Illustration

Maria Yunak

Maria Yunak (February 15, 1902 – August 1, 1977) was a Ukrainian painter, graphic artist, and poster designer, associated with the Boichukist school. In 1914, Maria Yunak enrolled at the Kyiv Women’s Gymnasium of St. Princess Olga, which she graduated from with distinction. In 1920, she entered the Ukrainian State Academy of Arts, where she studied monumental painting in the workshop of Mykhailo Boichuk. At the same time, she worked as a secretary-typist at the Institute of Plastic Arts.

  • After graduating from the Academy in 1927, Yunak actively participated in the decoration of the Peasant Sanatorium of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee in Odesa, where she created fresco portraits of Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko, as well as decorative ornaments. In 1934, she contributed to the murals of the Chervonozavodskyi Theater in Kharkiv. From 1929, she regularly exhibited at republican art exhibitions.
    From the second half of the 1930s, Yunak focused on book illustration and poster design. Her work was characterized by a synthesis of folk art traditions and monumental painting. Among her well-known works are Fairy Tale (1921), Girl in a Kerchief (1921), Portrait of Ivan Franko (1927), Flowers (1972), and the fresco Seasons (1975).
    As a representative of the Boichukist movement, Yunak was not admitted to the Union of Artists; she was refused membership due to the “absence of monumental works.” This hindered her employment opportunities. In 1947, thanks to the support of friends, she began working as an artist at the Institute of Monumental Painting and Sculpture of the Academy of Architecture of the Ukrainian SSR. While there, she created a number of easel frescoes — Head of a Girl (1948), Woman Welder (1968), Correspondence Student (1969) — as well as sketches for unrealized murals, including Sorrow, Woman in the Garden, and Female Portrait (1968–1972).
    Many of Yunak’s works were destroyed during the campaign against Boichukism and in the years of World War II. Despite this, she continued to create, remaining faithful to art and national traditions.

Gallery

Illustration

Woman with Child

Illustration

Woman in a Scarf

Illustration

Woman Welder

Illustration

Ornament

Illustration

Kids and Geese

Illustration

Untitled