Icon Painting Research Articles

Reasons for Changing the Painting Style of Orthodox Churches in Eastern Ukraine at the Turn of the 20th–21st Centuries

Orthodox churches in the east of Ukraine, built (or restored) during the period of the state independence, are painted either in the style of academic painting or in the Byzantine style. Moreover, the style of academic painting is more typical of temples painted in the 1990s and the early 21st century; and in the last two decades, the customers and icon painters prefer the Byzantine style of painting. Answering the questions related to the reasons for changing the style of painting of Orthodox churches in the east of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries, the author offers her point of view from the standpoint of culturology. In contrast to the style of academic painting, the Byzantine style of painting conveys through visible images the invisible, spiritual, mystical, spiritual, which was the subject of search in the analyzed historical period.The author of the article analyzes the processes taking place in the religious culture and art of our state after gaining independence and comes to the following conclusions.There are several main reasons for the change in the style of painting Orthodox churches in the east of Ukraine at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries: the search for national identity as one of the important and defining processes in the culture of Ukraine, which is relevant for all regions of Ukraine (both for the West and for the East); the perception of Kyivan Rus as the main (in historical retrospect) monument in the history of Ukrainian statehood (the time of Rus, of course, is associated with the Byzantine style of temple painting); the spread of icon-painting schools and the increased interest in canonical (Byzantine) iconpainting; the desire to adhere to the ancient Byzantine statutes in monastic life; the development of religious tourism and exchange of experience between masters.The prospect of further research on this topic can be considered the study of regional features of church painting, creativity, and various components of the work of individual Ukrainian artists, including icon painters.

Surface and Depth: Zurbarán’s Saint Francis in Meditation

Zurbarán’s iconic painting Saint Francis in Meditation is subtle in its complexity. Once the star work of King Louis-Philippe’s Galerie Espagnole (1838–48), where it captured the attention of art critics, painters, and poets, the painting was acquired by the National Gallery, London, in 1853. This essay seeks to sharpen our understanding of Zurbarán’s artistic construction of the work through an exploration of its various ambiguities. It argues that the tensions between surface and depth, so prominent in the painting, operate both visually and metaphorically. Adopting the practice of “slow looking”—a sustained and engaged visual analysis to produce a nuanced interpretation—this essay illuminates how the painting shapes its own reading as a commentary on the problem of sight.

The iconography of the Ivan Honchar Museum: the heritage of collecting traditions

The aim of the article is to reveal the main stages of formation of the museum collection of icon painting from the status of I. Honchar's private initiative to its belonging to the modern cultural and artistic center; to briefly describe these stages and identify key figures that contributed to the formation of the museum; to identify the values laid down by the founder of the museum, find out their significance for the development and development of the institution aimed at promoting and preserving folk art; to carry out an art analysis of samples of icon painting from certain regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Eastern Podillya, which I. Honchar gave a general description to; to consider some fundamental provisions and issues of methodology that give an idea of the state of research of folk icon painting in Ukraine in the context of I. Honchar's views. Methodology. The method of system analysis was used to reveal these tasks. The historical-genetic and axiological method allowed us to trace the stages of formation of scientific thought regarding icon painting. Methods of stylistic and formal as well as iconographic analysis, methods of comparison, establishment of analogies were used in the assessment of artistic qualities of standard samples. Some technical and technological observations have supplemented the artistic analysis of folk icons. The scientific novelty of the work is that for the first time the significance of the figure of I. Honchar in the preservation and popularization of folk iconography is analyzed in it. Conclusions. All stages of the museum's formation and its further development take place in the context of the values, proclaimed by I. Honchar. In the process of artistic analysis of samples of folk icon painting, it turned out that the views of the founder can be developed and have confirmation in the research of modern scholars. Keywords: I. Honchar, collection, folk icon, "imitation icon", methodology.

