There are museums in Lviv that are known to every tourist. This is primarily of course “Lychakiv Cemetery”, the Museum of Folk Architecture better known as “Shevchenkivskyi Gai”, Pharmacy Museum, Arsenal Weapons Museum and a number of others.
These locations are recognizable and rarely suffer from a lack of estimates. And indeed, we, as employees of the Tourist Information Center, often hear from our guests the owner asking to tell about the above museums, get to know them on the map and help get there.
However, there are much more than five members in and around museums in Lviv, and they often don`t deserve to suffer from a lack of attention. Some - because you know on the periphery, others – are really small, have a special theme, or simply not enough publicized, namely those that combine in themselves, unfortunately, because these reasons are unpopular. And it is very unfortunate because the guests of the city lose a huge layer of history and new impressions, so our goal is to inform you about such places and help you look there.
Leopold Levytskyi Museum
Today we will talk about the museum in memory of the famous Ukrainian graphic artist and painter - Leopold Ivanovych Levytskyi.
The artist was born into the family of a village blacksmith in the village of Burdyakivka, Ternopil region. Here his painting abilities were noticed and appreciated. But the father wanted to see his son as a lawyer and after graduating from high school in 1925 he sent him to study in Krakow. This profession was well paid and prestigious at that time. But Leopold entered the Academy of Fine Arts in the department of sculpture. Only the mother, a simple peasant, met without reproach her son's choice to become an artist. Initially, he studied in the group of the famous Polish sculptor Xavier Dunikowskyi, but being criticized by his mentor for his work, Leopold Levytskiy went on to study graphics.
During his studies, Levytskyi was fascinated by left-wing “avant-garde” ideas, he was a member of the pro-communist “Krakow Group”. In 1932, with a group of like-minded people, he organized an exhibition, which due to its social orientation and sharp themes of works (“Spider”, “Prison”, “The struggle of workers with the police”) did not like the authorities and was closed. Leopold was imprisoned for four months and later expelled from the Academy. In the 1930s, he was secretly and openly monitored by the police, and the Polish authorities imprisoned him. In 1939, the artist headed the Chortkiv City Council, and later, five years later, he settled in Lviv. Leopold Levytskyi died working at his desk on May 14, 1973. He was buried in Lviv, in Lychakiv Cemetery.
Leopold Levytskyi is a very multifaceted creative personality. Although his main element was graphics, he was also engaged in sculpture and painting. Fluent in many techniques, he created highly artistic works at the beginning of his artistic career. Most of his early works perished during the war. Works of a later period remained the property of Ukraine. The artist's work was undoubtedly influenced by the environment of Lviv. In the 1960s, the artist developed a unique stylistic style, which combined spontaneity and technicality.
Levytskyi was also an illustrator - he worked with many publications, created covers for works of world and Ukrainian classics, illustrated fairy tales and stories. Many of them are actually kept in the museum.
The premises of the Leopold Levytskyi Museum are located on Ustyanovycha Street, in the house number 10 on the ground floor. At one time it was both the home and workshop of the artist where he lived for about 30 years.
The exposition of the museum - several rooms where the works of the author, as well as tools and elements of life are represented in chronological order. It is interesting that the furniture and art equipment are placed in the same places as during the life of the artist.
Actually in the funds of the National Museum of Andrei Sheptytskyi preserves up to 7,000 works by Leopold Levytskyi, including 300 paintings created in Lviv. Many of the artist's works, as well as his memoirs and personal letters, were donated by Leopold's wife, Gene Nadler.
The museum will be interesting to all art lovers, as well as those wishing to learn more about the life of the artist. There are not many visitors, so it is ideal for those who like to appreciate art alone.
We recommend visiting the Leopold Levytskyi Museum as part of a walk to St. George's Cathedral, and the Oleksa Novakivskyi Art Memorial Museum, another famous Ukrainian artist, is also nearby.
How to get: up the street of Lystopadovoho Chynu in front of St. George's Square on the street Ustyainovycha - the museum will be on the left.
Estimated time of picking up from Rynok Square - 20 minutes.
