Church Art Research Articles

Alexander Maksimovich Kolchin as a Church Artist of the Classical Era

New Age church art is one of the most dynamically developing areas of contemporary Russian art history. The constant process of reconstruction and restoration of churches requires a scientific approach and documentary substantiation. The artistic merits of church art in the Classical era are highly appreciated by specialists, but biographies of masters of mural painting and iconography are rarely published and are little known. The study of biographies and works of painters who devoted themselves entirely to temple decoration is important for compiling an objective picture of Russian culture of the 19th century.Alexander Maximovich Kolchin (1812-1866) was born and grew up in Yaroslavl, was on the staff of the bishop’s house masters, received the title of a non-class artist at the Imperial Academy of Arts (Academy of Arts) in St. Petersburg, worked in six rural and several urban churches in Yaroslavl province, renewed murals in Vologda and painted a new church in Kashin, Tver province. In this article for the first time all available information about the painter, scattered in different editions, is brought together; new archival documents are published and the artist’s work is analyzed in the context of classicism stylistics. Documents from the personal file of A.M. Kolchin from the Russian State Historical Archive are introduced into the scientific turnover, which inform that the master painted portraits from life, the whereabouts of which are still unknown. Although there are few surviving works by A.M. Kolchin, they demonstrate the high skill of the painter, which was documented by the exacting council of the Academy of Arts in 1853. A.M. Kolchin was distinguished by his knowledge of Old Russian sources of church art and full awareness of its theological and liturgical meaning; his fluent mastery of the basics of academic drawing and masterly ability to combine mural painting with architectural forms; a wide range of subject compositions and depictions of individual figures.The article allows to expand the corpus of information about the artist and his works, and this publication will serve as a basis for further research.

Бежецкий живописец Михаил Васильевич Тыранов и его ученики: к атрибуции церковных стенописей северо-востока Тверского края

The article introduces for the first time archival documents into scientific circulation, revealing the names of masters and customers, the exact time and circumstances of the creation of the most significant monuments of monumental church art in the North-East of the Tver region. Analysis of sources shows that church wall-painting flourished in the region in the second quarter of the 19th century is largely associated with the name of Mikhail Tyranov, an art teacher and guild master painter from the district town of Bezhetsk, Tver province. The name of this master was known far beyond the borders of his hometown, and his works were highly valued by his contemporaries. During the period from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s. The artel of M. Tyranov painted dozens of churches, not only in the Tver province, but also in the territories bordering it in the Yaroslavl province. The paintings made in the style of classicism by the artel of M. Tyranov have been preserved in the churches of the Bezhetsky district of the Tver region: church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Sukromny, church of the Epiphany in the village of Yes’ky, church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Alabuzino; church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Shablykino, Krasnokholmsky district, Tver region; church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Knyazhevo, Uglich district, Yaroslavl region. The traditions of church wall-painting during the period of transition from classicism to eclecticism (1850–1860s) were continued by the students of M. Tyranov. The most successful among them were masters from the city of Vesyegonsk, Ivan and Andrey Smirnov. Among the outstanding monuments of monumental art, the work of the Smirnov artel: church of the Transfiguration in the village of Nikola-Vysoka (Vesyegonsky district of the Tver region) and church of the Ascension in the village of Novokotovo (Molokovsky district, Tver region). The article attempts to reconstruct the creative biographies of previously unknown masters. Analysis of the continuity of art schools within the Tver province, as well as the establishment of connections between masters and Moscow and St. Petersburg, helps to deepen the understanding of the development of provincial art in the 19th century.

