Vasyl Tarnovsky (Junior)

Vasyl Tarnovsky (Junior) has become a well-known philanthropist, an active public and cultural figure and collector of Ukrainian antiquity.

The collection of Ukrainian antiquities of V. Tarnovsky opens the considerable field for fundamental research. Vasyl Tarnovsky (Jr.) was born in 1838 in the village Antonivtsi district of Poltava province (now Varvinsky district of Chernihiv region) He received his elementary education in Moscow, then studied at the Engineering School in St. Petersburg, and later graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology at the Kiev University of St. Volodymyr. Tarnovsky was active in public life; he was elected as the county marshal of Nizhyn (1875-1887). The greatest passion in his life was collecting antiquities and works of art.

V. Tarnovsky, being a highly educated man, remained the patriot of the motherland, and represents the national elite of the XIX century. It is believed that on his cultural and artist view of life influenced his family estate in Kachanivka.  No wonder M. Kostomarov called it "an endeavor, where various Ukrainian scientists, artistic and poetry "birding" arose". Gradually, the palace of Kachanivka was rebuilt, the church was erected, and the orchestra, theater and a huge library with an art collection were appeared. Among this collection was painting of famous artists D. Ternis, A. Van-Deyk, K. Bryullov, O. Kiprensky, V. Sternberg and others. At the age of 18 V.Tarnovsky (Junior) has an aim, to pick up a collection of objects that that would help him to study the history of Ukraine and the national mode of life in detail. Nowadays, we can see that it was not a simple collection, but a civic duty to Ukrainian people and their history.

In one of Marko Vouchok's letters to her husband in 1857, she described her meeting with a young man in St. Petersburg: "She saw Vasyl Tarnowski in blue Cossack trousers, in an embroidered shirt and he greeted us sweetly ...".