Despite the clock now ticking, it was not until 1925 that Bohomazov, by now a
professor at the Academy of Arts, again took up his brushes and began his final
work, the unfinished triptych Work of Sawyers, of which only the central and
right-hand sections, Work of Sawyers and Sharpening the Saws, were completed.
The final, left-hand panel, Rolling the Logs, exists only in study, only one in colour,
and is shown at TEFAF.
The choice of subject and its format is one of conjecture; is it the building of the
Cross, shown on an altar-like triptych? What is known is that the artist attacked
the subject with almost religious zeal, completing over 300 studies. In the words
of art critic Simon Hewitt, 'He left behind an unfinished masterpiece, which was
to be the culmination of his creative life, a final testament.'
A testament the artist never completed.
Reconstruction of Rolling the Logs by Vitaly Maiboroda
Oil on canvas, 138 x 155 cm
Private collection, UK
Work of Sawyers (1928-29)
Oil on canvas, 168 x 135 cm
National Museum of Ukrainian Art, Kyiv
