Mykola Mudryi

Mykola Mudryi is a Ukrainian poet and artist who works primarily in the genres of historical and thematic painting.

The artist was born in 1931 in the village of Maksymivka, Poltava region. He studied at the Kyiv Art Institute, where he gained experience and knowledge under such teachers as V. Kostetskyi and K. Trokhymenko. He completed his studies in 1964.

In the 1970s, he served as Deputy Director of the Directorate of Art Exhibitions of Ukraine under the Ministry of Culture.

Mykola Mudryi’s paintings have been included in numerous exhibitions since 1963. In 1993, he became a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. That same year marked another significant event — a solo exhibition of his paintings was held in Kyiv.

The artist is actively involved in charitable and educational initiatives — at various points, he donated his paintings and authored books to the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine and other institutions.

The artist works primarily in the genres of historical and thematic painting. His canvases are often an artistic meditation on Ukraine's fate, its heroes, and the pivotal moments of its history.

Many of his works are dedicated to Cossack and historical themes. A number of paintings were created under the impression of poetry by Ukrainian classical authors.

In addition, Mykola Mudryi reflects on the subject of contemporary Ukrainian history. Responding to the events of the Revolution of Dignity, the artist created patriotic canvases: For Freedom! For Truth! For Language!, I Am the Press!, and We Were, Are, and Will Be Europe!

A unique feature of Mykola Mudryi's art method is that he writes a poem to accompany each of his paintings. His exhibitions and creative gatherings often take the form of poetry-and-art evenings.

Among Mykola Mudryi's original paintings are Self-Portrait (1967), Haymaking (1968), Mother's Garden (1971), Morning in the Carpathians (1978), Grandmother's Spinning Wheel (1983), Khreshchatyk (1987), Lamentation (1990), In Podil and Marusia Churai (both 1991), The Destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich and Roksolana (both 1992), The Betrothal of Yaroslav the Wise's Daughters, Holodomor 1933, The Eternal Path, and the triptych Return (all 1993).

UFDA digitized Kyiv-Pechersk National Preserve (1986) by the artist from the collection of the Regional Communal Museum of Local History in Borshchiv. This painting is now available for viewing on the fund's website.