Untitled 1965

Editor: Here we have an untitled pen and ink drawing of a woman from 1965 by Hryhorii Havrylenko. There’s something very serene and almost…iconic about the simplicity of the lines. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The crosshatching, particularly on the head covering, creates a kind of visual echo of religious iconography. The lines are almost a screen or a veil, aren’t they? Think of Byzantine portraits – that similar emphasis on flat planes and symbolic representation. It begs the question: what does this woman represent? What values or ideals? Editor: I see what you mean! The even lighting and simplified features do give her a timeless, almost saintly quality. Is it unusual to see religious visual cues in Ukrainian art of this period? Curator: Not necessarily. Even under Soviet rule, cultural memory persisted, and symbols often found subtle, secular expression. Consider how folk motifs and traditional dress were used, even within socialist realism, to subtly reinforce national identity. Do you notice anything else that might carry a specific cultural weight? Editor: Hmm, well, the direct gaze is quite striking… Almost confrontational, but also very open. Curator: Exactly! Consider how that unflinching gaze connects with the long tradition of female figures embodying truth, justice, or national spirit. Havrylenko might be drawing upon that symbolic vocabulary. What do you make of the relative lack of individualizing detail? Editor: It definitely makes her feel more like a universal figure than a specific person. Almost like a template. Curator: Precisely! Which only strengthens the feeling this image attempts to preserve an archetypal cultural memory. Editor: It’s amazing how much this simple drawing can tell us about cultural memory. I’ll definitely be looking at portraits differently now. Curator: As will I!