He was the son of a peasant and has become a prince in the realm of the spirit. He was a serf, and has become a giant in the realm of human culture. He was unschooled, and has shown to professors and scholars newer and freer paths. Fate pursued him cruelly throughout life, yet could not turn the pure gold of his soul to rust... Ivan Franko

Taras Shevchenko1814 - 1861

And in the great new family,The family of the free,

With softly spoken, kindly wordRemember also me.

Taras Shevchenko. My Testament. 1845

"The history of my life is a part of the history of my homeland."

Years and centuries pass, generations succeed one another, but great works of art remain, long sur-viving their creators and the message they bring is fresh in each new age. Great poets speak for their people, speak in their people's names and ex-press their most cherished dreams, thoughts and aspirations. Taras Shevchenko was such a poet.

His poetry is national and yet so international and humanistic, so distinctive and yet so universal, that it appeals and speaks for all people. Founder of the modern literary Ukrainian language, Shevchenko became the first Ukrainian poet to achieve an in-ternational reputation. Also a great artist, he was three times celebrated as a champion of people's freedom by UNESCO.

Vasyl Kassian. TARAS SHEVCHENKO. Engraving

Taras Shevchenko, the son of serfs, was born on the estate of Baron Vasili Engelhardt on March 9, 1814. One of six children, at his birth he was little more than an-other possession of his lord and master. The place of his birth was the village of Moryntsi, some 120 miles or 200 kilometres to the south of Kyiv, an area which in earlier generations had been the home of the Zaporizhian Cossacks. In 1816 the Shevchenko family moved to the village of Kyrylivka (now Shevchenkove), where Taras spent his childhood years.

T. Shevchenko. Paternal House in Kyrylivka. Oil. 1843

That tranquil cottage in the groveYou call a paradise — I know.In such a cottage once I dwelt,'Twas there my first hot tears were spilt,My early tears! I know no vice,No wrong or ill, however rare,That's not found in that cottage fair ...And yet they call it paradise!

Taras ShevchenkoYoung Masters, if You Only Knew..., 1850

As serfs they trudge without a word And bring along their little children... Vasyl Kassian.Watercolour. 1934

Serfdom, especially in the Russian Em-pire where it existed for the longest time in a most brutal form, was very similar to slavery.

Shevchenko’s parents, Hryhoriy and Katery-na, worked the fields of Baron Engelhardt, as did his older brother Mykyta. As was usual in those times, the serfs laboured five days for their master and one for themselves. Kateryna spent the win-ters at home, as did most peasant women, spin-ning and weaving for the master. Often, in serf families there was a shortage of material needs and food, particularly after the hard winter months.

...It's frightening how badThat lovely village has become.People blacker than the blackest earthWander aimlessly about, Verdant groves have shriveled,Homes once whiteAre stained and rotten,Ponds are filled with weeds.It seems the place has burned,The people have gone mad,As serfs they trudge without a wordAnd bring along their little children!...

Taras Shevchenko.On Foreign Soil I Grew Up..., 1848

People were their master’s prop-erty, just like dogs and horses. They could be punished, sold, exchanged and separated from their families.

I. Izhakevych. Peasants Being Traded for Dogs. Oil. 1952

I. Izhakevych. Haidamaky Rebellion. Oil. 1938

Amongst the peasantry, bur-dened by the brutal and un-just system of serfdom, tales about Zaporizhian Cossacks and their struggles for free-dom were commonplace, a re-lief from the toils of the day, as well as a hope for a better future. It was in such an envi-ronment that the young Taras and his siblings were raised.

A great influence on the young boy was his paternal grandfather, Ivan, who often related stories to Taras of the struggles of the peasantry and the frequent rebel-lions and violent uprisings. These sto-ries are likely the basis for much of the poet's later works, such as Haidamaky.

V. Kassian. Haidamaky. Etching. 1939

Atop a high burial mound, an old Kobzar sits, sing-ing and playing his kobza. His grey head seems to touch the clouds; his song of freedom soars skyward like a grey eagle.

Taras Shevchenko would call his future book of poetry Kobzar (Minstrel).

V. Kassian. Illustration to Taras Shevchenko's Poem “The Rambler“ (Perebendya). 1968

Taras’grandfather’s and father's stories of Ukraine’s heroic past captured the young lad’s imagination, as did the Kobzars’ (Minstrels) tales.

V. Kassian. Little Taras Listening to the Kobzar. Etching. 1956

As a youngster, Taras stood out amongst his peers. He was inquisitive and adventurous, often wandering away to search out answers to his many questions.

When Taras was about seven years old, he was one of twelve village boys chosen to study with a dea-con to learn to read and write. He excelled at his studies and was sometimes sent to read psalms for the dead in the deacon’s place.

M. Derehus. Taras Listening to his Grandfather’s Stories. Engraving

At that time, young Taras was already sketching and wanted to become an artist. He would often copy liturgi-cal materials and illustrate the margins of his pages with various designs.

