LOST TREASURES
What do Arkhyp Kuindzhi’s painting, Polina Raiko’s decorated house, and the 12th-century mosaic that decorated St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv have in common?
These artworks, a part of the outstanding heritage of Ukrainian culture, were appropriated or destroyed by russia. Like many others, the exact number of which is impossible to imagine, they were blown up, cut, burned, or trampled into the ground. Most, however, were stolen, to be exhibited in their museums and galleries and called ‘russian art’.
Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, russian occupiers have taken away exhibits from 40 Ukrainian museums. However, russians have been carrying out this shameful practice for hundreds of years.
CHARITY COLLECTION OF SHAWLS BY OLIZ AND UNITED24
EACH SHAWL TELLS THE STORY OF A STOLEN OR DESTROYED PIECE OF ART BY UKRAINIAN ARTISTS.
EACH SHAWL IS YOUR ASSISTANT IN CULTURAL DIPLOMACY, AN OPPORTUNITY TO TELL THE TRUTH TO THE WORLD.
EACH SHAWL IS A SYMBOL OF OUR BELIEF THAT ONE DAY JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL. EVERYTHING STOLEN WILL RETURN HOME. EVERYTHING DESTROYED WILL BE RESTORED.
That’s why the proceeds from the sale of the collection will be directed to Rebuild Ukraine. We believe that the shawls will travel all over the world, reminding you of Ukraine and helping to tell the truth about our stolen art.
THE RED SUNSET BY ARKHYP KUINDZHI
The shawl depicts Arkhyp Kuindzhi’s famous work “Red Sunset”, which the artist worked on in 1905-1908. Kuindzhi was born in Mariupol and came from an ancient family of Greeks who had lived in the Black Sea region since ancient times. His most famous works depict Ukrainian landscapes. The painting of the sunset over the Dnipro River is considered one of the artist’s last masterpieces.
The painting is in the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The original sketch was kept in the Mariupol Art Museum named after Arkhyp Kuyindzhi. In the spring of 2022, the museum was destroyed by a russian air strike, and more than 2,000 works were stolen. Among them was a priceless sketch. Its destiny is currently unknown.
POLINA RAYKO'S HOUSE‑MUSEUM
The shawl reproduces a piece of the painting of the house of Ukrainian artist Polina Rayko in Oleshky, Kherson oblast.
Rayko is a unique artist, a representative of naïve art, who, without any artistic education, turned her house into a real work of art in six years. Here, her dreams came to life on the walls – amazing animals and fairy-tale plants of incredible beauty. After the artist’s death, her house was turned into a museum.
On June 6, 2023, the russians blew up the Kakhovka HPP, and the house was flooded with water. Most of the paintings were lost forever. Currently, Oleshky is occupied by russians.
THE HOLY GREAT MARTYR DEMETRIUS OF THESSALONICA MOSAIC
This shawl features a unique mosaic. An unknown craftsman created it in the early twelfth century for St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in the heart of Kyiv. It decorated the church for almost a thousand years and survived the Mongol invasion, earthquakes, and fires.
In 1937, soviets destroyed the cathedral: it was blown up in front of the entire city. The mosaic was removed and taken to Moscow in 1938. Today it is in the main museum of russia, the Tretyakov Gallery.
WHERE WILL THE FUNDS GO?
Right now, 18 residential buildings in Kyiv Oblast are being rebuilt, funded by UNITED24. More than 690,000,000 UAH has already been raised for the reconstruction, and only UAH 28,000,000 UAH is left of the required amount.
Thanks to the UNITED24 and LUN monitoring project, everyone who has donated funds can observe the progress. They will be able to learn more about the building itself, read the heartbreaking stories of the residents, see the location on an interactive map, and, thanks to 3D models, have a clearer picture of the scale of the destruction and the necessity for support.
The proceeds from the sale of OLIZ shawls will be transferred via UNITED24 to rebuild five residential buildings.
THE PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF OLIZ SHAWLS WILL BE TRANSFERRED VIA UNITED24 TO REBUILD FIVE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.
