Collection: Vsevolod Maksymovych

Vsevolod Maksymovych (1878–1942) was born in Kyiv, then part of the Russian Empire, and trained at the Kyiv Drawing School under Mykola Murashko. He later studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, where he absorbed the academic techniques of Henryk Siemiradzki and Stepan Bakalovich while developing an interest in the linear elegance of Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations.

Maksymovych’s graphic work, exemplified in "Self-Portrait" (1878) and "Remembrance of Italy" (c. 1866), employed fine ink lines and silhouettes to create decorative, symbolic compositions. His illustrations for literary editions and theatrical designs in Kyiv and Moscow between 1900 and 1910 featured elongated figures and organic motifs characteristic of Art Nouveau, often set against monochromatic backgrounds to emphasize contour and rhythm.

Maksymovych’s stylized graphics, exhibited in Kyiv’s Salon Izdebsky in 1909–1910, contributed to the development of Ukrainian and Russian modernist illustration. His integration of Symbolist themes and Art Nouveau linearity influenced the decorative arts and book design of the early 20th-century avant-garde in Eastern Europe.