Costume sketches for cinema as independent artwork (using the example of Ekaterina Yuryevna Shapkaits’s works for the film Viking)

This article analyzes the costume sketches produced by Ekaterina Shapkaits for the film Viking as unique graphic works with an artistic value of their own. It emphasizes the artist’s role in creating the visual image of characters starting from the emergence of cinema in the early 20th century. Particular attention is paid to costume sketches as an integral part of the artistic process and an independent work of art. We examine Shapkaits’s works to reveal the key aspects in the analysis of cinema costume sketches, such as composition, choice of color, style and symbolism. The sketches studied in this paper demonstrate a classical approach to creating images, where each element of the costume carries a semantic load and reflects the era, the character’s personality and the general concept of the film. We focus on the fact that these sketches can be considered as independent graphic works worthy of study as part of art history. We thus stress the importance of costume sketches within the overall artistic concept of the film, which may exist beyond the film itself and have its own aesthetic significance.