Outstanding Representatives of Modern Movements in Ukrainian Art

The purpose of the article is to explore the activities of the most famous Ukrainian artists who embodied in their works the ideas and moods of the Art Nouveau era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Research methodology. The author of the article applies structural, comparative, and analytical methods. Results. The study summarises art studies and scientific literature, which gave an understanding of the processes that directly influenced the development and creation of new artistic works in modern art, in particular, the issue of national cultural identity. The main modernist movements in Ukrainian art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are analysed. The features of the work of prominent representatives of the modern era (M. Zhuk, V. Maksymovych, O. Arkhypenko, O. Murashko, O. Ekster, K. Malevich, V. Krotkov, and others) are characterised. Special attention is paid to the use of compositional schemes, symbolic techniques, and colouristic construction of paintings used by modernist artists. The study demonstrates that each artist considered it necessary to contribute something from his unique way of creation to the general culture and art of that time, therefore, in the Art Nouveau style, the atmosphere of presentation and colour changed, which directly affected the image of the paintings themselves. The features of the representation of female images in the works of artists of graphic, decorative and applied art are considered. The article reveals the contribution of Ukrainian artists to the cultural heritage of Europe. Scientific novelty. The contribution of Ukrainian artists to the development of the modernist art, who worked in various historical conditions without betraying the national foundations of artistic creative work, is traced