Ilya Ivanovych Lyzohub (12 October 1787 Kulykivka - 1867) was a Ukrainian philanthropist, composer, cellist and pianist who founded an influential artistic circle in Sedniv. He was a friend and patron of the poet Taras Shevchenko. In his youth, he was an aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of Malorossia Nikolai Repnin-Volkonsky.
Son of Ivan Lyzohub. Brother of Oleksandr and Andrii Lyzohub. Son-in-law of Ivan Hudovych.
Biography.
Ilya Lyzohub belonged to the Cossack family of Lyzohubs. According to the family tradition, he became a military man, served in the Izmail Regiment, took part in the Austrian campaign of the Moscow army, and was an aide-de-camp to the Little Russian Governor-General Prince Nikolai Repnin-Volkonsky. Lyzohub was awarded a golden sword for his courage and bravery in the Battle of Borodino.
Ilya Ivanovych did not stand aside from the social and political life of Ukraine, he belonged to the secret Masonic Lodge of the United Slavs, as evidenced by the diploma issued to him on 27 May 1818 and found after his death. This lodge was made up of Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles who sought to establish friendly relations between these peoples, who were to unite in a free union.
For some time Lyzohub was abroad, and in 1821 he retired as a colonel and returned to Sedniv, where he lived in the family estate with his wife Yelyzaveta Ivanovna, daughter of Field Marshal Ivan Hudovych, and his maid of honour.
Ilya Ivanovych was a man of many talents, fond of music, playing the piano well and singing beautifully. Lyzohub composed a piece for cello, which has been performed today by teachers of the L. Revutsky Chernihiv Music School.
Historian Mykola Markevych described Ilya Lyzohub as follows: "A wonderful musician, pianist, cellist, singer and composer, a good painter, a passionate hydraulics expert, he decorated Sedniv with gardens and fountains and lived quietly, modestly, but like a gentleman."
Ilya Lyzohub and Taras Shevchenko
Ilya Lyzohub and Taras Shevchenko met in 1846 in Sedniv. Lyzohub helped the exiled poet financially by buying some of his drawings.
Ilya Lyzohub, together with his brother Andriy, poet Oleksiy Tolstoy, and A. Hudovych, asked Vasyl Perovsky to take care of the poet's fate.
Shevchenko corresponded with Lyzohub (the letters have not been preserved). In letters to his friends, the poet often asked to convey his greetings to Ilya Ivanovich.
In 1846, in Sedniv, Shevchenko made an oil portrait of Ilya Lyzohub (65.5 x 53.5). Today this portrait is kept in the Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Kyiv.
