COSSACK MAMAI in Ukrainian Folk Paintings of the 17th to 20th centuries

In addition to numerous paintings of the minstrel, Cossack Mamai, this album includes scholarly works on this recurring image that attempt to decode its cultural significance. The image of Cossack Mamai has been so popular that he even became a calling card of sorts in ancient Ukrainian art. In the 19th century, Mamai could easily be found hanging out with people from all walks of life—he appeared in paintings, engravings, and on household goods. It was not just folk artists, but professionals too, who returned again and again to his image: Taras Shevchenko, Ilya Repin, Heorhii Narbut, David Burliuk, and others. The research presented in this publication covers Mamai’s appearance in toponyms and his connection to vertep Christmas plays, traditional Ukrainian minstrels (kobzars), icon painting, and decorative folk painting.