Icon Painting Research Articles

Creative work of Kostroma icon painters in the second third of the 17th century

Creative work of Kostroma icon painters in the second third of the 17th century

Metropolitans of All Rus’, Protectors of Moscow: the Veneration of Metropolitan Petr (14th–16th Century)

Abstract This article discusses the veneration of Metropolitan Petr of Kyiv and all Rus’ in 14th–16th century Moscow. It focuses on the shifting roles attributed to his tomb in the Dormition Cathedral, from locally developed veneration, to a source of ecclesiastical legitimacy. In the first section, I trace the cult’s development from the earliest hagiographical writings to posthumous miracles included in chronicle writing and artistic representations of Petr’s activity as an icon painter. The second section examines a possible attempt at ritual building for local appointments of metropolitans, after 1448, revolving around Petr’s tomb. I argue that Petr’s saintly image was purposely shaped over two centuries from a wonderworking saint to also a military protector of the city and a prototype of the legitimate metropolitan of all Rus’. Although his tomb did not receive a permanent place in enthronement ceremonies, in the 16th century it became synonymous with the seat of the metropolitan, and played a major role in the subsequent veneration of a correct line of ecclesiastical successors buried in its proximity.

On the issue of discovering new names of major cultural figures of the 17th century: master Karp Ivanovich Zolotarev

The 17th century is a century that preserved in the memory of the history of Russian culture vivid monuments, the authors of which were innovative masters, artists, and creators. This article examines the creative life in the historiography of the 17th century icon painter, student of Bogdan Saltanov – Karp Ivanovich Zolotarev, a court master during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich and the regency of Princess Sophia. Biography of K.I. Zolotarev is presented in the historiography of researchers, historians, restorers in chronology from the 18th century. Only in the late 1970s, thanks to the work of Soviet restorers, were works created by K.I. Zolotarev. Before this, only brief mentions of this multifaceted master were found in historical literature. Part of the research confirms that in a number of works the name of K.I. Zolotarev is listed among the artists of the Armory Chamber and the Gold-Painting Workshop of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In addition, researchers of Russian book culture spoke about K.I. Zolotarev as a major organizer who headed the workshop of the above-mentioned order. The research made it possible to summarize all the materials about the master and identify the stylistic features of this master, suggesting that the iconographic sources of the works of K.I. Zolotarev could have been works by Dutch and German artists. Biography of K.I. Zolotarev still needs further study and clarification today.

Символы евангелистов в иконах Спаса в Силах

The position of the images of the four «animals» which are the symbols of the Evangelists in Russian icons of the Savior in Power, in comparison with Byzantine and Western European counterparts, is very stable. They are necessarily located in an «oblique cross», in the rays of a four-pointed star-shaped object: a man and an eagle are at the top: a man to the left (from the viewer), an eagle to the right. A lion and a taurus are below and they can change places, exceptions are extremely rare. The way they are related to the Evangelists also turns out to be very stable. There are a number of these ways; four have received the greatest distribution and fame in the literature: according to St. Irenaeus of Lyon, according to St. Hippolytus of Rome (the same according to Blessed Augustine), St. Epiphanius of Salamys (the same according to Blessed Jerome) and according to Pseudo-Athanasius. But in the Russian icons of the Savior in the Powers, only two dominate: the scheme of St. Irenaeus and the scheme of St. Epiphany. There are exceptions, but they are quite rare and, in the author’s opinion, for the most part they are the icon painter’s mistake, as they find no basis in patristic texts and other sources, while being mostly late and originating from areas where the tradition of the studied iconography and the tradition associated with it faded away. The author is inclined to associate the appearance and distribution of the iconography of the Savior in Power and other variants of the images of the Savior in Glory with the symbols of the evangelists in Russian icon painting of the 15th century with the wide distribution of texts containing the interpretation of the quaternary «animals» and connecting them with the Evangelists, which began in the second half of the 14th century. And if these phenomena are interconnected, the interpretation of St. Irenaeus must be this interpretation must be primary for the studied iconography as all the texts containing the interpretation of the «animals» which had become widespread, contain exactly interpretation of Irenaeus.