Wolfdietrichs Wurm

Abstract The MHG epic ‘Wolfdietrich’ and the ON ‘Thidreks saga’ contain an unlucky fight against a dragon: Wolfdietrich or Thidrek af Bern helps a lion against it, but the dragon takes the lion in its mouth and the knight in its tail and drags them to its cave. This very characteristic situation was depicted in medieval church art, at least three times: 1. on floor-tiles found in the monastery of Pilis (Hungary), including the sword broken into three pieces and three dragon cubs (13th century or roughly around 1300); 2. in the cloister of St. Michael at Hildesheim (Lower Saxony), together with a second dragon (1230/50); 3. on the richly decorated ‘Schottenportal’ of St. James at Regensburg (Bavaria), left side (second half of the 13th century). The last depiction is therefore older than the different versions of the MHG epic and the compilation of the ON saga, probably attesting that the unlucky dragon fight was already a part of a pre-literary ‘Wolfdietrich’.

Собор святых, в земле Красноярской просиявших. К вопросу иконографии

At the turn of the XX-XXI centuries the list of saints of the Orthodox Church has been replenished with an impressive number of names of new martyrs and confessors who suffered during the Soviet era. In this regard, such a phenomenon as the "Synaxes of the Saints of the Diocese" has spread widely. As you know, each Catholic memory of saints established in the Church involves veneration, therefore, new celebrations appear dedicated to the Synaxes of the ascetics of the Russian Church in various regions of the country. And this means that right now new iconographic images of the New Martyrs and locally venerated saints are being born. Modern icon painters are actively engaged in the creation of icons and temple paintings that glorify the new saints and tell about the torment and executions to which they were subjected. In 2015, the Synaxe of Saints of the Krasnoyarsk Metropolis was established. To date, only three icons dedicated to the Synaxe of the Krasnoyarsk Saints are known. The article for the first time examines the process of adding the iconography of the Synaxe of the Krasnoyarsk Saints within the framework of church canonical art, defines its historical and partly theological aspects, analyzes compositional and stylistic devices, shows the role of symbolism in revealing the image, determines the uniqueness of the figurative solution, identifies some problems and trends in the development of modern church art. painting in Krasnoyarsk. The author for the first time introduces new names of Krasnoyarsk masters and their works into scientific circulation.

Religious and Ecclesiastical Art of Russia in the 20th—21st Centuries: Posing the Problem of Interaction

The article is devoted to the cross-cutting consideration of the problem of dialogical interaction between two close phenomena of art related to religious themes: church, liturgical art, which participates in worship, and secular art on religious themes. The stages of their interaction in Russian art of the 20th—21st centuries are considered. The prehistory of this phenomenon dates back to the middle of the 19th century, when the division into religious and church art already existed in fact, but was realised only in the early 20th century in connection with the work of Mikhail Nesterov. Then, over the course of the century, we observe a series of stages of interaction between religious and church art in their convergences and divergences. The era of the Silver Age, with its heightened sense of the religious beginning in art and life, is replaced by times of state atheism, very heterogeneous, including with regard to religious themes. The time of 1920 —early 1930s is characterized by a relatively free artistic search in the sphere of religious themes. At the beginning of the Stalinist period, religious themes in both church and secular aspects were banned, and at the end of the period there was a revival. During the Thaw years, along with the persecution of the church in unofficial culture, a broad interest in religious themes in secular painting emerged and a gradual, albeit localized, rise in contemporary church art began. The late Soviet period is characterized by the gradual establishment and initial legalization of religious and church art. In the 1990s — 2010s, a broad revival and development of church art began, and the religious theme became the focus of attention, including contemporary contemporary art. Once again, as in the early twentieth century, there are conditions and artistic aspirations for a mutually enriching dialogue between church and religious art. The study of various aspects of this interaction in Russian art is an urgent and multifaceted task.

Theological Aspects of the Formation of the Theory of the Artistic Image in Byzantium IV—XIV Centuries.

