The Girl with the Straw

Viktor Zaretskyi was a Ukrainian artist and educator, and one of the leaders of the Sixtiers movement.

Viktor Zaretskyi's art legacy comprises around 1,000 oil paintings and drawings, and extends across various forms of art, including graphics, monumental frescoes, sculptural reliefs, and mosaics. He also created numerous portraits of prominent Ukrainian figures.

He was born in 1925, in the town of Bilopillia (now in the Sumy region). Viktor spent his childhood and teenage years in the workers' settlements of Horlivka and Stalino (now Donetsk).

In 1943, Zaretskyi was drafted into the Red Army, but he did not participate in combat as he had been deaf in one ear since childhood. After being demobilized in 1945, he lived in the village of Obidimo near Tula. There, he privately studied under painter Mykola Orekhov. In 1946, he entered the Kyiv Art School, and from 1947 to 1953, he studied at the Kyiv Art Institute, where he later taught.

From 1978, Zaretskyi worked in his own art studio, mentoring over 200 students. 

The artist passed away in 1990 after a long illness and was buried in Kyiv. Viktor Zaretskyi's paintings are held in the collections of the Nykanor Onatskyi Regional Art Museum in Sumy, as well as in institutions in the United States and Europe.

After his death, in 1994, the National Union of Artists of Ukraine and the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture established the Viktor Zaretskyi Prize to honor young artists.

Among Viktor Zaretskyi's original paintings are "The Girl with the Straw" (1960), "The New Moon" (1987-1988), "Spring" (1987), "Autumn. Morning in the Garden" (1984), "Eugenia" (1986), "Portrait of a Girl" (1950), and many more. 

One of his early works, "The Girl with the Straw," stands as one of the most exceptional depictions of childhood in 20th-century Ukrainian art. While the composition evokes the simplicity of a child's drawing, the use of pure, vibrant colors is expertly balanced to create a cohesive whole. The concise, slightly flattened composition aligns perfectly with the conceptual goal of uniting humanity and nature, while also capturing the psychological depth of the character. This and other Viktor Zaretskyi's paintings for sale are available at auction on the UFDA website. 

While studying the culture and history of the Ukrainian people, the artist sought his own style, a uniquely personal vision of creative imagery. Through new forms of expression, he aimed to uncover profound spiritual themes, drawing on the enduring artistic principles of the Modernist era. In the early 1980s, he became fascinated by the Vienna Secession, particularly the works of Gustav Klimt.