Today at 16:02
A wise old man in a sheepskin coat and astrakhan hat – this is how Taras Shevchenko was seen by the world for many years. And yet, the poet is only 45 years old in this photo. And the way he dresses is a tribute to the fashion of those times. In everyday life, Shevchenko preferred European style suits. In his diaries, he wrote about fashion trends and purchasing exclusive clothing. Therefore, today the image of Kobzar from his first self-portrait is increasingly used.
“In Soviet times, the academic representation was as an old, sad-looking man who sits in a hat, with a beard… I wanted to see something new. Young Shevchenko is passionate. This is why this self-portrait became so popular and it is now used on the new ₴100 bill,” Senior Fellow of the National Shevchenko Museum Oleh Mandych said.
And how would Shevchenko look like if he lived in our day? Artists often show their opinions. For example, these are all the pictures of Kobzar. But now, the styling is fashionable, contemporary clothes, tattoos, and accessories. Hundreds of variations on the theme of modern Shevchenko can be found on the Internet. The poet is shown as a rock star, a participant of the Revolution of Dignity, holding a smartphone or riding a bike. And this year, a project called “Shevchenko Quantum Jump ” was presented. The project shows Shevchenko as if the great poet moved through time and was reincarnated as iconic characters from show business, movies or comics, like Shevchenko Batman or Taras Grigorievich Presley.
“We wanted to divorce the stereotype that Shevchenko is an old grandpa who’s sitting in the Cherkassy region writing poems. He was a normal man, he was funny, he loved singing, partying and whatnot. So we wanted to show him differently to inspire interest in visitors, so they would check out the Wikipedia page about him, read his biography, and not just go by what they were taught in school,” illustrator Oleksandr Hrekov said.
No matter how the poet looked like in his lifetime and no matter how modern artists represent Shevchenko, his works remain unchanged and relevant. The actress and TV presenter Yanina Sokolova is absolutely sure about that. She is the voice and face of the Shevchenko Every Day project. This is an interactive book with poems and QR codes. Scanning them, you are sent to a YouTube channel with videos of people reading his works.
“This is how we are trying to bridge the gap between the modern generation, who live in the world of electronics and the literature that gives them the ground for the development of their spiritual side first and foremost. Any mention of the classics of literature anywhere in the form of graffiti or tattoos … I often see young people having Shevchenko tattoos and I think it’s cool! It creates an extra reason to think about what these writers have created,” actress, TV anchor Yanina Sokolova said.
It has been 205 years since birth of Taras Shevchenko. His poems about Ukraine, love and fight for the freedom are often called prophetic. He is widely considered to be the founder of modern Ukrainian literature and to some extent, the modern Ukrainian language.
“Dear God, calamity again! …
It was so peaceful, so serene;
We but began to break the chains
That bind our folk in slavery …
When halt! … Again the people’s blood
Is streaming! Like rapacious dogs
About a bone, the royal thugs
Are at each other’s throat again.”