B. Blank. Little Taras Drawing in a Weedy Meadow. Lithograph

A. Kushch. Little Taras. Sculp-ture in the village of Moryntsi, Ukraine.

When Taras was nine, his mother died. Soon after, his father remarried, but life was unbearable with his new stepmother. She had brought three children with her whom she favoured over the Shevchenko children. When Taras was eleven, his father died.

... There to her graveMy gentle mother, young in years,Was sent by want and toil and cares.There father, weeping with his brood(And we were tiny, tattered tots),Could not withstand his evil lotAnd died at work in servitude...And we — we scattered where we couldLike little field mice. I to school —To carry water for the class...

Taras Shevchenko. If You But Knew, 1850 M. Derehus. On Mother's Grave. 1949

M. Derehus. Taras in a Deacon's School. Lithograph

It was soon after this that Taras, now experiencing intolerable home-life as well as the constant abuse and beatings of the drunken deacon, ran away in hope of finding an art teacher. Being unsuccessful, Taras returned home around the age of thirteen. Here, while serving as a shepherd, he took the oppor-tunity to continue his sketching.

I was thirteen. I herded lambsBeyond the village on the lea.The magic of the sun, perhaps,Or what was it affected me?...But not for long the sun stayed kind,Not long in bliss I prayed....It turned into a ball of fireAnd set the world ablaze.As though just wakened up, I gaze:The hamlet’s drab and poor,And God’s blue heavens -- even theyAre glorious no more.I look upon the lambs I tend --Those lambs are not my own!I eye the hut wherein I dwell --I do not have a home!God gave me nothing, naught at all....I bowed my head and weptSuch bitter tears....

Taras Shevchenko. I Was Thirteen, 1847

I. Izhakevych. Taras as Shepherd.

House of Engelhardt Where Taras Shevchenko Served as a Servant. Photo. 1974

K. Trutovsky. Taras - Servant at Landowner Engelhardt's Estate. Pencil.

At that time Taras came to the attention of Paul Engelhardt who had just inher-ited the estates of his late father. Taras was now at the age when he was expect-ed to enter formal servitude. He was as-signed to be his kozachok, or servant, performing various menial chores.

...My landlord, who had just come into his paternal heritage, needed a clever page-boy. I was told to dis-card my rags and put on a twill jacket with trousers to match, and as a full fledged page-boy I entered upon my new duties...

Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography.1850

K. Trohymenko. Engelhardt Punishes Taras for Painting by Candle Light. Oil. 1939

In 1829, at age fifteen, Taras travelled in his mas-ter's entourage, first to Kyiv, and then to Vilnius in Lithuania, the Engelhardt ancestral homeland. It was in Vilnius that Taras entered his adult life.

M. Derehus. Taras Shevchenko Reading Polish Poet, Adam Mickiewicz. Ink. 1949 >>>>

One evening, the master and his wife went out to a ball. In their absence, Taras pulled out his ma-terials and began sketching by candle light. He was so engrossed in this that he didn't hear the Engelhardts' return. What ensued, Shevchenko described in the following words:

...The master savagely pulled me by the ears and slapped my face, on the pretext that not only the house, but the whole city could have burned down. The next day the master or-dered the coachman Sidorko to give me a good whipping, which was properly admin-istered...

A. Havadzynsky. Taras on his Way to St. Petersburg, Russia. Oil. 1961

Taras Shevchenko arrived in St. Petersburg from Vilnius, along with the rest of the servants of Paul Englehardt in 1831. He was seventeen years old. Here, in the Tsarist capital and the centre of the cultural life of the Russian Em-pire, Shevchenko matured first as an artist and then as a poet, writer and activist.

Englehardt apprenticed young Taras in 1832 to the master painter V. Shyrayev, known to be both stern and arbitrary. Shyrayev was also a famous painter, decorator and art expert who ran an enterprise engaged in painting St. Pe-tersburg churches, public buildings and homes of the elite.

M. Derehus. Taras Painting the Opera House in St. Petersburg. Ink. 1949

In St. Petersburg I could spend the moonlight spring nights in the St. Petersburg Summer Gar-den and make drawings of the statues which em-bellished that creation of Peter the Great. It was there that I made the acquaintance of the artist lvan Soshenko, a fellow countryman who has been like a brother to this day. Upon his advice, I began to try my hand at watercolor studies from nature. Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography. 1850

P. Borysenko. Shevchenko Meets Artist Soshenko in the St. Petersburg Summer Garden. Engraving<<<

...In 1837, Soshenko introduced me to V. I. Gregorovich, secretary of the Academy of Fine Arts, and begged him to deliver me from my low misfortune, my condition of serfdom. Gregoro-vich transmitted this request to the poet V. A. Zhukovsky, who immediately made a provision-al offer to my master and commissioned Karl Bryullov to paint his portrait, with the intention of making it the prize in a private lottery. In a brief time the great Bryullov had Zhukovsky's portrait ready. Zhukovsky, with the assistance of Count Vielhorsky, organized a lottery. The tickets were easily sold, and at the price of 2,500 rubles, my liberty was bought on April 22, 1838. Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography. 1850

I. Ivanov. In the Academy of Art. 1829

Karl Bryullov. Portrait of Vasyli Zhukovsky, for which Shevchenko's freedom was purchased. Oil. 1838

His meeting of Soshenko was a significant turning point in his life. Now moving in this circle of the Russian intelligentsia, Shevchenko won the hearts of this enlightened segment of society, which quick-ly recognized the young man's talents and realized that they could only be properly developed if he were a free man. The 2,500 rubles required were raised through a lottery in which the prize was a portrait of the poet, Zhukovsky, painted by Karl Bryullov.