The subject of the research is the formation of the theological theory of the image in the church-artistic tradition of Christian art. The aim is to identify the main aspects of the formation of the theory of the image in the pre-Iconoclastic period based on the works of representatives of the Cappadocian school, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Maxim the Confessor, John of Damascus, as well as after the approval of icon veneration, reflected in the works of Patriarch Gregory of Constantinople, Theodore the Studite, Simeon the New Theologian, Gregory Palamas and Patriarch Nikephoros. To trace how the influence of theological thought was reflected in Byzantine church art. To determine the specific features of the phenomenon of the iconographic image and to highlight the significance of its dogmatic foundations in religious art. In the study of the works of Byzantine theologians, historical and cultural analysis was used, which allowed a more holistic view of the worldview of the era in which they created, and the ideas they defended. The study allows us to conclude that for the defenders of icon worship, the "soil" was prepared by the great theologians of the Cappadocian school, who in turn converted and reinterpreted the Neoplatonic teachings of Plotinus, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who transformed their ideas into a christocentric doctrine of salvation. The dogmatic ideas of the theologians influenced the change of the ancient art form, giving it a new content, which, in turn, can become an important criterion that helps to identify and evaluate genuine spirituality in the works of church art. The study of the theological theory of the image is an important element in determining the fidelity of the artistic transmission of the essence of the creed and understanding of the sacred content of medieval temple painting, as well as a necessary reference point for modern icon painters, allowing them to choose in their work a system of expressive means corresponding to theological dogmas.

Iconostasis sculpture of the XVIII century churches of the Slobodsky district of the Vyatka province from the collection of the Slobodsky Museum and Exhibition Center

The subject of the study is the peculiarities of carving of the iconostasis wooden sculpture of the XVIII century, made by the masters of Veliky Ustyug, as well as local artisans under their influence. The purpose of the work is to attribute and introduce into scientific circulation - iconostasis wooden sculpture, four figures of angels from the collection of the Slobodsky Museum and Exhibition Center. The paper makes an assumption about the source of receipt and origin of the sculpture, as well as a comparative analysis with Velikoustyuzhsky and Perm iconostasis carvings and wooden plastics. The wooden iconostasis sculpture, while preserving the traditions of Russian Orthodox art, absorbs the features of European art, while at the same time it corresponds to folk art and reflects the features of the Baroque style in local variants. The methodology of the work is based on the principle of stylistic and technological analysis in art history, as well as the principle of historicism in the study of wooden plastics in the context of the development of art in the Russian North. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that four monuments of wooden plastics of the XVIII century from the collection of the Slobodsky Museum are introduced into scientific circulation, their detailed description and stylistic analysis are made. Two paired figures of angels were in the iconostasis and held a frame with a Crucifix, were made by Ustyug craftsmen in the first half of the XVIII century. Two other figures of angels in prayer were made by local craftsmen at the end of the XVIII century, under the influence of Ustyug masters. Further study of the collection of church art of the Slobodsky Museum will allow make reconstructions of the interiors of temples for the museum exposition.

The Counter-Reformation Art Serving the Orthodoxy: The Changes in the Artistic Concept of Ukrainian Iconostasis during the Second Quarter of the 17th Century

The paper analyzes the reasons causing the structural and plastic changes of Ukrainian iconostases during the second quarter of the 17th century and eventually resulting in the Ukrainian iconostasis of the Baroque period. During the period, the iconostasis achieved monumentality and plasticity in the interpretation of the façade side as a result of introduction of the broken entablature, deep niches for icons, and passages to the altar, as well as to exceptionally rich carved decor, which, in general, added spaciousness to its architectural composition. The specified structural and plastic iconostases characteristics appeared when the Metropolitan Petro Mohyla was the archpastor; they are notable in the iconostases built with his direct or indirect assistance. The hypothesis of the paper is that the concept of iconostasis’ new artistic image as a monumental and architectural space frame was formulated by Petro Mohyla in the context of the program he developed for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine renovation, which, in particular, included the domain of church art and artistic decoration of temples. Petro Mohyla’s idea of the iconostasis architectural image renewal was based on the desire to provide more artistic expressiveness to its form and carved decorations. During the era, these features were characteristic of the Catholic Church altars of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth built in the Baroque style. The methods of significant emotional influence on the congregation developed by the post-Tridentine art as an instrument of the Catholic Church struggling against the Reformation ideas proved to be appropriate for the Kyiv Metropolis Orthodox art, that, after the Union of Brest, faced the problems similar to those of the Catholic Church, which arose with the spread of the Reformation.

