works is also a mirror of the dynamics of the socio-cultural priorities of society. Over the course of 50 years, the transition from Cossack portraits with characteristic features of the baroque style to academic canvases, combining elements of rocaille, classicism, sentimentalism, and romanticism, took place within one collection. At the same time, these works demonstrate how ancestral portraits became symbolic capital for Galagan descendants already in the 19th century, contributing to the formation of ideas about the Cossack roots of the family.https://istorstudio.kubg.edu.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/361ortraitfamily gallerysocio-cultural dynamicsgalagan’sleft bank ukraine
spellingShingle Maryna Budzar
Yana Yarmolenko
Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of history
Київські історичні студії
ortrait
family gallery
socio-cultural dynamics
galagan’s
left bank ukraine
title Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of history
title_full Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of history
title_fullStr Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of history
title_full_unstemmed Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of history
title_short Portraits of the 18th Century from the Family Gallery of the Galagan’s: Socio-Cultural dynamics in visual images of history
title_sort portraits of the 18th century from the family gallery of the galagan s socio cultural dynamics in visual images of history
topic ortrait
family gallery
socio-cultural dynamics
galagan’s
left bank ukraine
url https://istorstudio.kubg.edu.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/361
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