Karl Bryullov O. Venetsianov M. Vielgorsky V. Gregorovich

Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of Yevhen Hrebinka. Watercolour. 1837

People who helped free Taras Shevchenko out of serfdom included K. Bryullov, V. Zhukovsky, O. Venetsianov, M. Vielgorsky, V. Gregorovich, A. Mokrytsky, Y. Hrebinka. Yevhen Hrebinka be-came the first literary teacher of young Taras.

...I live and study. I don't bow to anybody and I am not afraid of anybody... it's a great fortune to be a free man...

From Shevchenko's letter to his brother Mykyta. 1838

Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Oil. 1840

Taras Shevchenko. Head of a Woman. 1830. Pencil

This is the earliest surviving art work of Taras Shevchenko that he did at the age of 16. >>>

This earliest of Shevchenko's self-por-traits represents a 26-year old student of St.Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1838, Shevchenko was accepted into the Royal Academy of Arts as an exter-nal student, practising in the studio of K. Bryullov. He lived in the attic of the Academy.

In the library of Yevhen Hrebinka, he became familiar with anthologies of Ukrainian folklore and the works of I. Kotlyarevsky, H. Kvitka-Osnovya-nenko and the romantic poets, as well as many Russian, East European and world writers.

G. Melikhov. Young Taras Shevchenko in the Art Studio of Karl Bryullov. Oil. 1947

In that same Summer Garden and at the same time I began to make excursions into the art of versification. Out of numerous attempts I eventually published only one - the ballad "The Bewitched". - Taras Shevchenko. Autobiography. 1850

The mighty Dnieper roars and bellows,The wind in anger howls and raves,Down to the ground it bends the willows,And mountain-high lifts up the waves. The pale-faced moon picked out this momentTo peek out from behind a cloud,Like a canoe upon the oceanIt first tips up, and then dips down... Taras Shevchenko. The Bewitched. 1837

V. Slyshchenko. Illustration to the poem "The Bewitched". 1950

In 1840, the world first saw the Kobzar, Shevchenko's first collection of poetry. Later Ivan Franko wrote that this book, "immediately revealed, as it were, a new world of poetry. It burst forth like a spring of clear, cold water, and sparkled with a clarity, breadth and elegance of artistic expression not pre-viously known in Ukrainian writing."

First edition of Kobzar. 1840

The Rambler, old and blind - Is there anyone who knows him not?He wanders all aboutPlaying on his kobza.People know the one who playsAnd they thank him for it:He dispels their longing,Though he roves the world aimlessly...

Taras Shevchenko. The Rambler (Perebendya). 1839

M. Derehus. The Rambler (Perebendya)

In September of 1841, the Academy of Arts awarded Shevchenko with the third Silver Medal for his picture The Gypsy Fortune Teller.

As his artistic talent developed, Shevchenko continued to move in the circles of the progressive intelligentsia and also broadened his world view. He avidly read litera-ture - Homer, Goethe, Schiller, Sir Walter Scott, Dickens, Shakespeare, Defoe, Mickiewicz, Pushkin, Gogol and many others. In art, he became a critical realist and ap-plied his approach to portraiture, etching and illustrating.

Taras Shevchenko. The Gypsy Fortune Teller.

Watercolour. 1841

...No more songs; the dark-browed maidCurses now her plight.In the meantime evil tonguesFreely vent their spite - Daily grow their vicious tales...

Taras Shevchenko. Kateryna. 1838

The storm whistles through the meadows,But Katrya plods on, Bast-shoes on her feet - what grief! -A thin coat for warmth...The blizzard howls, roars and thunders,Through the meadows sweeping;Katrya, standing in its centre,Can't control her weeping...

Taras Shevchenko. Kateryna. 1838

Taras Shevchenko. Kateryna. Oil. 1842 >>>

<<< Vasyl Kasian. Illustration to the poem “Kateryna”. Engraving

In the 18th century, Ukraine was under the rule of Poland in the west and Russia in the east. During all this time, there were many rebellions by Ukrainian people against Polish rule. Shevchenko’s epic poem Haidamaky was about the 1768 rebellion.

... ”May the enemy die!Take your knives! They're blessed.”A roar resounded in the grove:“They are blessed!”In chills the heart!“They are blessed, they are blessed!”Die gentry die!Each took one, they flashedThroughout Ukraine...

