Dolynsky, Luka

Dolynsky, Luka [Долинський, Лука; Dolyns'kyj], b ca 1745 in Bila Tserkva, d 10 March 1824 in Lviv. Painter. Orphaned during the time of the haidamaka uprisings in Right-Bank Ukraine, Dolynsky found support with the Uniate metropolitan of Kyiv Pylyp Volodkovych who recognized his talent and sent him to Lviv to Metropolitan Lev Sheptytsky who became Dolynsky's mentor. Dolynsky studied with Yurii Radylovsky in Lviv in 1770–1 and was later sent to study at the Vienna Academy of Arts (1775–7). In 1777 he settled permanently in Lviv, where he worked as a church artist and portraitist. He painted the interior of Saint George's Cathedral (1770–1 and 1777), decorating the iconostasis and the side altars. In the 1780s and 1790s he decorated various churches in Lviv, including the Church of the Holy Spirit, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, and the Church of Good Friday in Lviv, and churches in nearby villages. In 1807 and 1810 he painted and gilded the Dormition Cathedral of the Pochaiv Monastery, and in 1820–1 the iconostasis and murals in Saint Onuphrius's Church (see Saint Onuphrius's Church and Monastery) in Lviv. Dolynsky painted portraits of Prince Lev Danylovych (1770–1), Maria Theresa and Joseph II (1775–7), Metropolitan Fylyp Volodkovych, and others. In combining classical and original Ukrainian stylistic features, he departed from the Lviv guild tradition of icon painting.

[This article was updated in 2020.]