LEV GETS IN EXHIBITION PROJECTS OF LVIV IN THE 1920 S: COOPERATION WITH GROUPS OF ARTISTS OF UKRAINIAN ART

Abstract

After the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen series were exhibited in 1918 in the Lwow Ecclesiastical Museum, the young Ukrainian soldier became noticeable in a public that was interested in the art creation of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen and «Press Apartment».
In 1921, Getz was enrolled in the Krakow Academy of Arts in Stanislav Dembytskyi`s class. At that time, he already had good artistic skills in graphics, which was shown in his artworks: «The Anthology of Riflemen's Art» (1915-1917) and «The Dąbie-1919», convincingly proved Getz`s mastery in caricatures, documentary drawing, design of illustrations, etc. For
the young man, who was filled with the desire for creative self-fulfillment, it was the beginning of a new period of life: he got the opportunity to study fine arts in one of the best European art institutions. Lev Getz combined his daily studies with exhibition activities, which contributed to the search for his own creative solutions, learning new information, gaining
professional experience, and first attempts at prof realization. From the second year of the Academy, the young man began to receive awards for graphic works, which became a guarantee of progressive mastery in painting and drawing.
In 1922, Getz took part in the Ukrainian Art Exhibition, after which the Group of Figures of Ukrainian Art was created – the first Ukrainian national association in Lviv city. The work of the newly established association was focused on the development of Ukrainian art, preserving and increasing the national essence of art, and solving cultural problems that have arisen in visual culture at the beginning XX century.
Today, we have enough information about the creative work of L. Getz, which is based on the documents that were found in the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv, the Institute of National Memory (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej), the archives of the Historical Museum in Sanok and the Biblioteca Vallicelliana in Rome. The research conducted in the above-mentioned institutions provided an explanation of information about Getz's creative work in the 1920s-1925s. All materials collected and processed sources including archives of the mentioned organizations, literature and newspaper publications beginning XX century, descriptions, museum inventory, and archive files are published for the first time. To this day, Lev Gets's participation in the Group of Figures of Ukrainian Art, as well as the features of the artistic output during mentioned years, have remained unexplored.
The aim of the publication is to present Lev Getz's participation in exhibition projects of the early 1920s in Lviv and membership in the first Ukrainian national association in Lviv - the Group of Figures of Ukrainian Art.