Yaroslavna's Lament (a sketch)

This work depicts three female figures, the construction of their bodies is concise and stylized. The central figure is a young woman in a golden crown. She is sitting on the throne; her head is tilted to the left; her body is turned in the same direction, and only her arms are directed to the right. The central female figure is executed on the principle of the S-shaped line. A long dress tied under her breast is painted in cool green and yellow colors. On both sides of the princess there are two women, apparently maids. The left figure is shown in profile, standing barefoot on a small chair. Her hands are raised in a sympathetic gesture and almost touch either the cheeks of the crowned person or her yellow hair. The girl is dressed in a light shirt, a green and yellow skirt, and a red apron with horizontal stripes. On the right there is the second girl, who is barefoot and dressed in blue and white clothes. She holds a jug and a wineglass at the breast level. The floor is red and brown. Under the feet of a sitting woman there is a podium, which is hot yellow in color with red striped walls. The background of the work is light blue. There is a blue semicircle above the depicted figures. Between the heads of the central figure and the maid standing on the right there is an inscription "ПЛАЧ ЯРОСЛАВНИ" made in gold. All paints are very clean; elsewhere they are almost transparent. The lines of construction are clear and accurate. At the same time they retain their smoothness and give the whole composition roundness. In general, Mykhailo Boichuk paid great attention to the line and its capacity, because in each work he sought to achieve completeness of content, using the most concise means and forms. Most of Boichuk's works were destroyed after his execution by the Soviet authorities in 1937. However, some of Mykhailo Boichuk's works have been preserved thanks to the Lviv artist Yaroslava Muzyka, who, since 1914 when Mykhailo Boichuk was forced to leave Lviv with no opportunity to take his paintings with himself, had in keeping the artist's works and his small but significant archive. The Yaroslava Muzyka Fund is housed in the Lviv National Art Gallery. Presumably, the works we see now are only drafts and sketches for greater compositions.