Митрополит Дионисий (1581–1586) и принципы формирования церковной элиты в России XVI века

The author has made an attempt to find out the metropolitan Dionisii’s status in the world and the place of taking him the monastic vows. Earlier he was the abbot of the Novgorod Spaso-Khutynskii monastery. On the base of some historical sources the author makes presupposition that Dionisii soon after taking the monastic vows became the abbot of the Otenskii monastery protected by the secular and the church authorities in the third quarter of the 16th century. There are data about Dionisii’s son - the priest Matfey who took the monastic vows and following the father went to the Spaso-Khutynskii monastery. The son must have inherited the father’s status in the world. Thus Dionisii was from the white clergy. This promoted his turbulent career. In the world he could already acquired many skills which were necessary for the leaders of the church. The epidemics of the 1560-70s could also play their role: a lot of elderly experienced monks who could became abbots and bishops dead. Soon after taking the monastic vows no later than the august of 1572 Dionisii became the abbot of the important Otenskii monastery. After that probably thanks to the acquaintance with Ivan IV no later than the 26th October of 1577 he became the abbot of the Spaso-Khutynskii monastery and then the metropolitan. Taking into consideration that after his dismissal in 1586 he lived for 18 years the author presupposes that he became the abbot and metropolitan in the relatively early age. The research is based on the data from the chronicles, acts, colophons and the records on the objects of church art.

Probing Issues of Indigeneity and Contemporaneity in a Collection of Rorke’s Drift Ceramics

In 1988, the art collector Mark Bernstein donated to the University of KwaZulu–Natal a collection of seven vessels, produced by potters at the Evangelical Lutheran Church Art and Craft Center at Rorke’s Drift, in KwaZulu-Natal Province. This collection, referred to here as the Bernstein Collection, is displayed in the university’s Main Library in Durban. This paper explores the ceramics in this Collection, focusing on their indigenous narratives and visual designs in relation to Basotho and Zulu cultural representation. The decorations are figurative and contain iconographic signifiers that reflect both indigeneity and contemporaneity. These works were produced by several ceramic artists working in the Rorke’s Drift pottery workshop in the 1970s. Thematic analysis is employed as a qualitative approach to consideration of the ceramics and associated imagery. An autoethnographic analysis of these ceramic works in comparison with other studies and reliable sources shows that styles and genres at Rorke’s Drift were based on local and international cultural mediations, and the hybridity formed by abstract motifs, forms and patterns. These proved to be essential features for sustaining cultural identities within the studio context of the pottery workshop: a form of cross-cultural expression that facilitates harmonies of visual expression within the artistic communities involved.

Study of the two-sided icon "Pieta" / "Holy Martyr Barbara" of the 18th century from the Church of John the Baptist in the village of Dorozhiv, Drohobytsky District, Lviv Region, in the context of the separation process of paint layers and transferring them to a new base

