Authors

Discussion

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Hutsul region, located in the Eastern Carpathians (formerly part of Poland and now in Ukraine), captivated the attention of artists, ethnographers, and travellers across Europe. This paper explores how ethnographic and artistic representations of Hutsulshchyna shaped perceptions of its culture, creating a complex dialogue among documentation, imagination, and reality. It also investigates how the concept of ‘disruption’—understood here as a fragmentation or challenge to established narratives—appears not only in evolving images of Hutsul culture but also within the methods of artistic and ethnographic representation themselves. By analysing key visual works and their transformation over time, the study demonstrates how diverse narratives crafted a unique “identity of the region through the eyes of others.”

The image of the Hutsuls was constructed through engravings, paintings, photographs, and early films—media that emphasised the region’s exoticism and cultural distinctiveness, while simultaneously moving towards a unified portrayal. These media, especially photography—an innovative tool for documenting and presenting folk cultures—significantly contributed to standardising the ethnographic image of the region. This fascination was set against a geopolitical and economic backdrop that lent portrayals of Hutsulshchyna a dual political and economic dimension, casting it as an exotic, resource-rich, and largely untouched landscape.

The 19th and early 20th centuries saw increased interest in the Hutsul region, driven by the Tatra Society and exhibitions organised in Lviv, Kolomyia, Paris, and Venice, which showcased Hutsul costumes, handicrafts, and works by esteemed painters. The literary perspective of Stanisław Vincenz merits particular attention. His view of the Hutsul region as a spiritual and universal homeland—though deeply personal—also portrayed the culture through the eyes of an “outsider.” This fascination culminated in the arrival of Italian anthropologist Lidio Cipriani in the 1930s. Invited by Vincenz, Cipriani sought to capture the authenticity of Hutsul life through photography. This paper ultimately reveals how external artistic and ethnographic narratives contributed to the creation of a distinct Hutsul identity in the European imagination, framing the region as both a cultural curiosity and a site of geopolitical interest.