About Alexey Khomyakov’s Views on Church Painting

The article is devoted to the views on church painting of one of the Slavophile leaders A.S. Khomyakov. In 1845, Alexander Ivanov, an artist working in Rome, influenced by the “Slavophile” atmosphere of meetings with F.V. Chizhov, N.M. Yazykov and N.V. Gogol, attempted to use an icon as a model for the image of the Resurrection of Christ for the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (for the first time in the history of the Russian academic school). It is doubtful that Khomyakov could have unreservedly welcomed this endeavor by Ivanov. Although he believed that for Russia’s return to nationality it would be sufficient only to revive the old in consciousness and life, he did not at all understand this return as a revival of the authentic forms of Old Russian art or as a stylization of these forms. Khomyakov’s negative attitude to stylizations is evidenced by his sharp criticism of the eclecticism of Bavarian art. In Russia, he believed, the link with tradition had long been severed and therefore Old Russian art could not serve as a basis for a modern art school. Not in Ivanov’s traditional icon-oriented sketch of the Resurrection of Christ, but in his painting The Appearance of the Messiah, Khomyakov recognized, even before he saw it with his own eyes, evidence of the beginning of the revival of truly Russian life and Russian thought. In his opinion, the artist sought in the painting to eliminate personal artistic manner, to become a kind of transparent medium through which the holy image would be imprinted on the canvas. The German Nazarene artists tried to capture the Christian phenomenon in the artistic contemplation of the spirit, but they could only teach it, they themselves were incapable of it. Ivanov, a graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts, who had perfectly mastered the craft of an artist, was at the same time, according to Khomyakov, a pupil of icon painters, who created a great work of church wall painting. The history of the Russian art school of the second half of the 19th — early 20th century fully confirmed the validity of this assessment of the painting The Apparition of the Messiah. It laid the foundation for the God-seeking direction of Russian painting, on which Russian art blossomed in the work of I.N. Kramskoi, V.M. Vasnetsov, M.V. Nesterov, N.N. Ge, as well as atheists — V.D. Polenov and V.V. Vereshchagin. Although not all the works of this trend were honored to be accepted into the bosom of the Orthodox Church, most of them allow us to be deservedly proud of the Russian art school.

ЭВОЛЮЦИЯ КУЛЬТУРЫ В РОССИИ: ОТ ИСТОРИИ К СОВРЕМЕННОСТИ ЧЕРЕЗ ПРИЗМУ ВСЕОБЩЕГО ДУХА

The article presents an analysis of the development of Russian culture from ancient times to the present day, with a focus on philosophical and cultural concepts, so, based on Hegel's theory of the universal spirit, the author studies how the cultural development of Russia was inspired by the desire for full self-realization through cultural forms. The work examines issues of cultural evolution, for example, what the Soviet philosopher M.S. Kagan reveals that culture is a composite system that has many subsystems and elements, and the theories of sociocultural evolution and dual inheritance view culture as a mechanism of natural selection and social learning. Further, the article analyzes in detail the influence of Byzantine culture on the formation of the Russian cultural and spiritual landscape, highlighting the role of Christianity, icon painting and architectural styles; The period of Europeanization and the search for national identity in the 18th-19th centuries is discussed, including the reforms of Peter I and the influence of great Russian writers and composers on world culture. Changes in the cultural life of the USSR, especially under the influence of ideology and control in the post-war years, and the subsequent development of science and education are also analyzed; it is determined that in the post-Soviet period the main emphasis is on the process of globalization and the search for a new cultural identity, while the author talks about the role of youth in preserving national culture and overcoming cultural isolation.