The study is devoted to the problems of restoration of the double-sided icon "Pieta" / "Holy Martyr Barbara" using the method of separation and transfer to a new basis of easel painting. Today, the main task of the restorer is the maximum study, research and preservation of the work of art, its history and transformation over time. The article presented the possible reasons for restoration and repainting of artworks of easel painting, as well as the most widely used methods of "preservation", fixing the layers of later repaintings, which lead to their physical loss due to the discovery of an older, original painting layer. Emphasis is placed on the expediency of applying the technique of layering and transfer to a new basis of easel painting, as an alternative in the context of maximum preservation of the entire structure of the artwork, including later historical transformations. The necessary conditions that precede the successful application of the technique of separation and transfer to a new base of artworks of easel painting are specified. There are presented the general conclusions about the state of preservation and the set of conducted physical-chemical and technical-technological studies of the double-sided icon "Pieta" / "Holy Martyr Barbara" of the 18th century from the church of John the Baptist in the village of Dorozhiv, Drohobytskyi district, Lviv region, and a program of restoration activities. Tests on separation of the paint layer of the 19th century from the "Pieta" icon are presented and the obtained results were analyzed, as a result was selected the optimal method of separation of this painting layer as one whole fragment. The entire process of conservation and restoration processes, including the application of appropriate restoration methods, as well as the specifics of the selection and use of restoration materials, is presented and illustrated. The result of this research using the technique of separation is the preserved painting layer of the icon "Pieta" of the 19th century and the painting of the icon of 1726, created by Ivan Seredyskyi, an icon painter of the Rybotytsky Center of Church Art, opened for further study. Attention is drawn to the study of this icon in the context of the work of Rybotyk masters in the monograph of Roksolana Kosiv.

Conservation and Attribution of the Early 18th Century Icon “St. Apostle Philip” from the Bonevychi Village (Lviv Region, Ukraine) using the Technique of Separation of Easel Painting

The article studies the process of separation of the two layers of painting of the icon “St. Apostle Philip”, which is kept in the church in the Bonevychi village (Sambir district, Lviv region, Ukraine). The expediency of using the chemical method of separation for these work and similar ones, according to the state of preservation and technique of execution, is substantiated. The study shows that the upper layer of the icon was made in the late 19th – early 20th centuries in the technique of oil painting on top of the new gesso (levkas). The original painting of the icon was done in the technique of tempera with the use of silvering and engraving on the background. When studying the manner of painting of the original layer of the icon and based on archival documents about the church in Bonevychi, it was found that first image was painted in the early 18th century to the newly built in 1702 wooden church in Bonevychi. The manner of painting shows that the author of the original icon was a master from the center of church art in the town of Rybotychi (now a village in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo podkarpackie) of Poland).

The Artist as the Church’s Mouthpiece: The Cultural Witness of Church Art and Its Patronage

This article explores how art installed within a church space contributes to the church’s cultural witness, drawing from the contemporary example of Alison Watt’s Still, installed in Old Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. While the object’s capacity to proclaim is present, this case study extends the exploration of art’s cultural witness to include imaginative participation in the Gospel narrative as well as its transformation of the space in which it is installed. Focus then turns to the Church’s patronage of the visual arts, arguing that this is another example of cultural witness. In this case, one finds a relationship between church and artist that is marked by trust, collaboration, and protection.

Two Danish Artists—Two Not So Divergent Paths: C. C. A. Christensen, Carl Bloch, and the Evolution of Latter-day Saint Art and Aesthetics

Two Danish Artists—Two Not So Divergent Paths: C. C. A. Christensen, Carl Bloch, and the Evolution of Latter-day Saint Art and Aesthetics

Репрезентация христианской теологической нормы в кинематографе

The article discusses ways of representing the normative provisions of Christian theology in modern cinema. It is shown that the use of cinematic language for the symbolic display of church dogma does not contradict the Christian tradition, the entire history of which is filled with the search for symbolic means of expressing the gospel kerygma and church dogma. The historically established dominance of philosophical means of representing church dogmas prevents us from seeing this. However, it is hard not to notice that fine and performing arts (of course, in the archaic and medieval sense of them) have always played a significant role in the religious life of Christians. The advent of cinema gave Christian thinkers and artists additional means to interpret theological norms. It should be noted at the same time that the influence of Christian meanings on European culture is so great that the authors of a number of cinematic masterpieces do not necessarily broadcast these meanings intentionally. The review of foreign and domestic cinematography reveals the main themes of Christian teaching, which filmmakers most often turn to: providenciology, soteriology, Christology, and triadology. At the same time, the genre range of Christian and crypto-Christian cinema is quite wide, ranging from realistic dramas to fantasy films. Scriptwriters and directors show extraordinary ingenuity in visualizing the supersensible: divine providence, the co-presence of the divine and human natures in the Person of the Savior, and the Persons of the Divine Trinity. Although it must be admitted that not always their artistic interpretations remain within the framework of the dogmatic norm, it is important to note that the secrets of the success of many cinematic techniques are contained in the practice of church art, in particular in the canonical Orthodox iconography.

