ARTISTIC ACTIVITY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ORDERS IN THE EASTERN LANDS OF THE COMMONWEALTH: OUTSTANDING PERSONALITIES AND MONUMENTS (the XVIIth – XVIIIth centuries)

Abstract

The purpose of the research consists in the analysis of the essence and direction of artistic activity of the Roman Catholic monastic orders, characteristics of the circle of artists, who worked in the Ukrainian and Belorussian lands of the Commonwealth during the ХVІІth – ХVІІІth centuries, as well as the characteristics of their creative work. The research methodology is based on the principles of scientificity, historicism, a systemic principle. During the research work, both general scientific (analysis and synthesis, systematization and generalization) and special scientific methods have been used: problem-thematic, prosopographic, chronological, as well as systemic structural. The scientific novelty of the article is to reveal the little-known pages of the history of the Roman Catholic monastic orders in the Ukrainian and Belarussian territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the XVIIth-XVIIIth centuries, to clarify biographical information and analyze the creative achievements of prominent representatives of the artistic circle. The Conclusions. The Roman Catholic Orders occupy a special place in the history of religion and church in the territory of the Commonwealth, which included Volyn and Podillya during the second half of the ХVІth – the end of the VІІІth century. Undoubtedly, their missionary work was aimed at strengthening the position of the Roman Catholic Church, however, at the same time the local Roman Catholic monasteries played a leading role in promoting and affirming the cultural and artistic heritage of the Western civilization, including the artistic heritage of the Baroque era. They were the place where outstanding artists of the Order worked – architects, artists, sculptors, whose activities became a significant factor not only of Western European influence on the cultural and artistic life of the eastern Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but also the process of intensive development of a national art. Thus, owing to the work of hundreds of Western European educators, architects, artists, writers, whose creative destiny was closely connected with the Catholic monastic orders, Ukraine became not only the country, which over the centuries accumulated and preserved the cultural heritage of its own people, but also gradually became involved into the European process of creating something new.