Right after graduating from the Academy in 1895, Sapozhnykov was appointed to Pavlohrad (present-day Dnipropetrovsk region). There began the countdown of his artistic and teaching career. He taught at the local women’s gymnasium, and in his free time devoted himself to painting, producing many plein air sketches that captured the outskirts of Pavlohrad, the streets and houses of the provincial town, and the local Vovcha River.

Of particular interest are his Symbolist works, grouped into two series of twelve paintings each: Series No. 1 “Visions Before Dawn” (created before 1917) and Series No. 2 (created by 1926). Although the Symbolist movement in visual art cannot be confined to a single stylistic framework, it should be noted that these two series stylistically gravitate toward Art Nouveau.

and Series No. 2 (created before 1926). Although the Symbolist movement in fine art should not be limited to a specific artistic style, it should still be noted that the works in the two series stylistically gravitate towards Art Nouveau.

The world of Sapozhnykov’s Symbolist painting is filled with mysteries and unsolved enigmas. In these series, created under the influence of revolutionary events, the First World War, and the Ukrainian War of Independence, the artist sought to reflect in images-symbols both “eternal” philosophical themes and urgent issues of his own era. He interpreted specific images, events, and the entire history of humankind on a global scale. The artist engaged deeply with the eternal categories of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and falsehood, contemplating life and death, eternity and impermanence.