ВИЗУАЛЬНАЯ МЕТАФОРА СРЕДНЕВЕКОВОГО СОЦИУМА НА РУССКИХ ИКОНАХ «О ТЕБЕ РАДУЕТСЯ» КОНЦА XV – НАЧАЛА XVI В.

Abstract

The author examines the “In Thee rejoiceth” icons as visual sources that make it possible to reconstruct the ideal model of medieval society in the Moscow culture of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. This icon type, which includes the scenes of “Human race” collective praying to the Mother of God, is of Russian origin. Unlike other works of that time typologically close to it (“The Intercession”, “The Congregation of Our Lady”, “The Congregation of All Saints”, etc.), the “In Thee rejoiceth” icons demonstrate a historical connection to religious and socio-cultural facts of the Muscovy state. They clearly express the idea of Muscovy enjoying special patronage of the Mother of God, whose cult was actively developed in Moscow, the city that, as was believed at the Grand Dukes’ court, inherited the traditions and the spiritual authority of Constantinople. The depiction of the “Human race” in the “In Thee rejoiceth” icons can be viewed as a metaphorical image of the capital city community consisting of different groups of clergy and laity. This image corresponded to the ideas of the authorities and the population of the Russian state that existed under Ivan III and Vasili III.