The exhibits that come from the museum’s storage rooms are prominent examples of the 17th-19th century folk iconography. The Volyn icon and the Volyn school of icon painting in general are unique, since such regional art phenomena are rare in Ukraine. The exhibited folk artworks bring better understanding of the depth of folk wisdom and folk religiosity.
The exhibition, entitled “Folk Icon of the 17th-19th Century,” is just the beginning of a series of events which are organized by the Volyn Local History Museum to celebrate the 1,025th anniversary of Kyivan Rus’s baptism. The recently published public-funded – a rarity for a museum publication in modern Ukraine – album The Museum of Volyn Icon features more than 20 folk icons. These paintings help us understand how simple Volynians of a bygone age sought their path to God. The icons of saints, along with those of the Savior and Our Lady, have been especially venerated in Volyn, including, for example, icons of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. George the Victorious. Following the tradition, the exhibited folk icons were painted with tempera on the wooden base. Interestingly, however, it looks like the artists were short on paints, since they used just four colors when painting The 12 Apostles, but, compensating for the shortage, they varied paint combinations and created truly staggering images. The folk artists made the saints look like mortal people, displaying earthly charm, warmth and compassion. As His Grace the Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan of Volyn and Lutsk Nyfont, a longtime sponsor of the Museum of Volyn Icon, said, the man followed his imagination when picturing God. Folk icons expressed popular understanding of Christ and faith in Him.
The exhibition’s opening ceremony was attended by the head of Volyn Regional State Administration Borys Klimchuk, who had actually played the decisive role in providing the museum with its current home. The building was erected at a time when the economy was at a standstill. Wages and pensions were commonly in half-year arrears at the time, but Klimchuk said he had realized already then that the spiritual revival is a precondition for a viable independent state.
“Folk icon painting is more than just iconography; it is a surge of the spirit and faith, and also the painter’s desire to attach closer to the faith himself and his neighbors,” the official said when describing the exhibition, and added that the administration had just enlarged the museum’s home by transferring another property to it. It does need more room, as it is planning to commission a replica of the Our Lady of Volyn icon, which once adorned the Intercession Church of Lutsk, but now opens the main exhibition of the National Art Museum of Ukraine. The replica will attract pilgrims from around the world to the Museum of Volyn Icon, as the miraculous icon Our Lady of Chelm is attracting already.
