Count S. D. Sheremetev and the establishment of the Committee of Guardianship of Russian Icon Painting

Abstract

By the end of the nineteenth century, it had become obvious that there was a need to prepare and publish a new Icon-painting Script (Podlinnik) - a manual that holds the canonical rules in accordance with which icons and church walls should be painted. A trusted courtier of the Dowager Empress, Count S.D. Sheremetev arranged a considerable discussion of this issue in the Society of Lovers of Ancient Literature, of which he was a chairperson. In the course of this discussion, it became clear that the situation necessitated not only the publication of a new Podlinnik, but also the establishment of icon-painting schools and, in general, the systematization of a wide range of issues related to the development of this trade. Sheremetev approached the Emperor with the request, and Nicholas II established a special structure under his command - the Committee of Care on Russian Icon Painting, which was charged with reforming the icon painting trade. Director General of the Most Holy Synod, K.P. Pobedonostsev was not initiated into this project: the creation and initial stages of the structure's activities took place outside his jurisdiction. This circumstance led to his conflict with Sheremetev.