Ivan Mazepa

Ivan Mazepa

bronze

H – 2,3 m

Ivan Mazepa (c. 1639–1709) occupies a unique position in both Ukrainian history and the cultural imagination of Europe. A political leader of remarkable complexity — a reformer, diplomat, patron of the arts, and strategist — he became a symbol of Ukraine’s long struggle for sovereignty.
In European culture, Mazepa evolved into a mythic figure thanks to Lord Byron’s poem Mazeppa (1819), Victor Hugo’s romantic vision, Liszt’s symphonic poem, and the numerous paintings of Horace Vernet, Delacroix, and Géricault. For Europe, he came to embody endurance, dignity, and the dramatic force of destiny.

For Ukraine, however, Mazepa is above all a state-builder — a visionary who sought to secure his country’s independence in an era of shifting imperial powers. His legacy, prohibited and distorted for centuries under the Russian Empire, was restored only in independent Ukraine, where he is honored as a symbol of political foresight and cultural renewal.

My sculpture of Ivan Mazepa reflects my interest in portraying historical figures not only through their outward likeness but through the deeper symbolic structures that shaped their legacy.
In his right hand Mazepa holds the traditional symbol of hetmanic authority — the mace — whose head I transformed into a labyrinth, a metaphor for the complexity of leadership.
The Mazepa family cross is another central element, expressing the continuity of Ukrainian historical identity and emphasizing that his mission was not spontaneous but rooted in centuries of lineage and responsibility.

Mazepa is depicted in a moment of inner concentration — the silence before a decisive choice. He is reinterpreted as an archetype of leadership: a figure standing at the crossroads of time, holding both authority and the labyrinth of human destiny. While sculpting him, I sought to convey not only the historical personality, but also broader reflections on power, identity, and the pursuit of free choice.

This sculpture was scheduled to be unveiled this October in front of the oldest university in Kyiv (which Mazepa generously supported in his time), but due to the war and ongoing attacks, the ceremony has once again been postponed.