Taras Shevchenko. Haidamaky. 1841O. Slastion. Illustration to the poem Haidamaky. 1885

As well as poetry, Shevchenko also tried his hand at writing plays. In 1843, he completed the drama Nazar Stodolya.

Taras Shevchenko's poetry marked the birth of a new Ukrainian literature which exceeded the bounds of provincialism in spite of the oppression by government officials and non-recognition of the Ukrainian language. By 1842, the full genius of Shevchenko was apparent and the main characteristic of his poetry - a deep national sense - was evident. “Body and soul I am the son and brother of our unfortunate nation,” he wrote.

Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Pencil. 1843

Taras Shevchenko. Illustration to his poem "A Blind Woman". Pencil. 1842

V. Vasylenko. Nazar Stodolya. Engraving. 1963 >>>

In 1843, the poet visited Ukraine where, after a fourteen-year separa-tion, he reunited with his brothers and sisters. The oppressive social and national yoke borne by workers and peasants, which Shevchenko wit-nessed over his nine months of travel, gave rise to new themes in his poetry.

G. Galkin. Shevchenko Among Peasants. Engraving. 1961

Taras Shevchenko. In Kyiv. Etching. 1844 Taras Shevchenko. Council of Village Elders. Etching. 1844

While in Ukraine, Shevchenko began work on a book of engravings to be called Picturesque Ukraine. “If my homeland were the poorest on earth, it would still seem to me prettier than all Switzerlands and Italies...”, he wrote to P. Hesse in 1844.

For seven years, Shevchenko studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts and in 1845, on receiving the certifi-cate of a free artist, he left for his homeland.

Taras Shevchenko. Peasant Family. Oil. 1843

In 1844, Shevchenko wrote the poem "A Dream" in which he fiercely and powerfully protested against despotism, violence and oppression.

...Glance over. In the paradise you're leaving,They'll rip the patched up tattersFrom a cripple's back,They'll rip them with the skin,Because there is nothingElse with which to dressThe feet of little princes;And for the soul tax over there They crucify a widow,And forge irons for her only son,Only child, and her only hope! They give him to the army!... Taras Shevchenko. A Dream. 1844A. Bazylevych.

Shevchenko's Dream. Engraving

In 1845, in Ukraine on an appointment by the Kyiv Archeographic Commission, Shevchenko was authorized to record in sketches and paintings, significant cultural sites of Kyiv, Poltava and Volyn provinces.

In the works of Shevchenko, the enemy was always the oppressor, regardless of ethnicity. Shevchenko's heroes included the Czech philoso-pher and reformer, Jan Hus (The Heretic) and the oppressed peoples of the Caucasus (The Cauca-sus), and he attacked not only the Russian masters (The Dream), but the Ukrainian masters as well (To the Dead, the Living and the Yet Unborn).

A. Danchenko. Illustration to the poem "Heretic". 1984

Taras Shevchenko. Pochaiv Lavra. Southern View. Watercolour. 1846

Taras Shevchenko. Askold's Tomb in Kyiv. Watercolour. 1846

In 1845, Shevchenko wrote his immortal Zapovit (My Tes-tament), employing a deceptively simple art form for his manifesto to the downtrodden to rise up against tyranny and persecution.

My Testament

When I am dead, bury me In my beloved Ukraine, My tomb upon a grave mound high Amid the spreading plain, So that the fields, the boundless steppes, The Dnieper's plunging shore My eyes could see, my ears could hear The mighty river roar.

When from Ukraine the Dnieper bears Into the deep blue sea The blood of foes ... then will I leave These hills and fertile fields -- I'll leave them all and fly away To the abode of God, And then I'll pray .... But till that day I nothing know of God.

Oh bury me, then rise ye up And break your heavy chains And water with the tyrants' blood The freedom you have gained. And in the great new family, The family of the free, With softly spoken, kindly word Remember also me.

Taras Shevchenko. 1845 in Pereyaslav

Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Engraving. 1860

V. Kassian. People and Shevchen-ko’s Word. Engraving. 1962

In Kyiv, Shevchenko first made contact with the Cyril and Methodius Brother-hood, quickly becoming one of the lead-ers of its radical faction. While some members of this secret society saw re-form as the solution to the ills of soci-ety, the radical faction saw rebellion and popular uprising as the sole means of overthrowing their masters.

The views of the poet had a great influ-ence on the program of this secret soci-ety and on the philosophical outlook of many of his contemporaries.

S. Hrosh. Shevchenko Among Members of the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood. 1951

In 1847, arrests of the members of the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood began and Shevchenko was arrested on April 5 on a ferry crossing the Dnieper River near Kyiv. He was punished as an author of audacious poems rather than a mem-ber of the society.

M. Shtaerman. First Arrest of Taras Shevchenko.

"Under strict surveillance, forbidden to write and to paint," such was the order of Tsar Nicholas I .

The following day, the poet was sent to St. Petersburg, where upon arrival on April 17, 1847, he was put in prison. It was here that he wrote the cycle of poems In the Dungeon.

