Shevchenko Monument (Ottawa)

Taras Shevchenko Monument in Ottawa
Canada
Taras Shevchenko Monument in Ottawa
For Taras Shevchenko
Unveiled	26 June 2011
Location	Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine, 952 Green Valley Crescent
Designed by	Leo Mol,

Memorial plaque

The Ottawa Shevchenko Monument is a bronze and granite monument of Taras Shevchenko,

Ukraine's national poet-bard (1814-1861), folk hero and symbol of Ukraine's identity, that was

unveiled on 26 June 2011 in Ottawa, Ontario.{{ |

url=http://www.infoukes.com/tarasinottawa/monument-unveiling.htm }}

The monument is located the grounds of the Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine, 952

Green Valley Crescent, Ottawa, Ontario.

The Ottawa Shevchenko Monument Committee provides details of the origin, history, construction,

and unveiling ceremony and concert for this national monument on its official website {{ |

url=http://www.infoukes.com/tarasinottawa/ }} and Facebook page. {{|

url=https://www.facebook.com/Taras-Shevchenko-Monument-in-Ottawa-212296838789822/ }}

The composition of the monument includes a complex of four items: Taras Shevchenko, and three

bas-relief figures from accompanying the composition. The central monument, sitting on a granite

base approximately 8.5 m (28 ft) high, holds a young version of a standing Taras

Shevchenko. Dressed in a long coat, the fashion at that time, he holds a palette and three

paintbrushes and looks out into the distance. The figure is 3 m (9.8 ft) high and

weighs 630 kg (1,390 lb).

Three shorter bases hold artistic creations from his poetry. One of the bas-relief figures,

standing 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) and weighing 156 kg (344 lb), represents

Haydamaky (referring to Haidamakas) an epic poem of Shevchenko's about the Cossack paramilitary bands that rose up against the szlachta (Polish nobility) in right-bank Ukraine in the 18th-century. The next, Kateryna with child (1.2 m (3 ft 11 in), 163 kg (359 lb)), recalls his early ballad about a Ukrainian girl seduced then abandoned by a Russian - symbolic of the tsarist imposition of serfdom in Ukraine and refers to Shevchenko's painting Kateryna. The last, Banduryst (1.2 m (3 ft 11 in), 156 kg (344 lb)), referring to the Kobzar and Bandura, a traditional Ukrainian stringed musical instrument shaped like a lute.

Nearly 90,000 kg (200,000 lb) of Stanstead grey granite from Quebec, was used to

create the bases for the monument.

The unveiling event included a tree planting ceremony using soil brought from Kaniv,

Ukraine. The monument unveiling in Ottawa was

planned to coincide with the 120 year anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada, 20 years

of Ukrainian independence, and 150 years of Shevchenko's death.