В поисках утраченной традиции: к истории церковной живописи 1840-х - первой половины 1850-х гг.

The last decade of the reign of Nicholas I (1845 - 1855) was the time when the projects of renewal of church paintings in Russia appeared. Public discussion of the problems of the tradition of the Russian art started with the publication in 1845 of a brochure "On Icon-paintings" by the Ostrog bishop Anatoly, who wasn't, however, a zealous adherent to the traditional icon-paintings, his "theory" of icon-paintings tending towards neoclassicism. In difference from the Right Reverend Anatoly's approach in his brochure, the Rev'd Grigoriy Debolsky argued for the inseparable connection between the national spirit (narodnost') of the church paintings and the tradition of icon-painting in an article published in the same year. Russian Academic school did not respond to the new attitudes in society: propelled by the Emperor, this school acknowledged the tradition in symbolic terms only - in the Byzantinine golden impressions in the paintings in St Isaac's Cathedral. On the whole, the ensemble of these paintings promised to become a brilliant legacy of Bologna academism. 1848, the year of a wave of revolutions in Europe that were perceived as a direct threat to the Empire, opened a period of Nicholas's reign marked, on the other hand, by the intensification of censorship, and, on the other hand, by the two projects of renewal of national church art: those by Duke G.G. Gagarin and by I.P. Sakharov, an archaeologist. The first project, which had at its base the idea, taken from French artists, of christianising ancient art, was an attempt to adapt the Byzantine tradition to the framework of the academic artistic paradigm. Sakharov's project, on the contrary, presupposed complete rejection of this academic paradigm and going back to the icon-paintings that were not yet "spoiled" by Western influences. On the eve of the Crimean war the government made an attempt to expand the national tradition by including in it the ancient paintings from the Mount Athos, in particular, the wall-paintings by Panselinos, which, as A.N. Mouravyov claimed, "are on a par with the works by Rafael and Michelangelo in colouration and modest comportment of the figures". In the new era, marked by the Great Reform of Alexander II, the attempts at a renewal of church paintings that flourished in Nicholas's times, become, for the most part, a thing of the past.

Religion Pays: The Business of Art Industry Entrepreneurs and Splendour in the Spaces of Nineteenth-Century Irish Catholicism

Abstract During the nineteenth century legislative reforms and religious revival in Ireland brought about significant change in the practice and position of Catholicism. This fostered a consumer revolution in religious art and architecture as architects, religious figures and a Catholic bourgeoisie aspired to recreate the architectural magnificence and status associated with Catholic churches of the medieval period in Ireland and Europe. The characteristic splendour of these interiors owes much to commercial producers of religious art from Britain and Europe. Makers of stained glass and decorative mosaics, in particular, dominated the Irish market even after the establishment of an Irish Arts and Crafts movement from the early 1890s and continued to thrive well into the twentieth century, even as Irish artist-designed church art grew more popular with patrons. This essay takes a fresh approach to analysing the spaces of Irish Catholicism by exploring the ‘backstage’ of religion from the perspective of commercial church art business history. It draws out two themes central to this Roundtable: the ways in which local sacred spaces and landscapes were impacted by transnational exchanges and processes, and the relationship between physical space and imaginative space in architectural production.