Traditional art technologies as the basis of experiments in contemporary art (on the example of levkas technology)

The purpose of the work is to comprehend the experiments conducted by artists with traditional technology «levkas» and describe their results in modern art practice. Methodology. The study used a comparative method and comparative analysis of technical and technological features of the traditional icon-painting levkas and modern painting (using this soil). For this purpose, in the practice of modern levkas, works were identified that correspond to the concept of «artistic experiment». The scientific novelty lies in the analysis and refinement of technical and technological innovations in the modern artistic practice of levkas, which were invented and applied by some Ukrainian artists. Conclusions. In the modern artistic practice of levkas there are works: created on the plane (one and two-sided) and art objects. On surface treatment, they can be smooth and textured; with low (bulk) and high (overhead) sculptural relief. When creating textures, different fillers are added to the soil. Components of traditional recipes are sometimes replaced by modern materials. Usually the basis for the levkasny ground is a board, but also it can be pieces of wooden furniture or a canvas. Levkasny ground covers the surface of the work completely or partially. Collage techniques in levkas are becoming a common practice. The mixing of techniques and technologies of fine arts led to the creation of a new technique – «gesography». The inclusion of finished objects in the work is a new technique (it is associated with ready-mades). The graphite pencil in levkas showed a new function of the material (drawing on levkas). This way of using a graphite pencil opens up space for new experiments with graphics and levkas.
 Key words: levkas, soil for icon painting, icon painting, gesography, art object, artistic experiment.

Relation of local window size in a model of modules with estimation of the size of visual images and their segmentation

Subject of study. The fundamental mechanisms of visual image processing, such as size estimation and segmentation, are considered. The possibility of describing these mechanisms using the model of modules proposed by V. D. Glezer and based on electrophysiological data from studies of the receptive fields of neurons in the visual cortex was investigated. Aim of study. This study aimed to investigate mechanisms of size estimation and the segmentation processes by comparing the experimental data obtained by the authors with modeling results. Methods. Psychophysical methods were used for the experimental part. Two different paradigms were used for size estimation: a modified Ebbinghaus illusion with different surroundings of the test stimuli or a comparison of the sizes of upright and oblique crosses previously used in experiments on segmentation. Spatial-frequency filtering of images in local areas of the visual field was performed during modeling using a finite set of filters. Main results. The dependence of the size estimate on the distance between images and on their shape and the relationship of those estimates with segmentation was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. Another new result shows that images with different shapes are perceived as equal in size if the modules that optimally describe these images (i.e., maximum energy is preserved in images when filtered with a limited number of filters) are of equal sizes. The obtained results demonstrate that the model of modules can describe to a first approximation the mechanisms performing the estimation of the sizes of the images and their segmentation. Correspondence between the data of neurophysiological, psychophysical, and modeling investigations was shown for the first time to our knowledge. The conclusions were supported by a comparison of the experimental results, and the modeling, with patterns of traditional Byzatntine icon paintings, as well as Russian avant-garde paintings of the early 20th century, which were inspired by the former. Practical significance. Application and further enhancement of the model of modules as an artificial neural network that ensures the segmentation, image size estimation, and recognition of visual objects can be of practical significance.

New Russian Iconography “The Resurrection with the Descent into Hell”: Compositional Variations

The article deals with the iconography of the Easter holiday in Russia, specifically the image of “The Resurrection with the Descent into Hell”, common to the Russian art of the 17th—18th centuries. This image arises as a result of copying Western European engravings by Russian icon painters. The engravings illustrate the Apostles’ Creed — its fifth formula, which is different from the Orthodox one. In the Orthodox Creed, the fifth formula is called the Resurrection on the Third Day, in the Apostolic one — the Descent into Hell and the Resurrection. The Apostolic Creed is included in the Protestant Bibles, which turn out to be a source of new plots and compositions for Russian painters.In the process of its existence in Russian art, the new image of “The Resurrection with the Descent into Hell” is filled with additional plots, but most importantly, its main compositional scheme changes.The two main plots that make it up — the Descent into Hell and the Resurrection — are located on the icon field in different ways, depending on the interpretation of the painters or in strict accordance with the engraving model. Based on the location of the plots that make up the icon, there are distinguished compositional variants with either sequential or vertical arrangement of the plots. Within the first variant, there may be some subgroups: “The Descent into Hell” (whose topos is the underworld) is located below “The Resurrection” (whose topos is earthly space). We see that the iconographers correlate “The Descent into Hell” with the image of “Anastasis” (the Orthodox icon of the Resurrection). This follows from the way the location of the plots changed, when on older monuments — in contradiction with the composition of the engravings — “The Resurrection” had been located below.The most famous in Russian art is the vertical compositional version. The two plots are located strictly above each other, forming the central axis of the entire iconographic work, around which other storylines are added. In accordance with the Western European engravings, “The Resurrection” is located here in the upper register. These various modifications must be taken into consideration in order to understand both the genesis and the main content of the new iconography.

