In Ukraine the oldest surviving paintings are frescoes found on the

In Ukraine the oldest surviving paintings are frescoes found on the northern Black Sea coast. Famous frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and of the Armenian Cathedral in Lvov are one of the oldest and attract many tourists from Ukraine and abroad. After the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg was established, many talented painters moved to Russia. This emigration deprived Ukrainian painting of its most creative talents. But there were several exceptions that devoted most of their painting to Ukrainian interests. Among such painters was T. Shevchenko, who is considered the father of modern Ukrainian painting. One more famous representative of the Ukrainian art was Ilia Repin. He was an outstanding painter, full member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Many of his works show Ukraine, its people and its history. Among them there are the most famous painting "The Zhaporozhian Cossacks Write a Letter to the Turkish Sultan", "Evening Party", "Haidamakys", "Cossack in the Steppe", and "Hopak". He also painted many portraits of Russian and Ukrainian cultural figures. Among them were M. Kostomarov, I. Kramskoi, T. Shevchenko and others.