***It makes no difference to me,If I shall live or not in UkraineOr whether any one shall thinkOf me 'mid foreign snow and rain.It makes no difference to me, In slavery I grew 'mid strangers,Unwept by any kin of mine;In slavery I now will dieAnd vanish without any sign....It makes great difference to meThat evil folk lull now to sleepOur mother Ukraine, and will rouseHer, when she's plundered, in the flames.That makes great difference to me.

Taras Shevchenko It Makes No Difference To Me... 1847

For writing outrageous and extremely in-solent poems, the artist Shevchenko, con-sidering his strong physical constitution, be assigned as a private to the Orenburg detached corps with the right to promo-tion, the authorities being instructed to keep him under strictest surveillance so that outrageous and libelous writings should not come from him on any ac-count.From the report of A. Orlov, Head of the Third Department, to Nicholas I

M. Samokysh. Shevchenko Taken to Exile. Lithograph. 1939

S. Besedin. Shevchenko in the Dungeon. Lithograph. 1938

On June 8, 1847, Shevchenko was exiled to distant Orenburg and later sent even further to the fortress at Orsk. From the very first days, Shevchenko violated the tsar's order. He con-tinued to write poetry in a secret little notebook which he kept hidden in his boot.

Thoughts of mine, thoughts of mine,My one and only stay,You at least do not abandonMe these bitter days.From the broad and distant DnieperFly to me, my homingPigeons, on your blue-grey pinions,Through the steppe go roaming...

Taras Shevchenko. Thoughts of Mine, Thoughts of Mine... 1847

Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Pencil. 1847

...O my fate! O my country!When will I escape these desert wastes?Or maybe, God forbid,I'll simply perish here.And the crimson field will blacken... Taras Shevchenko. To A. Kozachkovsky. 1847

S. Kruchakov. Taras Shevchenko in the Barrack of Orsk Fortress. Oil. 1939

...The prince is dancing, guests are dancing;They all rolled over on the floor...He revives again tomorrow,To drink again, to dance again,And thus the days go by,As peasant souls begin to squeal.Judges beg the Lord above...The drunkards, know this, shout:"A patriot!... Vivat! Vivat!"And the patriotic paupers' brother...Takes a peasant's calf and daughter...And God knows not, perhaps He does,But stands aside in silence...

Taras Shevchenko. The Princess. 1847V. Kassian. Illustration to the poem "The Princess". Watercolour. 1934

In 1848, while still in exile, Shevchenko was includ-ed as an artist in the Aral Sea Survey Expedition dur-ing which time he depicted the landscape of the Aral Sea (and its shores) with great expressiveness and sensitivity. In time, these sketches and watercolours came to serve as important and interesting artistic documents.

While on Kosaral Island Shevchenko also wrote pro-lifically. The lyrics penned during this period became a poetic record of his life in an “unlocked prison”.

* * *

Drowsy the waves and dim the sky,Across the shore and far away,Like drunken things the rushes swayWithout a want. O God on high,Is it decreed that longer yetWithin the lockless prison set,Beside this sea that profits naught,I am to languish? Answering not,Like to a living thing, the grainSways mute and yellowing on the plain;No tidings will it let me hear,And none besides to give me ear.

Taras Shevchenko. Drowsy the Waves... Kosaral. 1848

Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Sepia. 1849

T. Shevchenko. Fire in the Steppe. Watercolour. 1848

T. Shevchenko. Garden Near Novopetrovsk For-tress. Watercolour. 1854

T. Shevchenko. Nikolai Island. Watercolour. 1854

The drawings of the exile period show us Kazakh steppes, shores of the Aral and Caspian Seas, people of this land, Shevchenko's friends and Shevchenko himself in a yurt, in barracks or with children.

T. Shevchenko. Kazakh Boy Playing with a Cat. Sepia. 1856-1857

In 1850, Shevchenko was arrested for vio-lating the tsar's order. The poet was sent to a remote fort in Novopetrovsk. Once again, strict discipline was imposed, and the poet was subjected to more rigorous surveillance. It was not until 1857 that Shevchenko final-ly returned from exile, thanks to the efforts of friends.

* * *

That mighty valley I shall not forget, That evening hour, the high mound where we met, And what was dreamed and spoken by us twain. What does it matter? For we left again, Parted like strangers, in two different spheres. And in the meantime all the precious years When we were young have vainly passed us by. Thus both of us, as sorrows multiply, Have wasted into nothing, bad or good: I—in my exile, you—in widowhood; We do not live, but wander at a dis-tance, Remembering those years of true exis-tence. Taras Shevchenko. That Mighty Valley... 1848

Y. Kyianchenko. Taras Shevchenko in Exile.

T. Shevchenko. In Prison. India Ink. 1856-1857

Ten years of exile did not manage to erode Shevchenko’s dignity as a human being or destroy his talent as a poet and artist.

...More so when I see a village boyHe seems broken from a branch, Dressed in ragged burlap, Sitting by a fence alone.He, it seems, is I,And his youth my own.To me it seems that youngsterWon’t ever witness freedom,Freedom oh so sacred...