A Gendered Return

A Gendered Return

Icons of the Trinity with Scenes from Genesis in ‘Srednik’ within the Narrative Tendencies in Late Medieval Russian Icon Painting / Иконы Святой Троицы с «хождением» в среднике в контексте повествовательных тенденций позднесредневековой русской иконописи

Icons of the Trinity with Scenes from Genesis in ‘Srednik’ within the Narrative Tendencies in Late Medieval Russian Icon Painting / Иконы Святой Троицы с «хождением» в среднике в контексте повествовательных тенденций позднесредневековой русской иконописи

Иконное наследие Пимена Софронова в Шеветонском монастыре

This article offers an art analysis of the collection of icons by the Estonian icon painter Pimen Sofronov housed in the Monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium. Sofronov’s icons found their way to this monastery in different ways. All of the seven icons were created in the 1930s, when he taught the orthodox icon painting and worked in various places in Europe and personally acquired an abundance of new knowledge. The author examines the development ofSofronov’s artistic language during these years and discusses the European artistic and cultural context of that time, which is essential to understanding his work. Despite his acquaintance with different cultures and traditions of icon painting, Sofronov remained true to his roots as can be seen in his icons in Chevetogne. Sofronov found his own way of developing and renewing the Old Believers’ icon painting tradition. This can also be perceived as a deeper understanding of the traditional Russian Old Believer icon painting.

Books Briefly

Books Briefly

Features of the Composition in the Iconography of the Crucifixion on the example of the works of Old Russian iconography of the late XV - early XVI centuries

The concentration of research attention on the construction of an artistic form is a necessary part of the study of monuments of fine art. This article is devoted to the artistic analysis of the iconography of the Crucifixion by the example of considering several monuments of ancient Russian painting of the late XV - early XVI centuries. The studied paintings are the reference works of the heyday of Russian icon painting art. They are distinguished by the good preservation of the author's pictorial layer, which allows to fully analyze the art form. The fundamentals of the methodology in this study are the historical approach, formal-stylistic and comparative analyses. The article draws attention to the distinctive properties of the composition of the paintings, searches for an iconographic source, analyzes the relationship between changes in composition and semantic content of the painting. Focusing on a certain iconography allows to reveal the character of a particular image, to reveal its artistic uniqueness. With such an integrated approach, it becomes possible to present the interpretation of the plot and the history of the creation of the icon image. Author compares the iconography created within one decade to another, one artistic tradition or school to another. As a result of the research, a specific feature of ancient Russian painting is revealed - following a narrow iconographic tradition or artistic school does not limit the artistic interpretation and independence.

Cultural codes of Ryazan of river navigation civilization and Russian “akan’e”

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the internal sources of the development of Russian civilization on the example of the «cultural code» of one of the local civilizations. Historians, as a rule, apply ether to a description of the Mongol invasion or they outline the reforms of Peter the Great, Alexander the Second, StolypinP.A., when they study the story of the Russian civilization rather then a detailed description of innumerable wars. Cultural issues are given in fragments, a minimum attention is drawn to them.. Currently, a huge amount of archaeological material has been accumulated, researchers have made great progress in studying certain branches of culture: architecture («history in stone»), icon painting, painting, sculpture, and other forms of civilization. There is every need to study the sum total of spiritual, moral and material forms of culture, to research the above problem, as in their integrity they constantly making an impact on a person, they ultimately determine the historical fortune and the formation of national identity. The topic of the article is essentially a new approach for researchers who consider mainly only the economic, social, political aspects of the influence of the West and the East. Internal sources of development are more hidden for researchers, they are less accessible than conspicuous external factors and borrowings.

