Mikhail Mikhailovich Yarovoy (1864–1940), Memorial Service at the Grave of a Suicide, 1920

Ink on paper; dimensions: 24 x 34.5 cm; signed lower right: [in Cyrillic]: "M. Jarowoj | 1920". Title and date on the reverse.

Panachida – a memorial service in the Orthodox and Greek Catholic traditions, held for the deceased. It includes prayers for the repose of their souls, liturgical chants, and biblical readings. It is held before the funeral, at the grave, on the anniversary of death, and on days commemorating the deceased. A characteristic element of the service is the singing of “Vechnaia pamiat” (“Eternal Memory”).

Mikhail Mikhailovich Yarovoy (1864–1940) – a Russian and Soviet painter, graphic artist, illustrator, and educator, primarily associated with Kyiv. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture under Sergei Sorokin, as well as in Ilya Repin’s studio. He supplemented his artistic studies with trips to Austria and Italy (1890).

He belonged to the circle of realists associated with the Society of Wandering Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki) and actively participated in the exhibition life of Moscow and Kyiv. From 1900, he lived and worked in Kyiv, where he also taught. Among his students was the future painter Serhiy Bongart.

Yarovoy became famous as a portraitist, book illustrator, and creator of genre and hunting scenes. He also left behind valuable memoirs documenting the artistic milieu of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He died in Kyiv in 1940 and was buried at Lukyanivskyi Cemetery.