Taras Shevchenko. I’m Not Sorry, May You Know... 1849

The lights are blazing, music's playing,Like jewels gleaming in the nightThe eyes of youth are shining gaily,Alight with hope, with pleasure flaming; ...So all are laughing, all are jolly,And all are dancing. Only I,As though accursed, in melancholyLook on and wipe a mournful eye.Why do I weep? ...My youth has uselessly slipped by.

Taras Shevchenko The Lights Are Blazing... 1850

T. Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Pencil. 1857

V. Kassian. Illustration to the poem I’m Not Sorry, May You Know... Engraving. 1934

...There's not a family, not a home,Not a brother or a sister,That walks and does not weep,Or is not tortured in a prison,Or is not drilled in far off-lands,In British or in Gallic legions.O Nero! O cruel Nero!...

Taras Shevchenko. Neophytes. 1857

Taras Shevchenko. In The Stocks. India Ink. 1856-1857

Shortly before his long-awaited freedom, Shevchenko be-gan to keep a diary. He had no idea that his journal would become one of his most significant and remarkable works. More than a biographical document, it is also a unique self-portrait.

When Shevchenko was finally released in 1857, already during the reign of Tsar Alexander II, the poet seemed to have been born anew as though he had cast off the hard years of exile. Forbidden to enter St. Petersburg and Moscow, Shevchenko lived in Nizhny Novgorod for six months. “Now I am free... as free as a dog on a chain” he wrote to his friend M. Shchepkin.

I. Shulha. Taras Shevchenko Returning From Exile on the Boat. Oil. 1939

FATE

You did not play me false, O Fate,You were a brother, closest friendTo this poor wretch. You took my handWhen I was still a little totAnd walked me to the deacon's schoolTo gather knowledge from the sot."My boy, just study hard," you said,And you'll be somebody in time!"I listened, studied, forged ahead,Got educated. But you lied.What am I now? But never mind!We've walked the straight path, you and I,We have not cheated, compromisedOr lived the very slightest lie.So let's march on, dear fate of mine!My humble, truthful, faithful friend!Keep marching on: there glory lies;March forward — that's my testament. Taras Shevchenko. 1858. Nizhny Novgorod

O. Ivahnenko. Illustration to Shevchenko's Poem "To the Dead, the Living and the Un-born...". Engraving. 1989

...Oh tsar of wickedness and woe,And persecutor of the right!Oh, what you've done upon the earth!And as for You, All-Seeing Eye!As You looked down, did You not spyHow throngs of saints in chains they drove Into Siberia's frozen wastes,How tortured them 'mid ice and snow, And crucified!...

Taras Shevchenko. The Half-Wit. 1857. Nizhny Novgorod

V. Kassian. The Half -Wit. Engraving. 1949

In six months, Shevchenko finally received permission to enter the capital of the Russian Tsar. He arrived in St. Petersburg in the spring of 1858. The freedom that awaited him there was but an illusion, as he would be under con-stant police surveillance. Shevchenko was enthusiastically welcomed by the foremost leading Russian intellectuals.

...Await no good, Expected freedom don't await — It is asleep: Tsar NicholasLulled it to sleep. But if you’d wakeThis sickly freedom, all the folk Must in their hands sledge-hammers takeAnd axes sharp — and then all goThat sleeping freedom to awake...

Taras Shevchenko. I Am Not Unwell. 1858

G. Bon'. Taras Shevchenko at a Literary Evening in the House of Martynov. Oil. 1949

A wave of new impressions over-whelmed the poet. He realized that an intense struggle to destroy the autocracy was beginning to gain momentum. Dur-ing this period, Shevchenko’s political poems became especially mature and poignant.

In 1858, Shevchenko became friends with the African actor-tragedian, Ira Aldridge who came to perform in St. Petersburg. They had much in common – both were noble spirits; both were artistic; both were oppressed in the years of youth...

K. Yunge. Memories About Shevchenko

Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of M. Shchepkin, Russian Actor and Friend of Shevchenko. Pencil. 1858

Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of Ira Aldridge. Pencil. 1858

In May 1859, Shevchenko received per-mission to go to Ukraine where he visited relatives and his old childhood haunts. He also intended to buy a plot of land near the village of Pekariv where he planned to build a house and settle down.

H. Kyianchenko. Taras Shevchenko Visiting His Sister Yaryna. Oil. 1964

Taras Shevchenko's Brothers Yosyp and Mykyta. Photograph

"It is terrible to me that my brothers and my sister are still serfs." - From Taras Shevchenko's letter to the editor of the maga-zine Narodnoe Chtenie, February 18, 1860.

K. Trutovsky. Taras Shevchenko Above the Dnieper River. Oil. 1975

... In the garden cool I see, 'Neath a shady cherry-tree, My one and only sister dear! My much-suffering sister saintly! As if in Eden's Garden waits To see me, poor thing, appear From beyond wide Dnieper's waves. To her it seems a boat's emerging, From the waves, shorewards surging... Then into the waves submerging. "My joy!" "My brother!" rang the cry -And then we awakened. You're... A serf, and still unfree am I!...

