Mykhailivske 1965

Hryhorii Havrylenko created these two watercolor paintings of Mykhailivske. Watercolor is an interesting choice: it’s portable, relatively inexpensive, and well suited to capturing landscapes. Its semi-transparent properties allow the artist to lay down washes of tone, creating atmospheric effects. Here, the artist uses the medium's fluidity to depict wide-open spaces and bodies of water. Havrylenko’s Mykhailivske landscapes engage with the plein air painting tradition: capturing scenes in situ, rather than in the studio. This approach became more accessible to artists in the mid-19th century, following the invention of paint tubes. Mass manufacturing made it easier and more affordable to paint outdoors, to witness a place, and record it directly. Considering the work’s material and process helps us see that its meaning lies not only in the image, but also in how its creation was enabled by broader social and economic factors.