Unknown image of Hetman Ivan Mazepa on the icon of the Intercession of the Virgin from Novhorod-Siverskyi

The purpose of the article is to study the unknown image of Hetman I. Mazepa on the icon of the Intercession of the Mother of God from the St. Barbarа Church of Novgorod-Siversky. Research methods were selected in accordance with the goal. The most commonly used general scientific methods are the methods of analysis and deduction. The scientific novelty is in the fact that for the first time the image of Hetman I. Mazepa on the icon of the Intercession of the Mother of God from Novgorod-Siversky was studied and described in detail. Its description and photographic image are given. The photo of the icon was taken in 1916 by art critic S. Taranushenko. Conclusions. Analyzing the contents of the collection of S. Taranushenko from the Institute of Manuscripts of the National Library of Ukraine named after V. Vernadsky, it was possible to find a photograph of an old icon from the Barbarian Church of Novgorod-Siversky, which depicted in detail real historical personalities of the Hetmanate I. Mazepa. The icon can be attributed to a unique monument of Ukrainian painting and icon painting of the late seventeenth - early seventeenth century. Its compositional scheme for that time was quite traditional. In the center of the icon we see the image of the Mother of God in a crown with the Shroud, over which are depicted two angels on a background of floral ornaments. Under the Shroud there are two groups of people – lay people (left) and the clergy (right). Actors on the icon are depicted according to the hierarchy. Each face is clearly drawn. The figures of I. Mazepa, V. Dunin-Borkovsky and I. Maksimovych are depicted in the image. The author also attempted to identify two other individuals. First, the person depicted near the right shoulder of the hetman may be Pryluky Colonel D. Gorlenko (1660–1731) or Hetman’s nephew I. Obidovsky (1672–1701). Secondly, along with the person of M. Maksymovych, M. Lezhaisky may well turn out to be the archimandrite of the Novgorod-Siversky Savior-Transfiguration Monastery. The icon of the Intercession of the Virgin from Novgorod-Siversky should be studied as one of the masterpieces of domestic painting with the most accurate image of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. During the preparation of the article, Anna Arendar, the chief custodian of the Chernihiv Historical Museum named after V. Tarnovskyi.