Сoncept of M. BOICHUK and the Features of Ukrainian MODERNISM

The article is dedicated to the place and significance of the ideological and artistic concept of M. Boichuk in the formation of Ukrainian modernism, which, despite connection with the global European trends, has clear originality, conditioned with historical, social and cultural processes in Ukraine. The heritage of M. Boichuk and the art school created by him has reflected the demonstrative tendency towards the national self-determination and national culture creation. This trend has distinguished Ukrainian modernism in the context of European directivities. Unlike the European modernism, the main ideas of which are related to the affirmation of the self-worth of individuality, subjectivity and open self-expression and polemics against artistic traditions, modernism in Ukraine affirms the national originality and diversity of its culture. Founded in the conditions of statelessness and indeterminacy of the national heritage, the concept of M. Boichuk has determined the essential principles of the national tradition, where folk art and the Ukrainian Middle Ages with its unique icon painting become the main phenomena. The invention of traditions, their formalization and ideological substantiation, those have become the basis of Boichukism, describe the Ukrainian cultural space, are considered to be an impulse for the further development. M. Boichuk’s school has several stages of its history. The first period includes 1908–1910–1917 (from the Revival of Byzantine Art group created in Paris to the leadership of M. Boichuk at the studio in the newly founded Ukrainian Academy of Arts in Kyiv). The second one – 1918 – mid‑1930s, formed in the post-revolutionary Soviet decades, those have subdued it to their ideological program. Constantly preserving its defined formal and figurative principles, M. Boichuk’s concept has also reflected the ideas of the National Ukrainian Renaissance and the Soviet Korenization and Ukrainization of the 1920s. M. Boichuk’s school and the artistic movement founded by it have been abolished with the establishment of totalitarian power in the mid‑1930s. Their significance goes beyond art, relates directly to Ukrainian culture creation.

Presentation of the artist in the regional journal periodical

The artistic component of the literary-artistic and public-political magazine Literary Ternopil» (2008–2019) was formed by publications that show the current state of painting in the region through familiarization with the personalities of artists and their creative work. The article highlights and analyzes typical textual means of presenting the artist in the specialized section «Artist of the Number». As a result of the research, it was found that the text presentation is based on the involvement of elements of drawing, which are manifested in the depiction of heroes in action, retelling of life situations, depiction of the area, interiors, etc. The plot-compositional organization of the texts includes biographical, everyday, socio-political, historical, psychological contexts, to reflect which the authors provide data on education, places of creative work, participation in exhibitions, obtaining titles, cooperation with various artists, describe external signs, worldview and inner qualities of artists. Expressions of art critics, connoisseurs of painting, and artists themselves are used compositionally. The presenters of the artists are the titles of the publications in which the starting point of the image is formed. It remains constant or changes: it can be individual / collective, synchronous / diachronic, shift in space (natural environment, premises, native land, abroad), have an emotional / intellectual dimension, focus on a situation or involve a whole range of information. An important component of the presentation is the art history characteristic in combination with evaluative and figurative expressions. For this purpose, artistic means of speech and stylistically marked vocabulary (names of subjects of professional activity, artistic directions, styles, and techniques), names of famous Ukrainian artists, names of iconic paintings, their cycles, names of exhibitions, etc., are involved. All these aspects are aimed at reflecting the spiritual, intellectual, creative development of the artist.

The Convergence of Slobozhanska Iconography in the Discourse of Western European Baroque

Based on the analysis, generalization and systematization of documents, some well-known to researchers and others not so much investigated, this article studies the influence of Western European Baroque art on the iconography of the region of Slobozhanska (Ukraine) during the 17th and 18th centuries. It is argued that the use of Western European religious themes by Slobozhanshchyna icon painters, in combination with previous iconographic traditions and their transformation to the spiritual and religious features of the region, contributed to the development of a regional iconographic art, a process that could be regarded as a unique phenomenon in the history of Ukrainian culture. As the text will highlight, the stylistic program of Slobozhanshchyna iconography of the Baroque period was influenced by symbolic and emblematic Western European collections that inspired icon painters to create new iconographic subjects. To that aim, the article analyses the artistic and figurative system of iconography, considers its characteristic stylistic features, and draws attention to the borrowing of elements of Western European painting and graphics in Orthodox iconography.

Иконописная школа «Ставрос» в деле возрождения церковной живописи

The aim of the work is to reveal the role of the Stavros icon painting school of the Udmurt Republic in revitalizing church painting. The paper examines the history of the Stavros icon painting school, the features of the education system in this icon painting school. The study is novel in that it is the first to shed light on the history of the exhibition activities of students and graduates of the icon painting school and to highlight their experience in the field of church painting. As a result of the study, it can be concluded that the head of the Stavros icon painting school V. N. Morozov managed to create, in fact, his own school-workshop, whose graduates successfully work for the temples of the Udmurt Republic and across Russia.

