HARMONY AS AN AESTHETIC CATEGORY IN THE WORKS OF TARAS SHEVCHENKO AND JOHANN GOETHE

Abstract

The article reveals the peculiarities of the aesthetic category “harmony” as an integral part of the works of Taras Shevchenko and Johann Goethe based on the works of Ukrainian philosophers Irena Huzar “Shevchenko and Goethe”, “Taras Shevchenko on Kalokagatia and it’s opposite – barbarism”, “Der antike Harmoniebegriff – Fortleben und Umbildung” (The Ancient Concept of Harmony – Existence and Change), and “J.J. Winckelmann in den ostslawischen Ländern” (The Global Influence of German Classical Weimar). Biographical information of Iryna Huzar and a brief historiography of her works are considered. Common motifs are highlighted in the way artists express their ideas. The influence of “Daimon”, “Tuche”, education, and the external environment on the formation of artists is identified. The influence of Weimar’s classicism and Johann Winckelmann’s philosophy on both artists’ work is meaningful. The philosophical basis of their creativity is studied. The ancient understanding of harmony as a “symphony of the cosmos” by Pythagoras and Heraclitus’ “Law of finiteness” and their influence on the authors’ work are compared. The difference between harmonious and discordant nature is highlighted. The significance of kalokagatia, as a harmonious combination of beauty and goodness in the universe, its manifestation in the works, is analyzed. An understanding of the concepts of “Muse”, “Fate”, “Will”, and “Love” in the works of T. Shevchenko and J. Goethe is revealed. The established idea of perfect harmony between family comfort and its disharmony is hellish in the artists’ works. Attention is drawn to T. Shevchenko’s correspondence with the Polish poet B. Zaleski from 1857 on his fascination with beauty, symmetry, and harmony in nature and in the art of music. The need for research on a holistic understanding of T. Shevchenko’s relationship with musical harmony is emphasized. To summarize, T. Shevchenko and J. Goethe are harmonious personalities and creative ideas both national and universal. Predictably, to achieve harmony, you must work on yourself daily, knowing yourself.