Works of “The Author of the 1698 Sovereign Tier Icons of the Iconostasis From the Ustyianova Horishna Church” in the Context of the Activities of the Iconpainting Centre in Rybotychi

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The purpose of the article is to study the painting manner of an anonymous author of the 1698 sovereign tier icons from the iconostasis of the St. Mother Paraskeva church in Ustyianova Horishna near Ustryky (the former Ustryky Deanery of the Peremyshl’ Diocese of the Eastern Rite Uniate Church) in the context of the activity of the icon painting centre in Rybotychi near Peremyshl’. These icons are stored at the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok, Poland. Methodology. Methods of the formal and iconographic analysis facilitate the study. Comparative analysis of the authors’ legacy allows us to state that the series of icons from other museum collections were painted by him as well. Scientific Novelty. The results of the research support the idea that icons of the iconostasis from Ustyianova Horishna church were painted by two masters. One author and Deesis tear icons painted the 1698 predella icon, and the icons of a Sovereign tier were painted by another one later on. Both of them belonged to the Rybotychi workshop. Thus, the Deesis icons are less professional. Studying the painting manner of the author of the 1698 icons we attributed some works from various museums collections to him. These works allow us to determine the probable period of masters’ activity in the 1690–1710's. Conclusions . We conclude that the author of the Sovereign tier icons from the iconostasis of the Ustyianova Horishna church was one of the most skilled among the masters of the icon painting center in Rybotychi. The icons connected with the master can be compared to the best works of the 17th- century Ukrainian icon painting, which refutes the widespread even in the professional publications idea that the icons of the Rybotychi masters, in general, were unprofessional. In the interpretation of the saints’ faces on the Sovereign tier of the Ustyianova Horishna icons, we see a reflection of the widespread among professional painters, in particular, of the Lviv and Zhovkva schools of the 17th century, Renaissance techniques with an attempt to create a perfectly beautifulimage.