The Surreal Art of Rene Magritte and Visual Processing: Analysis of Two Iconic Paintings

The Surreal Art of Rene Magritte and Visual Processing: Analysis of Two Iconic Paintings

The Image of Gregory the Illuminator in Romanian-Armenian Icon Painting

Icon painting has been one of the most important aspects of the cultural heritage of Romanian Armenians, contrasting with historical Armenia, where icon paintings were not widespread. Among more than ten iconographic forms of St. Gregory popular in Armenian art of the 18th century, only three are found in the icons created in Romania. The most common of these three forms created in Romanian-Armenian art, similar to Armenia itself and the Armenian colonies of the Diaspora, depicts the baptism scene of the Armenian royal family. Comparable icon paintings in the Romanian environment depict King Tiridates III of Armenia, Queen Ashkhen, and Princess Khosrovidukht kneeling before the Illuminator. In contrast to Armenia, the tortures of Gregory the Illuminator were often depicted in European art. In the 18th–19th centuries, a group of icons was also created in the Romanian-Armenian church environment, illustrating St. Gregory’s tortures and the martyrdom of St. Hripsime. Romanian-Armenian art portrays several biblical and pan-Christian worshipful saints as intercessors before the Mother of God, including St. Gregory. Alongside other saints of the General Church, St. Gregory served as the intercessor of the Armenian people. The Romanian-Armenian icons of Moldova exhibit a diverse range of styles, reflecting the various influences from Eastern European Orthodox and Catholic art during the 17th to 19th centuries. This article delves into the distinctive features of each iconographic type, comparing their versions within the same theme to unveil commonalities and differences. Details of the icons dedicated to St. Gregory’s life are described and analyzed based on biographical narratives.

The Influence of the Ontology of Orthodox Christian Art on Music and Icon Painting

The social institution of the Orthodox Christian Church penetrates into all the aspects of artistry (icon painting, church singing, church rituals), supporting individual thinking. However, it is only in the present day than the integrity of this thinking is becoming comprehensible. The methods of iconography, musicology, and singing paleography, the meticulous reading of the theological utterances of St. John of Damascus and the other Church Fathers, analysis of the historiography of the works of such authors as Father Pavel Florensky, Yuri Lotman, Alexei Lidov, Sergei Averintsev, and Nikolai Mikhaltsov allow us to understand the deep ontology of Orthodox Christian art. The author of the article presumes that the concept of St. John of Damascus, expressed in the concept of perichorisis, reflecting the idea of the “mutual exchange of energies,” should be interpreted not only christologically, but as being the most important ontological basis of the entire legacy that accompanies church service. It is perichorisis that provides the synergy of the artistic means: the color scheme of images and the color model of the chant text for the icon, as well as the melodic formulas of the chant merge in unity. As a result of this, a unique set of regulator-techniques of the expressivity of ecclesiastic art is formed, which also exerts an impact on modern art. The article provides examples of such influence in the work of Georgy Sviridov.

Regionalism in the Life of Grigorii Gurkin

The problem of the disintegration of our country has arisen several times: the first time — as the disintegration of the Russian Empire, the second time — as the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Since the situation of disintegration has been consistently repeated, this process cannot be regarded as accidental. Among its causes is the ideology of regionalism. It emerged in the 19th century as a response to the colonial policy of the centre towards the outlying territories. Regionalism was inseparably linked to the life of Grigory Ivanovich Gurkin (1870–1937), the first painter of the Altai landscape, having affected him three times. For the first time, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, regionalism helped a representative of the minority from the Altai to become a professional artist. The work of the spiritual mission in the Altai, with all its peculiarity, was objectively the embodiment of regionalists’ dream about elementary education of national minorities. Gurkin’s painstaking mastering of literacy and icon painting, allowed him not only to develop creative abilities, but also to get acquainted through A. V. Anokhin with the leader of the Siberian regionalists G. N. Potanin. Friendship with Potanin, Anohin, and other representatives of the Siberian regionalism, promoted political awakening of the Altai landscape painter. After October events of 1917, Gurkin turned from assimilation of ideas of regionalism to their direct realization in political activity. For the third time, the ideas of regionalism were actualized at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, when the national elite of the Altai Republic transformed Gurkin into a key figure of ethnic solidarity.

