ACADEMIC TEXTS REPOSITORY

Summary

The article is devoted to the reflection of the southern steppe in the works of A. Antonyuk and D. Kremen. The southern steppe has always inspired artists to be creative. The endless expanses of the steppe seem to reflect the breadth and sincerity of the Ukrainian soul. It fascinates and beckons with the depth of its history. Of course, no one can convey the beauty of the southern steppe better than a person whose creativity was formed on its endless terrain. The southern steppe became the leitmotif of the work of two brothers: Andrii Antonyuk and Dmytro Kremen. In the galaxy of artists of the Northern Black Sea region, whose work is directly associated with the establishment of national culture in recent decades, the leading place is occupied by Andriy Antonyuk and Dmytro Kremin, whose painting and poetry became a defining criterion in determining the progress of modern Ukrainian art. Glorified in the canvases of A. Antoniuk, the steppe became a source of inspiration for Dmytro Kremen. Dmytro Kremen's artistic world emerged as the result of a peculiar shift of strata, first of all artistic: word and painting, then landscape: mountains and steppe; beyond the temporal: past and present. As his consciousness was formed by image-word-paint, so it is expressed and affects the reader. Especially now, the foresight and creative intuition of artists is felt, when Ukraine is fighting for its right to existence, independence. The artistic «cosmos» of artists not only reaches deep genetic memory, but is also capable of predicting tragic events. However, the work of the two brothers is full of deep patriotism and optimism, faith in the bright future of their people. Artistic and poetic works inspired by the steppe have become a protective shield of southern Ukraine.