Konstantin Moseichev — icon painter of the Transfiguration almshouse in Moscow

The article examines the icons recently discovered in private, museum and church collections with the monogram “K.M.” on the backside, all dated around the 1890s. Based on a comparative analysis of these inscriptions with the signed icon by Konstantin Moseichev from the collection of the Kirov local history museum, his authorship was established in relation to the entire group of the examined pieces. In this article their existence among the Old Believers Fedoseevtsy (after Feodosiy Vasilyev (1661 — 1711) is traced and the conclusion is drawn that the icon painter belongs to the masters of the Transfiguration almshouse in Moscow.

Image of the Solovetsky monastery on the Old Believers’ and “Niconian” icons

The image “The Hermitage of the Solovky Miracle Workers” appeared in Russian icon painting in the middle of the 16th century and developed over the course of 17th — 18th centuries. The article examines similarities and differences between the Old Believers’ and ‘Nikonian’ versions of the Solovetsky monastery on the example of icons represented at the exhibition “Me Avvakum Archpriest, I believe so” which held in the Museum of Russian icon in 2021. From the end of the 17th to 19th centuries two versions of the image of Solovetsky monastery which could be confidently associated with both the official Church and clearly Old Believers’ communities have survived. On the “Nikonian” icons the image of the monastery is close to its actual appearance to the time of creating of an icon, icon painters use coeval engravings actively. The Old Believers either ignored references to the real appearance of the monastery or preferred to focus on the iconography of the 17th century. They also used engravings but used to adopt those samples to their specific requirements: the cathedral could have a hipped roof, the crosses on all domes were strictly eight-pointed, the blessing gestures of the saints and the inscriptions retained the Old Believer features.

“Antique icons” in the collection of the Intercession Old Believers’ Church in Serpukhov

The article is devoted to an overview to the monuments of the 19th — early 20th centuries from the collection of the Old Believers’ Intercession Church in Serpukhov. Along with the ancient icons this collection also includes quite numerous of late works, which writing technique and style imitates earlier monuments of Russian icon painting of the 15th — 17th centuries. The article gives a definition of the term “antique painting”, provides a description of these certain icons to which this term is applicable. Almost all the monuments described in the article are being published for the first time, since for a long time this kind of icon painting did not enjoy the attention of researchers and collectors. Мany of these icons were placed in the most honorable places of the temple space and venerated by parishioners. In particular this refers to the image of the Mother of God Hodegetria from the central iconostasis, icons of St. Paisius the Great and St. Sergius of Radonezh.

What is good work? Nikolai Leskov’s Zapechatlennyi angel

Summary In contrast to many other Russian authors of his time, Nikolai Leskov makes a point of investigating economic questions not only in his journalism articles, but also in his literary works. He focuses on social groups that earn their living through work, in particular merchants and craftsmen. Among these are bridge builders and icon painters, as in Zapechatlennyi angel. The skilled craftsmanship of the painters is especially emphasised in the angel story, which demonstrates, above all, what Leskov considers to be good work: his expectations include mastery of the material, a good cause for the work, and its use for a social collective. Adequate pay is valued, but profit is not the objective. With these demands, Leskov undermines not only the capitalist growth imperative, but also the image of a Russian tendency towards idleness. In the end we are, as in all of Leskov’s economic stories, referred to the merits of literary craftsmanship.