МАССОВАЯ КРЕСТЬЯНСКАЯ ИКОНА В РОССИИ: ИСТОРИЯ КРИТИКИ И СЕМИОТИЧЕСКИЕ ИДЕОЛОГИИ

The paper is about the history of public criticism of the craft of so-called raskhozhaya (i. e. mass peasant) craft icons in the 16th – 20th centuries. Such icons produced most often by “lay icon painters” (that is, secular craftsmen from the peasants), were intended for the common people, and therefore were inexpensive, bright and quick to manufacture. The focus of attention is on the large craft center of the mass peasant icon – the so-called Suzdalshchina (Suzdal region), located in the east of the Vladimir province (Kholui, Palekh, Mstera and the surrounding villages). Already at the dawn of crafting the mass peasant icon such a craft had many opponents, primarily among manufacturers and consumers of expensive icons of the “high style” in icon painting. The production of mass artisanal icons as a socio-cultural phenomenon, was largely associated with Modern Times, was aimed at material and technological innovations (printed icons on paper, conveyor principle, the use of new cheap materials, capitalization of production, etc.). Therefore, public controversy was directed not only against the poor quality of the mass product or elements of Old Believer iconography, but also against the use of Western European innovations. Consistently, starting with the articles of the “Hundred–Domed Cathedral” and other texts of the 16th century, the author considers the history of criticism of craft icons, identifies several types of semiotic ideologies – primarily the protective (positive) and the critical (negative).

He wanted to be “just an artist”. On the 100th anniversary of Jerzy Nowosielski’s birth

The article reveals the main milestones of the creative biography of the Polish icon painter Jerzy Nowosielski, whose centenary of birth is celebrated this year, and the explicit keys are supposed to be acquired with the purpose of clearly understanding his work as an impulse towards spiritual reality that transforms the world. The subject of the analysis has become predominantly the artist’s thoughts about Orthodoxy, art, and his main objectives, the essential issues of the modern icon, the prospects and purpose of icon painting, which have been represented both in the form of essays and sketches, and in numerous interviews. Novoselski’s work is considered as the realization of the mission of the icon-painting tradition and creating a modern icon in accordance with existing canons. Owing to the artist’s views on icon painting, the originality of his work and creativity are disclosed in many respects, in which the boundaries between painting and icon are blurred. At the same time, Novoselski’s work was caused by a misunderstanding of his coreligionists, which, however, would not prevent the artist from realizing his creative plans.

Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Composite Icons Reconsidered: Their Past and Present-Day Role and Use

Abstract: The phenomenon of adding a new, larger panel to an older work, thus creating a work of art consisting of two pieces from different periods, is well known in Western European art and is often referred to by the German term Einsatzbild. A similar type of reuse by insertion can be observed in Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, although it has received far less scholarly attention. Panayotis L. Vocotopoulos was the first to note its occurrence in icon painting and to propose a classification, calling such panels "composite icons" (σύνθετες εικόνες). Since then, these works have been sporadically mentioned, usually in conjunction with the methods for preserving icons in good condition, although it seems that the production of icons of this type was also driven by the desire to distinguish and draw attention to the inserted element. The relationship between the two panels can be compared to that between a relic and a reliquary, which allows the sacred object to be transported, presented, and venerated more effectively. This study analyzes some examples of composite icons in more detail and draws attention to the question of their past functions and uses, but also proposes a second line of investigation by asking how they are used today. It therefore raises further questions about composite icons, different from those posed by Vocotopoulos, and suggests possible areas for investigation. It highlights the internal diversity of the phenomenon and shows how different approaches can open up new areas for further research into composite icons.

Technological Features of the Group of Nev’yansk Icons from Nev’yansk Icon Museum

