The Category of Light in Ukrainian Art. From Byzantium to Baroque

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the concept of divine light, which has always been a matter of particular attention in the Orthodox religion. Since the earliest monuments of the 11th century, it has been clearly remarked in Ukrainian art, both in mosaics and certain icons. Over the centuries, the artistic language has changed and the light acquired a different manner of realisation. It became particularly evident in the monuments of sacral art of mature baroque, which was also connected with the development of theological and scholastic scholarship in Kyiv. Then, icon painters have found some new ways of depicting divine light, rendered by applying different artistic means.

Keywords

• divine light
• tabor light
• hesychasm
• mosaic
• icon