Sketch 'God the Father beholding dead Christ' of Vladimir L. Borovikovsky as a synthesis of the western European and the Orthodox tradition

Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, little Russian icon painter and St. Petersburg portrait painter, combined western European painting language and the Orthodox religion in his creativity. The sources of the painter's susceptibility to western European influence lie in his Ukrainian origin — the atmosphere of active interaction of Orthodox and Catholic cultures developed in Little Russia of XVIII. At XVIII—early XIX century icon and temple painting was approaching secular art and came under influence of European baroque and academism. Religious painting, that is the subject of the study, occupied an important place in the creativity of the painter. Master's icons and pictures demonstrate nontrivial iconographic, conceptual and dogmatic solutions. The sketch 'God the Father beholding dead Christ' from collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery is example of an original thought of the artist, who based it on the western European composition scheme, but gave it new meaning. The study theme is exploring features of interpretation by V. Borovikovsky of Catholic the Holy Trinity iconography. In order to identify specific motifs and ideas borrowed from Western European art and the Orthodox iconography of the Otechestvo (the Fatherland), which influenced the composition of the sketch, a comparative iconographic and stylistic analysis of works with similar iconography was carried out: with a fresco from the church in Marino (Rome) attributed to Guidoreni, and a painting by P.P. Rubens 'The Holy Trinity'. The iconographic analysis showed connection between of the sketch and wester European scheme 'God the Father contemplating the dead Christ', which goes back to iconographies 'God the Father holding a Crucifix' and Pieta, and to orthodox iconography Otechestvo. V. Borovikovsky rethinks traditional motifs, typical for the European painting (motifs of parental grief and reminder of sinfulness) and for the Orthodox icon painting (motifs of triumph over death). Stylistic analysis showed that the master formulates his own interpretation of the images of God the Father and God the Son, unifying both the Orthodox and the western European approaches. V. Borovikovsky borrows reception of relationship the Sabaoth and Christ as loving the Father and the Son, but doesn't borrow tragic reception of the plot, replacing it with the idea of the comprehensive divine love and the triumph over death. Thus, V. Borovikovsky combines icon symbolism and immediacy of realistic painting.

Search for a religious and philosophical justification for icon painting in Byzantine Iconoclastic disputes

Search for a religious and philosophical justification for icon painting in Byzantine Iconoclastic disputes

Change of Status, Change of Art

The changes in art and the changes in the status of Orthodox icon painters from Transylvania during the 18th and early 19th centuries are closely linked. This paper looks into the link between the two. During this time, there is an important shift in the condition of the painters from that of mere craftsmen to artists. The main sources used in this paper, besides the paintings themselves and the signatures of the artists are the visitations notes, a few contracts that remain to this day and the painters’ biographies. The article first looks into the status of the painters, then it presents the social and political context of the period. These sections are followed by an analysis of the changes at the level of the art and also by a semantic analysis. The change in the status of Orthodox icon painters can be considered not only by looking into the transformation and development of certain iconographic representations, but also by the study of their signatures. Are all these changes due to the desire of icon painters to acquire a better social status, or are they imposed by the donors and the church authorities? This is the main question addressed in this article. In conclusion, the seeking of social status is intertwined with the demands of the donors, both determining the changes in Orthodox church art.

Умозрение и музыка VS философия: символическое выражение философских идей и концепций живописным и музыкальным языками

The aim of the study is to provide insight into the features of the symbolic expression of various philosophical ideas and concepts by the languages of painting and music. The paper describes the phenomenon of mutual translatability of religious-philosophical and general philosophical concepts and the visual-figurative language of fine art using E. N. Trubetskoy’s consideration of ancient Russian icon painting as an example; identifies the tendencies of philosophising about music in the XIX century and also pays attention to the polemic between R. Wagner and F. Nietzsche as the most important moment in the development of Western and global philosophy of music. The scientific novelty of the study lies in proving the thesis about the mutual translatability of various heterogeneous cultural languages - biological and social, theological and philosophical, everyday and artistic-aesthetic, visual and verbal. As a result, the paper substantiates the provision that philosophical ideas and concepts can be expressed symbolically in any language of culture - in the languages of painting and architecture, music and poetry, natural science and journalism.