Creative Heritage of Mykola Samokysh: General Features of Battle Genre

The purpose of the article is to analyse the general features and trends of Mykola Samokysh's battle art. The research methodology is based on a systematic combination of art historical and historical approaches, as well as general scientific and special research methods, including analysis, synthesis, generalisation, descriptive, biographical, historiographical, historical, and artistic reconstruction. The scientific novelty lies in the cultural and historical study of the main features and trends of M. Samokysh's battle painting with a focus on Ukrainian themes. Conclusions. M. Samokysh's painting on military themes is an important component and unique phenomenon of Ukrainian fine art, which testifies to the continuity of traditions in the development of the battle genre. The picturesque style of M. Samokysh’s battle paintings is distinguished by historicism, dynamics, and expressiveness. The interpretation of the characters' images is marked by increased realism and psychology. All this makes the viewer take a fresh look at the war, show sympathy for the ordinary soldier. Successful development of a complex multi-figure composition, realism, accuracy of drawing, rich colour scheme, and affective depiction of the image of a person at war determine the value of M. Samokysh's battle style. The realistic reflection of episodes of different periods of military history in his work is the consequence, on the one hand, of a quick reaction to military events, in which he sometimes participated, and on the other hand, of a thorough interest in history and archeology. Key words: Mykola Samokysh, battle genre, painting, realism, psychologism.