Events of 1918 close to Kruty and their Participants in the Interpretation of Ukrainian Artists: Informational, Emotive, and Commemorative Components

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to review, characterize, and demonstrate the corpus of artistic works dedicated to the events at Kruty and their participants; to represent their informative potential, emotive functions, and commemorative components that contribute to preserving the collective memory of the events of January 29, 1918, and also to constructing historical perceptions of those events among modern generations of Ukrainians. The source base contains a complex of currently identified artistic works and visual materials, namely graphics and graphic design, painting, and plastic arts. The historiography of the topic is limited compared to the factual historiography of the issue, represented by only a few specialized studies and publicistic articles by such authors as P. Podobied, V. Skalskyi, and others. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, consistency, and impartiality, utilizing a source-study approach and methods of specialized historical disciplines, including heuristics, retrospection, comparison, and iconography. The scientific novelty of the article lies in lies in the fact that, for the first time, it analyzes several groups of visual sources created during 1918—2025, which reflect both the real events at Kruty in 1918 and public perceptions of them; it demonstrates the informational, emotive, and commemorative components of artistic interpretations. The research results demonstrate the ability of artworks to reflect the essence of historical events, facilitate the visual construction of public memory, and evoke corresponding emotions, which helps their integration into educational, national-patriotic, and formative activities significant in the context of war.