The article is devoted to the technological examination of eight icons from the largest collection of Ural icon painting in Russia. For the first time the subject of study is the material component of Nev’yansk icons of the first half of the 18th century. The authors determined the painting techniques and artistic materials used by the first icon painters of the mining and metallurgical Ural. The phenomenon of the Old Believers’ Ural Region icon school of this period is doubted and questioned by some modern experts, but in fact this phenomenon is confirmed by the coincidence of technological features of the Nev’yansk icon “Our Lady of Egypt” (1734) and other icons of that period (identical processing of wooden panels, composition of prime and paints, style of so-called lichnόe (painting of exposed body parts) and dolíchnoe (painting of clothing), as well as the painting stratigraphy). The icons were obviously painted in a very small workshop. One technological factor speaks in favor of their Ural Region origin: the use of anhydrite as a filler for the prime. The technique of lichnόe is also very special — alternating layers of white paint and ocher when painting a carnation; in some cases applying the first modeling layer (white) directly over the sankir (proplasmos). The second point indicates the early Nev’yansk icon painters’ familiarity with the techniques of the court icon painters in the Armory in Moscow. The latter in turn agrees with the historical facts that from the 20–30s of the 18th century masters from the Volga Region who had previously been employed by the Armoury then moved to the Ural Region. In addition, the blue pigments are the most important chronological indicator for the icons of this period. The synthetic azurite predominates among the author’s paints; also, indigo and smalt are found, while Prussian blue is completely absent.

ICONS CONSERVATION AND PIGMENTS IDENTIFICATION OF THE SACRED ICONS PAINTER ANTONIOS AGORASTOS

The sacred icon painter Antonios Agorastos became known after the recording of his inscribed icons in Skopelos by Pavlos Lazaridis, covering a period of 30 years 1667-1703. The signed icons that we studied in Tyrnavos are the two icons of the Virgin Mary and Christ in the iconostasis of the church of Saint Anargyros on either side of the Beautiful Gate. The aim of the research is the study of the pigments of the hagiographer and the evaluation of other nonsigned icons. In a golden background, the Virgin Mary is depicted enthroned in the form of the Infant. She is depicted sitting frontally holding Christ in front of her. At the bottom right is an inscription with the painter's name, by the hand of Antonios sub deacon Agorastos Kritos (1668). Also, in a golden background, Jesus Christ is depicted enthroned in the type of Pantocrator. With his right hand he blesses and with his left he holds an open evangelist painting of holy icons. For the measurements of the pigments in the icons, the following techniques were used: a) Raman spectroscopy Thunder Optics - Gem Raman System with 532nm laser excitation, while before identification, the spectra were subjected to a procedure such as baseline correction, Savitzky - Golay smoothing - normalization and b) the XRF spectrometer Niton XLp 818 technique with an excitation source of 241 Αm. Analysis of Raman and XRF spectra was performed with the help of Spectragryph software. The identification of pigments using the two complementary techniques revealed the use of a variety of inorganic pigments such as lead white, copper green (verdigris), copper blue (azurite), for yellow (realgar), iron ochres (red and yellow) and cinnabar for the red colour.

Some Questions of Artistic Design of the “New Testament” of 1702 from the Collection of the State Hermitage

This article is devoted to the precious frame of the “New Testament”, which was published in the Moscow Print House in 1702. This book was presented by Stefan Yavorsky to tsarevich Peter Petrovich, who was born on October 28, 1715. After the death of Alexander II (1881), the book was placed in the sacristy of the Great Church of the Winter palace. The small book represents a bright work of the culture of Peter the Great’s time. Its precious decoration should be dated to the time between 1702 and 1715. The gift made to the prince by the Ryazan Metropolitan is connected with the biography of this church hierarch, known primarily as the author of sermons, but also as customer of icons. The date of the presentation of the “New Testament” (November 12, 1715) to Peter Petrovich is close to Stephen’s letter to Peter (November 14), in which the Metropolitan congratulated him on the birth of his son and prayed to let him go to Nizhyn to consecrate the church, “to offer there a sacrifice for the newborn prince”. This is the matter of the main church of the Nizhyn Monastery, founded by Stephen himself. A precious gift, decorated with gems, was supposed to strengthen the petition of the Ryazan Metropolitan. The composition of the frame includes minuscule icons with images of four evangelists and Crucifixion. They were created by one of the best Moscow icon painters from the early 18th century and show him as a great connoisseur of the art of icon painting. Shoulder-mounted images of the evangelists and the Crucifixion of Christ are executed in the traditions of icon painting of the Armory Chamber and belong to the monuments of the leading stylistic trend in Moscow painting of the late 17th — early 18th centuries. The general composition of the decoration of the New Testament frame goes back to the design of the luxurious liturgical Gospels.