Theatrical sets and decorations from the collection of the Museum of Theater, Music and Cinematography of Ukraine. Anatol Petrytsky

Anatoly Galaktionovych Petrytskyi (1895-1964) was a prominent Ukrainian avant-garde artist, innovative scenographer, a bright and original painter and portraitist. His creative path is inextricably linked with the rapid development of national culture and the Ukrainization of the 1920s.

The artist worked as the chief artist in the newly created theaters in the 1920s - the Young Theater, the First State Theater named after T. Shevchenko, the state operas of Odessa, Kharkov, and Kyiv. He made a huge contribution to the development of Ukrainian scenography, raising it to a qualitatively new, modern level of development.

“The significance of Petrytsky’s work is that in his works he organically combined traditional Ukrainian culture with modernity. This unity makes his works a remarkable artistic phenomenon. In the 1920s he was particularly interested in combinations and dissonances in scenery and costumes. He made skillful collages from various materials: silver paper on printed cotton, geometric motifs on a colorful background, etc. Perhaps in this strange inconsistency lies the true spirit of the Ukrainian avant-garde, at the same time professional and primitivist, constructivist and monumental.”

In addition to world-famous costume sketches, such as The Executioner, Calaf (“Turandot”, 1928), Europeans (“Red Poppy”, 1927), most of the sketches are published for the first time. The album also presents photos illustrating the artist’s life path, scenes from performances designed by the author.

The album presents the largest collection of the artist's works belonging to the Museum of Theater, Music and Cinematography of Ukraine, created in 1915-1960.