Chekan-Aral island

Taras Shevchenko. Chekan-Aral island. Watercolour (14,9 × 28,6 cm). [17 – 19.V 1849]. State Museum of Fine Arts. Kharkiv, inv. g – 1251.

Island Chekan-Aral was in the eastern part of the Aral Sea. Now [in 1962] due the raising of the water level in the Aral Sea disappeared. [But in the beginning of 21 cent. level of the Aral Sea dramatically decreased…]

Dated based on Butakov's diary entries from 17.V and 19.V 1849 on staying on this island ["Day notes of navigation A. I. Butakov on the Aral Sea in 1848 – 1849 years", Tashkent, 1953, p. 33 – 34].

Sketch from nature in pencil, after which the name of watercolor was established, see number 179.

Mentioned in literature under the title "Two hillocks, on the left the sea, right sands" [A. Novitsky Taras Shevchenko as a painter, Lviv – Moscow, 1914, p. 58, № 277].

Storage areas: property of Butakov, Glazenap, Kyiv City Museum, Ukrainian historical museum (Kyiv), Gallery of pictures Shevchenko, Kharkiv.

L. I. Vnuchkova

After publication: Taras Shevchenko Complete Works in 10 volumes. – Kyiv: ed. Academy of sciences of UkrSSR, 1962, vol. 8, № 45 (image), p. 26 – 27 (notes).