Taras Shevchenko. To My Sister. 1859

In July 1859, Shevchenko was arrested on a charge of blasphemy and was sent to St. Pe-tersburg. Nevertheless, to the end of his life, the poet hoped to settle in Ukraine.

"...There is rumor that Shevchenko, besides blasphemy, said that there is no need in the Tsar, the masters and the priests..." - From the police report to Kyiv Governor. July 15, 1859

V. Kassian. Taras Shevchenko Among Villagers. Lithograph. 1939

Arriving in St. Petersburg, Taras Shevchenko busied himself enthusiasti-cally with engraving, believing it to be a marvellous means of propagating his art. And the etchings and engravings he produced were met with significant suc-cess. On September 2, 1860, the Council of the Academy of Arts granted him the title of Academician of Engraving.

V. Kassian. Taras Shevchenko Printing Engravings. Lithograph. 1939

“Of all the fine arts, engraving appeals to me the most. To be a good engraver means to be a proponent of that which is beauti-ful and educational in the world around, and that means to be a proponent of the light of truth.” Taras Shevchenko. Diary. June 26, 1857

Taras Shevchenko. Beggar in Graveyard. Etching. 1859

OH SHINING WORLD

Oh shining world! Oh quiet world! World untrammelled, world so free! Why is it, brother-world, I seeThat in your own, your warm good home You are chained up, you are walled up, (You, the wise one, made a fool of), By robes of purple choked your breath,By crucifixes done to death?

Not done to death! Why then, arise! Over us enlightenment shine,Enlightenment! ...We'll, brother mine,Tear up purple robes for foot-rags, From incense-burners pipes we'll light,With wonder-icons stoves ignite,And, brother, with aspergills thenOur new home we'll sweep and cleanse!

Taras Shevchenko. 1860

Shevchenko's Kobzar, the third edition dur-ing his lifetime, was published in 1860.

Taras Shevchenko. Photograph.St. Petersburg. 1859

Taras Shevchenko. Self-Portrait. Engraving. 1860

V. Savvin. Death of Taras Shevchenko. Autolithograph. 1939

The decade of exile took a punishing toll on Shevchenko, and his declining state, already weakened by scurvy, malaria and rheumatism, was further compromised by unimaginable grief and longing for his homeland. By the end of 1860, his health had deteriorated to such a degree that by the early months of 1861, he had become confined to his bed.

On the night of March 8, 1861, Shevchenko suffered a heart attack. The following day, friends gathered around him to celebrate his 47th birthday and to read him greet-ings from well-wishers. On the morning of March 10 he rose, lit a candle and holding on to the wall, started down the staircase where he stumbled and fell. Death was in-stant – a sudden heart attack. This was 5:30 on the morning of March 10, 1861.

V. Vereshchagin. Shevchenko Lying in State. Lithograph. 1861

Immediately following the death of Taras Shevchenko, the sad news spread through-out the community. Countless mourners came to the funeral. On March 10, 1861, after an initial prayer service, Shevchen-ko's body was taken to the Academy of Arts church. Several artists sketched portraits of the late poet in his coffin, while sculptor P. Klodt created a gypsum death-mask of his face. Both the church and the corridors of the Academy were packed with people - students, writers, journalists, artists, aca-demics as well as members of the general public.

* * *

* * *

V. Petukhov. Funeral of Taras Shevchenko at the Smolensky Cemetery. Oil. 1949

Shevchenko was interred first at the Smolensky Cemetery. On the day of the burial, speeches were delivered in Ukrainian, Polish and Russian. Police were everywhere for fear of student and activist protests against the government.

On the day that Taras Shevchenko died, his closest friends decided to honour his memory in ac-cordance with his Zapovit and bury him in Ukraine. However, Shevchenko continued to be consid-ered a political criminal. As such, to have him buried in Ukraine, official Russian state permission was necessary. In April 1861, official permission for the removal of his remains from Smolensky Cemetery to Ukraine was granted by the Government.

On April 26, 1861, Shevchenko's coffin was dug up and placed on a wagon. The funeral procession travelled to Kaniv, Ukraine for almost two weeks. On May 22, Taras Shevchenko was buried on Chernecha Hill in Kaniv. Soon after the burial, Chernecha Hill became a sacred site for the Ukrainian people.

Taras Shevchenko's Grave in Kaniv, Ukraine. Photograph. 1861

Gendarmes at the Taras Shevchenko's Grave. Photograph. 1914

Even after his death, Shevchenko's name inspired fear and hate in the tsar's authori-ties. The Russian Government placed police guards on his grave and prohibited visitors on the centennial of his birth in 1914.

The works of Shevchenko were either banned, distorted, or highly censored by the authorities.

Taras Shevchenko’s philosophical ideas inspired the most prominent Ukrainian writers of the 19th and ear-ly 20th century - Marko Vovchok, Panas Myrny, Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Lesya Ukrainka, Va-syl Stefanyk, and Olha Kobylianska. They all consid-ered themselves to be Taras Shevchenko’s followers.

