Waldemar Deluga, University of Ostrava

On the territory of western Ukraine, some icons from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries which imitate the manner of Gothic painting have been preserved. These are works that repeat Latin iconographic models or imitate various types of foreign ornaments. Some of them additionally contain Cyrillic inscriptions imitating Latin lettering in their character. Sometimes particular scenes in wall paintings in Orthodox or Armenian churches repeat unusual patterns. These works testify to the knowledge of medieval art from Central Europe. These examples allow the reconstruction of Gothic art on the outskirts of the Latin Church in Europe. Not too many Latin artefacts have survived to this day. Some of them found their way into the cult of Orthodox and Armenian churches. It can be presumed that this process resulted from the changes taking place in the churches. The Synod of Kraków in 1621 for the Catholic Church, the Union of Churches in Brześć (1595/96), and then the Synod of Zamość from 1720, finally the Union of the Armenian Church with Rome in 1630 contributed to changes in the furnishing of the churches. In my paper, I want to present monuments that testify to the influence of the Latin tradition in Orthodox and Armenian art, and also try to point to the possibilities of reconstructing Gothic art in the territories of today’s Ukraine.

Waldemar Deluga is professor of art history at the University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, and editor of Series Byzantina. He is a specialist of Eastern Christian art and graphic from the 15^th to the 19^th century. In 2023 Deluga organised an exhibition at the Archdiocesan Museum in Warsaw, Sacred Icons from Kyiv and Chernihiv, and his book Ukrainian Painting between Byzantine and Latin Traditions was published with Ostrava-Warsaw in 2019. A graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin, Deluga has authored many articles in Print Quarterly on the graphic (London 1992- 2022) and books on Eastern Christian Art in Central Europe. Deluga has held positions as Curator of Graphic Art at the National Museum in Warsaw (1987- 2000) and lecturer at the University of Gdańsk (1997-2001), and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (2001-2017).  He has organised an exhibition at the Museum of Zamosc, Ars Armeniaca. Armenian Art from the Polish and Ukrainian Collections(2010), and four international conferences for Art of the Armenian Diaspora (Zamość 2010; Gdańsk 2016; Warszawa 2017; Ostrava 2022).