Chronology of Russian Church Council’s Work in the 16th Century

The paper reveals the history of the main body of the Russian Church governance in the 16th century — the Church Council. The author makes an attempt to reconstruct the chronology of its meetings. It is essential to answer the question if the Council was the real body of the church governance or not. In the historiography sometimes it is regarded as not important body because of the few Council’ decrees have remained (the decrees of 1503, 1566, 1572, 1580 etc.). The author of the paper has broadened the historical sources’ base for the study of this church-administrative phenomenon. The research is based on the decrees, the chronicles, the acts, the records of income and expenses, the books of donations, the diplomatic documents, appointment lists, the colophons and the records on the church art’s artefacts, the data of epigraphy, documents on the appointment and resignation of Russian bishops and others. The main concern of the Council was the appointment of new bishops. That’s why the main attention of the article is paid to time when the bishops were appointed, when they left their dioceses or died. The result of the research is represented in the list of 84 cases of the Council’s work which took place or probably took place in the 16th century. It was established that it usually took place in late autumn — at the beginning of winter and finished its work at the end of winter — in the first half of spring. The continuance of meetings lasted from several weeks to several months. It was connected, on the one hand, with establishing of sleigh-road, on the other hand, with the desire of bishops to take part in Easter service in their dioceses (from the 22th of March till the 25th of April). It was found out that the chronology of the Council’s work influenced the political events (forgiveness of boyars, the coronation of Ivan IV, negotiations with the foreign ambassadors, the departure of the sovereign for Aleksandrovskaya sloboda in 1564 etc.). Because all the Councils without exception took place in Moscow the author presupposes that the division of the country into oprichnina and zemshchina didn’t influence the functioning of Council and the tzar was sure of the church elite’s loyalty even in the period of intensive repressions.

Драгоценный убор уральских икон (страницы творчества художницы Лидии Блохиной)

The research is relevant due to the fact that the artwork of Lidia Blokhina, demonstrating the outstanding pieces of church art of the Urals, has not been within the scope of scientific interests until now. The paper aims to introduce the unknown to science works of L. Blokhina on the creation of precious icons framings, to determine the uniqueness of her work as an artistic phenomenon in the church life of the Urals. The paper examines the artwork of L. Blokhina, analyzing her holy icon framings as an area of contemporary church art which carry on aspects of the Ancient Russian tradition while featuring regional (Ural) techniques of gemstone processing. We consider the artistic characteristics of the works of L. Blokhina, based on the synthesis of folk embroidery techniques, the elements of ancient Russian «golden» embroidery patterns, the Ural stone processing technique and the creation of «embossed» icons. Our stylistic, artistic and technical analysis of the works defined them as unique iconic art works, and resulted in introduction of unknown art works designed for church service in scien

Роль экфрасиса в создании иеротопии «Мирожских стихов» Всеволода Рожнятовского

The article is devoted to the analysis of Vsevolod Rozhnyatovsky’s “Mirozhsky poems” (2013), which demonstrates the sacralization of the place described therein. The author shows how the title toponym exists in the cultural consciousness of the Pskovites (the name of the river is absorbed by the name of the temple, which has been turned into a museum). Its composition outlines a peculiar lyrical plot: the subtitles of the book indicate the author’s path from museum work through contact with the Christian religion and art to his own poetic creativity in line with the Christian idea of the Logos. The motif of leaving the temple allows the poet to spread the received in it “knowledge” about the creatureliness of the world to the entire city, which is perceived as a city-temple; the acquired poetic gift turns his book of poems into a kind of prayer for a person of the 20th century, shocked by the meeting with the Christian artistic tradition. The article pays particular attention to the specifics of the poetic ekphrasis, which represents the descriptions of the frescoes of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Pskov Mirozhsky Monastery. There is the analysis of the position of the subject of the speech (inside the temple but at the same time inside the frescoes plot) based on the contributions of three poems containing the ekphrastic descriptions. This is seen as a kind of illustration to the Pavel Florensky’s ideas of about the icon and church art. The article also indicates to the connections of the 20th century author’s perception of frescoes with the 12th century icon-painting program, which reflects the theological controversy about the union of divine and human God the Son’s nature. The poet’s fascination with this topic attested to the relevance of hierotopy even for the end of the 20th century.