10/15/2026
Vsevolod Maksymovych was born in 1894, although the exact month of his birth remains unknown.
Continuing my experimentation of creating egg designs in the artistic style of the artists I studied during my Fulbright year in Ukraine. Since the month of Maksymovych's birth is not known, I decided two years ago to celebrate his birthday on October 15.
When I began my Maksymovych series, I focused primarily on his extravagant ornamentation and elaborated upon many of the details that characterize his work: patterned curtains, necklace-like drapery cords, intricate folds in tablecloths, and the bubble-like decorative backgrounds that appear in his paintings. When I returned to this series a few weeks ago, I began looking more closely at his figures, particularly his depiction of faces.
His faces vary. Some appear delicate and ethereal. Others are pouty in profile, some theatrical, and others realistic. Yet there are also several that, to my eye, evoke early Greek or Assyrian sculpture, almost like the moai faces of Easter Island. This observation led me in a new direction.
In his 1913 painting "The Kiss", Maksymovych depicted a couple whose appearance, to me, seem more realistic.
In response, I created "The Anticipated Kiss" and portrayed my own interpretation of two figures inspired by the early Greek, Assyrian, and almost Easter Island-like qualities I saw in some of his faces. The background is covered with the kind of ornamentation for which Maksymovych is so well known.
Tragically, the artist took his own life in 1914 at the age of just twenty. One cannot help but wonder what Vsevolod Maksymovych might have created had his life not ended so early.
The Anticipated Kiss, 2026, chicken egg, batik
