Treasures of Ukraine: A Nation's Cultural Heritage

by Andrey Kurkov (Foreword), Andriy Puchkov (Contributor), Christian Raffensperger (Contributor)

A celebration of Ukraine’s rich cultural heritage bringing to light the country’s most important works of art and architectural monuments from prehistory to the present. Treasures of Ukraine chronicles the arts and heritage of Ukraine at a time when the country’s people, culture, landmarks, and artworks are facing destruction and devastation. Created in partnership with a group of renowned artists, curators, and critics, this record of architectural monuments and artworks reaches from prehistory to the present day. Organized chronologically across eight chapters, Treasures of Ukraine contains more than 220 color images that showcase everything from Scythian gold, Byzantine icons, and wooden churches to gold-domed cathedrals, avant-garde masterpieces, and political art after the Orange Revolution, while accompanying texts reveal the history and significance behind the pieces. Examples of vernacular art weave Ukraine’s dynamic and inextinguishable folk narrative through the book, providing visual texture as well as a sense of the nation’s living history. This is a compelling account of Ukraine’s history, told through the prism of a carefully curated selection of key monuments, architectural landmarks, and works of art. All proceeds will go to PEN Ukraine, to help Ukrainian authors in need.  220 illustrations

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Ukraine, History, Russia

256 pages, Hardcover

Published December 6, 2022

About the author

Andrey Kurkov is a Russian and Ukrainian writer who writes in Russian (fiction) and Ukrainian (non-fiction).

Kurkov was born in the small town of Budogoszcz, Russia, on April 23, 1961. When he was young, his family moved to Kyiv, Ukraine. In 1983 Kurkov graduated from the Kyiv Pedagogical Academy of Foreign Languages and later also completed a training in Japanese translation.

Among Kurkov's most famous Russian novels are 'Smert postoronnego' (1996, translated into English in 2001 under the title 'Death and the Penguin') and 'Zakon ulitki' (2002, translated into English in 2005 as 'Penguin lost)'. Kurkov's only Ukrainian non-fiction book is 'Ruh "Emanus": istoriya solidarnosti' (2017).

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the art and culture of Ukraine. The chronology at the back of the book is a useful tool for understanding the sequence of events.

[Naya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Багато гарних фото та іллюстрацій, але як на книжку, оригінал якої вийшов 22 року, то частина інформації вже видається застарілою.

[Tania King · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book! I love it! If you would like to dive into Ukrainian culture, Treasures of Ukraine is one of the best choices.

[Anna Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting, I enjoyed

[Tetyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This richly illustrated edition sets an ambitious goal to show the cultural heritage of Ukraine in its historical context since the earliest times until modernity - and, as it often happens, it inevitably leaves some gaps, unanswered questions and unexplained phenomena. Minor frustration was also caused by several lapses, such as Kherson where it should have been Chersonesus - two different places in different parts of Ukraine, or “Derd” Drughet who was a Hungarian and therefore, Gyorgy (it seems though that those belong to the editors rather than the authors). Sometimes, those lapses are disappointingly tone deaf, for example when Russian rulers Peter I and Catherine II are called “Great” - of course, we know that Russian propaganda machine worked hard to establish them as “Greats” in historical works and mass culture but from the Ukrainian perspective, they were great only in mass murders of Ukrainians and destruction of freedom and historical memory in Ukraine. Please don’t help spread Russian imperialist tropes!
Despite the (sometimes) uneven quality of the essays, I can certainly recommend this book; it will be a very good introductory reading and, thanks to the numerous high-quality illustrations, immersion into visual culture to everyone who wants to know more about Ukraine.
I also want to thank Thames & Hudson for their initiative to support Ukrainian PEN with the proceeds from this publication.

[Simon Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read this it is apparent that during the Soviet era self expression and creativity is seriously suppressed in an endeavor to cause artists to 'communicate' an idealized portrail of the communist society.
The necessity of groups to preserve their cultural history and it's artifacts is clearly necessary. I was fortunate to visit Ukraine in 2011, 2013 and 2014 and I was able to visit Kharkiv, albeit in a limited period of time and see some of Ukraine.
Sadly the invasion of Ukraine and the destruction of 250 museums and galleries leaves me stunned.
So vitally important to allow artistic expression and preserve ALL cultural art and artifacts.
I've found the chronology at the back of the book useful particularly showing the political upheaval of the 20th and 21st centuries.

[Patrice Cazeault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exploration fascinante de l'art à travers l'histoire de l'Ukraine, de la préhistoire jusqu'à nos jours.

J'y découvre une culture riche, vivante et vibrante.

Une histoire tumultueuse.

La peinture Before the start, de Tetyana Yablonska m'a chaviré !

Merci aux organisatrices du stand Livres de l'Ukraine du salon du livre de Montréal de m'avoir conseillé la lecture de ce livre.

[Inna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting text and very nice illustrations 💙💛

[Ondra Soukup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hlavně pro milovníky výtvarného umění, ale zajímavé i pro všechny ostatní.

[Anastasia Kurinska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ця книга вийшла друком у британському видавництві Thames & Hudson у жовтні 2022-го, а її переклад українською від ArtHuss побачив світ рівно за два роки

Найдивовижніше, що майже всі автори текстів є нашими співвітчизниками, серед них: Аліса Ложкіна, Мирослава Мудрак, Олександр Соловйов, Вікторія Бурлака та Діана Клочко. Тим більш химерним є той факт, що для української авдиторії довелося перекладати англійський текст, написаний земляками.

Книга має вісім розділів, над кожним з яких працював окремий автор, оповідь побудована хронологічно (від доісторичних часів до сучасного мистецтва), у кожній частині є розгорт, присвячений народному мистецтву, а також акцентовано на найбільш змістовних реченнях. Єдине, текст доволі дрібний, що створює деякий дискомфорт при читанні.

Оскільки передусім читачем видання уявлявся іноземець, ця книга більше про перше знайомство з культурою України. У стислій за об'ємом праці, з численними ілюстраціями, та все ж з доволі цікавим викладом думок можна знайти усе, що для цього потрібно. Однак, зважаючи на суспільний запит українців до розуміння своєї ідентичності, книга також може задовільнити зростаючий попит і виконати роль своєрідного путівника.

Мені зустрічалося доволі багато іноземних видань такого формату, тож я рада, що серед них буде й про Україну. Це своєрідна енциклопедія, яку можна почати читати з будь-якого розділу, це окреслення загальної картини, що надихає дослідити більше.

[Lady Disdain · Rating 3 out of 5]

It did make me curious about Ukrainian art, but I do wish that it wasn't such a broad overview because that made it hard to connect to what I was reading. Further the folkart section was way to short in my opinion.

[Ophelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудовий короткий екскурс в історію памʼяток та мистецтва України. Неточності присутні - книга написана в 2022 році, англійською, а українською видана лише 2024, тому деяка інформація застаріла. Але таких лише пару незначних моментів. Тому загалом книга на 5 зірочок заслуговує.

[Justin Mahaffay · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are into art history this may be a good book for you (I am not). The different writers made it hard for me to follow. There is good art in here, may be a good coffee table book or something to skim through while pooping. If you are looking for a good history book about Ukraine, Anne Applebaum's - Red Famine is excellent.