Heorhiy Narbut, author of the first Ukrainian state banknotes and postage stamps.
Heorhiy (Yurii) Ivanovych Narbut (February 25 [March 9], 1886 – May 23, 1920) was a Ukrainian graphic artist, illustrator, and designer. He was the author of the first Ukrainian state banknotes and postage stamps of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) and one of the founders and first rector of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts.
He was the brother of poet Volodymyr Narbut, father of artist Danylo Narbut, and dancer Maryna Berezovska.
Early Life and Education
Narbut was born on the Narbutivka estate in Hlukhiv County, Chernihiv Governorate (today Sumy region, Ukraine) into a family of impoverished Lithuanian nobility.
He studied independently before enrolling in the Hlukhiv Men’s Gymnasium (1896–1906). Between 1906 and 1917, he lived in Saint Petersburg, where he studied under Ivan Bilibin and Mstislav Dobuzhinsky. In 1907, he trained at Elizaveta Zvantseva’s private art school and later perfected his craft in Munich at Simon Hollósy’s studio.
A young Heorhiy Narbut during his years as a gymnasium student, before becoming a renowned Ukrainian graphic artist and designer of UPR banknotes and stamps.
Narbut became a member of the World of Art artistic association in St. Petersburg. He illustrated fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, Ivan Krylov’s fables, and Ukrainian folk stories and songs. His deep knowledge of Ukrainian heraldry led him to illustrate works such as Heraldry of the Hetmans of Little Russia and Ancient Architecture of Galicia.
Ukrainian Revolution and the UPR
In March 1917, Narbut moved to Kyiv. He created sketches of Ukrainian military uniforms, packaging designs, playing cards, and the first postage stamps of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (30, 40, and 50 shahs).
In September 1917, he became a professor of graphic arts at the newly established Ukrainian Academy of Arts and later (from December 1917/February 1918) served as its rector. During this period, Narbut designed Ukrainian banknotes, diplomas, and state papers.
He also developed projects for the State Emblem and Seal of Ukraine. On July 18, 1918, Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi approved Narbut’s design of the small State Seal, featuring a Cossack with a musket and the Volodymyr trident above.
An original illustration by Ukrainian graphic artist Heorhiy (Yurii) Narbut for Ivan Kotliarevsky’s classic poem Eneida.
Artistic Legacy
Narbut worked with Ukrainian journals such as Nashe Mynule, Mysteztvo, and Zoria. Together with Mykola Zerov, Serhii Yefremov, and others, he created the literary-artistic parody project “Lupu Yudych Hrabuzdov,” which mixed poetry, prose, and graphics.
His most famous achievement is the Ukrainian Alphabet (1917), a masterpiece of calligraphy and design that remains unmatched in Ukrainian typography. It combined influences of Ukrainian manuscripts, baroque engraving, and European type design.
Narbut’s influence extended to many followers, including Marko Kylnarskyi, Pavlo Kovzhun, Robert Lisovskyi, Ivan Mozalevskyi, and Anton Sereda. His works shaped an entire school of Ukrainian book illustration and national style in the 1920s–30s.
His last major project was illustrating Ivan Kotliarevskyi’s Aeneid, of which he managed to complete only one illustration before his death.
Death
Heorhiy Narbut died of typhus on May 23, 1920, in Kyiv during the Ukrainian People’s Republic era. He was buried at Baikove Cemetery. His funeral procession became a symbolic farewell to one of the greatest masters of Ukrainian graphic art.
The funeral procession carrying the coffin of Ukrainian artist Heorhiy (Yurii) Narbut moves past Dumska Square in Kyiv on May 23, 1920.