Harani Yosyp

Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (1962). Member of the National Union of Artists of the USSR (1958).

His true name is Jozhef Husenberger, he later changed it to Yosyp Harani. The artist was born on 16 March 1921 in Vuzlove village, Berehove district of Transcarpathia. He got his education in Berehove modern upper secondary school, where he was recognized as the best artist among the pupils. At the age of 18, a little-known young man won the contest for the best image of the precentor of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1944) Miklós Horthy, whose portrait he wrote in 1939, commissioned by the city authorities. He served in the German army unit, which in 1945 was captured by the American soldiers. On his return home, he worked in the Berehove City Inventory Bureau, in the city cinema and at the local artel as a photographer. For some time, the artist worked under the pseudonym Jozsef Husenberger. He studied at Y. Bokshai and A. Erdeli.

He worked in the techniques of easel painting, namely with tempera, oil, watercolour and pastel. He created graphics. The author of landscapes, genre scenes and still lifes. His paintings are created in the most beautiful corners of the region. Art critics recognized him as an unsurpassed colourist. The colours of his landscapes saturated with transparency, the major world perception of the Transcarpathian regions are striking.

He also created portraits – his prototypes were simple workers, residents of Berehove and surrounding villages. The creative credo of the artist was to fully and widely reflect the life of people and society.

In 1946, he took part in the exhibition for the first time. Participant in regional (since 1950) and all-Ukrainian (since 1957) exhibitions. The artist's works can be found in the Transcarpathian Art Museum named after Y. Bokshai and other museum collections in Brazil, the USA, Germany, France and Russia (the Tretyakov Gallery) as well as in private collections. He presented his 32 paintings to Berehove Art Gallery.

The artist died in 2009 in Berehove district.