Taras Shevchenko. Photograph. 1858

He, first of all in his strong love,Was clapped in heavy iron,But served it to the very endWithout deceit or treason.The power of his loving flame All burdens bore, and overcame.The raging blaze of his love trueE'en death itself could not subdue. Lesya Ukrainka On an Anniversary. 1911

M. Kotsiubynsky, Lesya Ukrain-ka, H. Khotkevych, V.Stefanyk, O. Pchilka, M. Starytsky, V. Samiylen-ko. Photograph. 1903

Immediately following his death, progressive forc-es began a movement to preserve the memory of Taras Shevchenko. The first surviving monument to the poet - a marble bust by the Russian sculptor V. Beklemeshev - was erected in 1899 in front of the Women's Sunday School on Khrystya Alchevska's estate in Kharkiv.

Taras Shevchenko's Grave in Kaniv, Ukraine. Photograph. 1964

M. Hlushchenko. Shevchenko Museum in Kaniv. Oil. 1948

V. Beklemeshev. Bust of Taras Shevchenko.1899

There are 1384 monuments to Taras Shevchenko in the world. An outstanding 16.5-metre high bronze monu-ment that includes a statue of Shevchenko encircled by various levels of smaller figures symbolizing Ukrainian history and Taras Shevchenko's poetry was erected in 1935 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Sculptor: M. Manizer.

The poet's great renown has spread far beyond the borders of his homeland. In 1951, a monument to Shevchenko, which was a generous gift from Ukraine to Ukrainians in Canada, was erected in Oakville, near the city of Toronto (bronze, gran-ite, sculptors: M. Vronsky and O. Oliynyk). The statue was stolen from the Oakville park in De-cember 2006 and only the head of the statue sur-vived.

<<<

A majestic 14-metre monument of Taras Shevchen-ko was unveiled in Moscow in 1964 in commemo-ration of the 150th anniversary of the poet's birth. Sculptors: M. Hrytsiuk, Y. Synkevych, A. Fuzhenko.

Monument to Taras Shevchenko in Winnipeg. Erected in 1961. Sculptor - A. Daragan.

Monument to Taras Shevchen-ko in Ottawa. Erected in 2011. Sculptor - Leo Mol.

Monument to Taras Shevchenko in Washington. Erected in 1964. Sculptor - Leo Mol.

>>>

<<<

Shevchenko was the founder of the new Ukrainian literature. As Dante in Italian poetry and Push-kin in Russian, he created a poetical language all his own, realistically accurate and saturated with the imagery, thoughts and feelings of his own people. - Maksym Rylsky and Alexandr Deich

Meeting Commemorating 100th Anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’s Death at his Gravesite in Kaniv, Ukraine. May 21, 1961. Photograph

Shevchenko’s works, having achieved world renown, were published abroad numerous times in thousands of editions and translated into a host of languages such as English, Ar-abic, Bulgarian, Vietnamese, Greek, Italian, Korean, Chinese, German, Polish, French, Hindi, Japanese, to name but a few.

Taras Shevchenko's Books Published in Different Languages. Photograph

There are eleven Shevchenko Museums in the world. The only Shevchenko Museum in the Americas, found-ed by the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians in 1952, is located in Toronto, Canada.

>>>

The National Shevchenko Museum in Kyiv was opened in 1947. It has 24 halls and over 4,000 exhibits. Of these, 800 original works of art are by Taras Shevchenko.

Taras Shevchenko Museum in Shevchenkove (for-mer Kyrylivka). Photograph

The first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada knew Shevchenko well and many brought his immortal Kobzar with them to the new world. Shevchenko was their inspiration. The Taras Shevchenko Reading Room was operating in Winnipeg by 1903 and the first recorded Shevchenko Concert took place on May 1, 1904. The Shevchenko Public School in Vita, Manitoba was opened in 1906.

Kyiv State University carries the name of Taras Shevchenko.

Taras Shevchenko is revered by artists, sculptors, poets, writers and composers of every generation throughout the world. He was twice celebrated by UNESCO as an intellect of world stature.

S. Kyrychenko. Kobzar. Mosaic. 1964

Canada has done more then any other Eng-lish-speaking country to translate the works of Shevchenko into English language. Outstand-ing contributions in translation have been made by John Weir, A.J. Hunter, Florence Livesay, Honore Ewach, Mary Skrypnyk and others. Canadian poet Joe Wallace devoted his poem to Taras Shevchenko.

Tribute by a Canadian Poet

He was the UkraineIn body, soul and brain -As the tree is the rootAnd the river is the rain,

And so his verses goThro’ lands he did not know,Bringing them the lightThat he kindled long ago.

We cannot be his peersBut in our smaller spheresWe can make our lives a lightThat will set the world aglow.

J. S. Wallace. Toronto. 1959

On the 200th Anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's birth, he is universally recognized as one of the gi-ants in the ceaseless struggle of mankind for jus-tice, freedom and brotherhood.

V. Kassian. Taras Shevchenko. Engraving. 1964