Unique engraving dedicated to Ivan Mazepa can be seen in Kyiv

In Kyiv, you can see a unique engraving dedicated to Ivan Mazepa, created in 1705. It is a complex symbolic composition with the Cossack leader himself as the central figure.

This was reported by the National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.”

At the exhibition “Mazepa. The Strategy of a European Ukraine,” currently on display at the National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” visitors can see a true visual ode to the legendary Hetman – the engraving “Panegyric in Honor of Ivan Mazepa,” created in 1705 by archdeacon and artist Ivan Myhura. The artwork is part of the Preserve’s collection.

The coat of arms of the renowned Hetman, weaponry, Latin inscriptions, and images of churches reveal Ivan Mazepa as a defender of faith, culture, and statehood. It is also valuable that this engraving preserves a lifetime portrait of the Hetman, closely resembling his actual appearance at over 60 years of age.

This is a complex symbolic composition, with the Cossack leader himself at its center. Clad in knightly armor, he stands among allegories of learning, under the protection of seven heavenly patrons and alongside churches he supported – Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the Ascension Church of the monastery where Mazepa’s mother was abbess, the Dormition and Mykilski Cathedrals, the Trinity and All Saints gate churches, as well as the Church of St. Cyril.

The artistic language of the image is constructed with Baroque precision: each row contains seven figures. The mystical number seven enhances the symbolism of the composition, uniting the earthly and the divine, the material and the spiritual.