Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko, also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar, was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist and ethnographer. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language, though this is different from the language of his poems. He also wrote some works in Russian. Shevchenko is also known for his many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator.