Iconographic Type Research Articles

On the Influence of Patriarch Nikon on the Spread of Orthodoxy in Mordovia (on the Example of a Pre-Restoration Study of the Icon of the Iver Mother of God of 19th Century)

Introduction. The history of the development of the spiritual culture of Mordovia has an inseparable connection with Russia. The article is devoted to the consideration of the historical and cultural aspect in the composition of iconographic studies of the Icon of the Iver Mother of God of 19th century (Fig. 1, 2) as an object of restoration, which is the relevance of research. Materials and Methods. During the research, the iconographic method was used in combination with the historical and cultural approach. Results. The results obtained make it possible to learn the history of the existence of the iconographic type of the Icon of the Iver Mother of God, to reveal its religious and cultural role, as well as to trace a number of historical events associated with the missionary activities of Patriarch Nikon in Mordovia, which is the scientific novelty of the publication. Discussion and Conclusion. The social significance of the study is determined by the focus on the preservation, restoration and popularization of cultural heritage objects as material evidence of historical events related to the development of the spiritual culture of the Mordovian people. Particular emphasis is placed on the significance of this image for Mordovia as the birthplace of Patriarch Nikon. The christening of the Mordovian people contributed to the strengthening of the statehood of the Ponyzovyе region, which developed a spiritual and moral culture.

Horus and Other Egyptian Deities in the Guise of Roman Warriors: A Possible Interpretation

The article deals with a number of monuments in the Egyptian collection of the A.S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts showing Egyptian deities in the guise of Roman warriors: I, 1a 2985 (the best known and widely reproduced object) – a statuette of the falcon-headed god Horus in the double crown and in the Roman armour and dress (bronze); I, 1a 2794 – a similar statuette of smaller size and worse preservation (bronze with traces of gilding); I, 1a 6667 – a statuette of the dog-or jackal-headed god Anubis in the Roman armour and dress (bronze); I, 1a 3389 – a bust showing the falcon-headed god Horus wearing nemes, with the sun-disc and snake over his head (glass paste); I, 1a 5382 – a stela showing the sphinx-god Tutu with a lion head being a part of the armour-plate on his chest. Aside from republishing these objects, the aim of the article is to propose an interpretation of the iconographic type, to which they belong (this type also includes a number of Apius’ images and a singular image of Khnum in the Roman guise). The most multiple group in this type are the images of Horus, which, in author’s view, reflect the concept of the Roman principes’ rule in Egypt shaped by Egyptians: they were ruled not so much by a specific Roman strong-man as by the god Hous embodied in him and largely absorbing his personality. This concept of Egyptian rulers’ “derivative sacrality” dated back to the First Persian Domination and played largely a compensatory role, as it made a foreign and unfriendly rule more tolerable for Egyptians. In the Roman time it was reflected in emperors’ titularies, in which the Horus’ name was shaped of a set of epithets conveying upon a ruler the qualities of the god Horus. Probably the concept manifested itself in the images of Horus and Anubis, perhaps Khnum in the Roman guise; the images of Tutu and, perhaps, Apis rather show a transfer on them of the iconographic standard developed in the imagery of Horus.

ХРАМ КАК ПРОСТРАНСТВО ОБРАЗОВ В ЖИВОПИСНЫХ ИЕРУСАЛИМИЯХ: ВИЗУАЛЬНАЯ ПРОГРАММА ДЛЯ ПАЛОМНИКА

The author researches the theme of the facial pictorial proskinitariums – jerusalemija. They were the manifestations of hierotopia, reflecting the sacred topography of the Holy Land within the iconic space. At the same time the jerusalemija visualized the pilgrim’s journey in the Holy Land in the 18th – early 20th centuries through images available to the pilgrim. The name of the place was visualized by creating an associative pictorial symbol, while the visual image was often supported by text referring to the lines of the New or Old Testament. The iconography of ‘jerusalemija’ dates back to the engravings of Western European masters of the 16th – 17th centuries and to the engravings of illustrators of printed proskinitariums (“walks”), for example, Christopher Zhefarovich. Traditionally Palestine and in particular Jerusalem was the center for the production of “jerusalemija”, also known as the pilgrim’s icon-eulogy “Topography of the Holy Land”. When studying the published monuments from foreign and Russian collections, the author identified the main iconographic types of “jerusalemija”, originating from different protographs: 1) “jerusalemija” as a map-icon, where the topography is primary, and the prayer image is secondary; such a type existed in a small and expanded versions; 2) “jerusalemija’ is a prayer image (souvenir icon for pilgrims) that consisted of two subgroups that differed in the degree of significance of the prayer component and the presence of topography. That group of sources includes a rare image from a private Russian collection, which was not painted in the workshops of Palestine, but executed as a copy of the eulogy icon by an iconographer of one of the Chernigov monasteries in the middle of the 18th century. The author analyzes its program and iconographic features. The paper is also focused on the iconographic schemes of various groups of “jerusalemijas”, and reveals their characteristic features and specifics as a hierotopic project

Boims’ epitaph from the chapel of the Holy Trinity and the Passion of the Lord in the context of the evolution of memorial plastic between the 16th and 17th centuries

Basing on the use of principles of a system approach, comparative and historical, semiotic, iconographic, iconic, formal and stylistic methods it has been defined the place and the meaning of Boims’ epitaph from the chapel of the Holy Trinity and the Passion of the Lord in Lviv dealing with the topology of memorial plastics and sculptural portrait’s evolution in the modern West-Ukrainian lands at the border of the 16th and 17th centuries; the paper characterizes image-thematic and artistic peculiarities of a landmark and points out identifications of separate personalities among those who have been specified. The study stresses on the fact that the epitaph combines the features of memorial compositions of family prayer kneeling that was popular in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the 1550–1575s, and the adoration of the sacred scene by spouses that is presented as iconographic type developed in the 1600–1625s as the imitation of monumental tombstones of noble families’ representatives. The author suggests that except for J. Pfister's desire to avoid usual decisions, lack of space to place sculpture and customers’ wishes to immortalize all representatives of the genus, the composition tiering has been inspired with single tiered family bourgeois epitaphs in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the sculptor's tendency to develop multi-level structures. The research demonstrates the portrait’s development in Lviv sculpture that has proved the subordination of the heraldic program to the psychological features of the depicted personalities, its shift from the reproduction as a part of the ancestral organism (the epitaph of the Sholts-Volfovychs’ family) to the creation of the family image as an emergent unity of individuals, and is a characteristic of Boim’s epitaphs. The author highlights the development of Lviv sculptural portrait presented with the visualization of psychological interconnections of Boim’s family representatives, the expression of the essential one at the moment, the depiction of individual one in the associations with generally cultural and over-timed one. The paper focuses on “a-tectonicity”, “belonging to painting”, and dynamic development of the epitaph’s form especially noticed in a group of “Pieta”. The study highlights the integrity of a composition provided with zigzag baroque rhythm, outlining imaginative triangle with prayerfully folded palms of George and Yadviga Boim and the head of the Mother of God, the contrast of white alabaster and black marble background, stressing on central axis with fragmented Crucifixion, cartouche scrolls, the figure of the blessing Christ. The author suggests the statement about the picture at the second level of the composition that is the first from the inscription, not of the son, but of Pavel Georgy Boim’s brother, and in the series as a whole is the adoration of the Pieta by the sons of the family protoplast. The author points out the deformation of the epitaph’s reception under the conditions of its probable transferring from the original surrounding.

The Woman and the Dragon—The Formation of the Image of the Mulier Amicta Sole in the Revelation of St. John in Western Medieval Art

This article aims to study the visual tradition of the Woman Clothed with the Sun from chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation in medieval times, in particular the formation, continuity and variations of the various iconographic types. For this purpose, we firstly approach the main sources, both the Book of Revelation and the exegesis or interpretation of the Church Fathers. Secondly, we analyse the first preserved representations (ninth to twelfth centuries) that correspond to examples of the Italian and French tradition and the Beatus from the Iberian tradition, works that, most likely, followed original models from the first centuries of Christianity that have now disappeared. This section is followed by the study of representations from between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries and the importance of the Anglo-Norman Apocalypses. The article closes with an iconological section in which the importance of the mulier as an ecclesiological symbol and, subsequently, its Marian interpretation is pointed out.

The Lost Cameo, the Vanished Statue of the Emperor and Constantine as a New Alexander

The aim of this paper is to propose a reinterpretation of the meaning of the lost colossus of Constantine the Great from the Forum of his name in Constantinople, in the light of the iconography of the emperor on the cameo from the cathedral in the Pomeranian town of Cammin. Although the gem was lost during the last war, it is known to us thanks to archival photographs and the plaster cast housed at Göttingen University. On this basis, Gerda Bruns associated the jewel with the statue of Constantine on the porphyry column in the New Rome, and her identification has since been widely accepted by the scholarly milieu. In recent years one has been able to observe growing popularity of this interpretation among researchers, who however refrain in their studies from pointing to the consequences of such a reconstruction of the statue’s form.
 The author of this paper points out that Constantine purposefully chose the iconographical type of Alexander-ktistes as a model for his own representation in order to allude to his great predecessor and the founder of a number of cities which bore his name. The iconography of the statue became then a part of the programme of the celebrations arranged on the occasion of the dedication of Constantinople, in which numerous references to Alexander played the key role. This new understanding of the colossus, placing its significance within the frames of political propaganda, better matches the actual historical circumstances and the ruler’s attitude towards Christendom than traditional interpretations which recognised the statue as Helios or Apollo, and thus introduced an incoherence — difficult to explain — in Constantine’s attitude towards the new religion. This cumbersome question, which baffled the inquisitive minds already in the Constantinople of the Byzantine era, will be considered unsubstantial if we correctly interpret the monument on the Forum solely in the political and propagandistic context.

The Iconographic Type of the Coronation of the Virgin in the Renaissance Italian Painting in the Light of the Medieval Theology

This article highlights the artistic and conceptual relevance of the iconographic type of the Coronation of Mary in Italy during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modernity. We have analyzed 14 Italian Renaissance paintings, aiming to discover the possible doctrinal sources that inspire them. From a conceptual perspective, we have specified that the iconography of The Coronation of the Virgin in Italy is directly inspired by the comments of some Church Fathers and medieval theologians and hymnographers. From the formal perspective, we discover that three different iconographyc types complement each other as progressively more complex variants of a similar basic structure.

Иконография Воскресения в русском искусстве XVI-XVIII вв.: источники формирования нового канона

The article deals with the study of the development of the new iconography "Resurrection with the Descent into Hell", which appeared in Russian art in the 16th century. Variants of new iconography are considered on the examples of certain monuments. Iconographic types are distinguished by the arrangement of the two main plots, sequential or vertical. At the same time, in the first iconographic type, it is possible to see either a literal adherence to the Dutch engraving, or a rethinking: the placement of the image "Resurrection" below, under the main stage.The influence of the Old Believers' work "The Passion of Christ" on the iconography "Resurrection with the Descent into Hell" is investigated. This influence is evident not only in the new storylines that become commonplace for the new image. This can be seen both in the text on the icon and in the stamps of monuments. Examples of citing the text are given. Certain iconographic features associated with this influence are noted.

A Sacred Marriage. Hierogamy in the Most Hermetic Art, from Alchemy to The Sacrifice, by Andrei Tarkovsky

Many cosmogonies see the creation as a hierogamy, a non-dualist cosmogonic mytheme. It can also be found in alchemical engraving books, used in reference to one of the stages of the process, represented in iconography. In that phase, a woman and a man have sexual intercourse, like in the Rosarium Philosophorum. This iconographic type portrays a non-dual worldview, according to which the world needs to link both primary poles. This is achieved with resources inherent to visual art. Alchemy stands out as one of the few currents with a strong non-dual factor in Western schools. Subsequent artists were influenced by this iconography and the ideas represented in it, such as William Blake and surrealists like Leonora Carrington. It is also relevant as one of the most predominant motifs in the style of Andrei Tarkovsky, omnipresent in his work. It is in his last film, The Sacrifice, in which the alchemical universe is most present. In this film, the world is threatened by an apocalyptic Third World War, but a sexual ritual perhaps might reverse the crisis.

Návrh typologie bílých penízů Vladislava II. Jagellonského (I): typy I–IV

The study brings new typology and chronology of the earliest white pennies of Vladislaus II Jagiellon, struck during the 1480s. These coins are divided into four iconographic types (I–IV) and a new chronology of these issues, based on the surviving mint accounts, is proposed.

ІКОНИ БОГОРОДИЦІ У ПРОСТОРІ КУЛЬТУРНОЇ СПАДЩИНИ РИМУ

The images of the Mother of God in Italy represent a significant part of the cultural heritage of European and world sacred art and icon painting of various chronological periods and stylistic features. A special place in this dimension belongs to the icons of the Mother of God in Rome. Ever since the first centuries, images of the Virgin have been represented in the paintings of the Roman catacombs. The iconographic heritage of Rome represents different periods and a unique interweaving of styles. Over the centuries, ancient icons of the Mother of God have been kept in Rome, made both in the technique of encaustic, tempera, and later in oil painting. Many images of the Mother of God in Rome represent the original samples of the Byzantine style of icon painting of various origins and the works of masters of the Italian artistic environment at the intersection of Western and Eastern artistic styles. A significant number of these icons are crowned and have the status of miraculous. Some of the most ancient and famous icons of the Mother of God in Rome are «Salus Populi Romani», «Madonna del Conforto», «Madonna Avvocata», «Madonna della Clemenza», «Madre del Perpetuo Soccorso», «Santa Maria del Popolo», «Madonna della Catena», «La Madonna dei Martiri» and others. Common iconographic types are Hodegetria, Agiosoritissa, Kyriotissa, Galaktotrofusa, etc. Often, these icons have several Italian-language names, which must be considered when choosing methodological tools for historiographical analysis. The article provides a general overview of the heritage of the icons of the Mother of God in Rome based on the most famous of them. English-language and Italian-language historiography was analyzed to model further relevant research directions in developing this topic by modern specialists in an interdisciplinary context. It is emphasized that in the churches of Rome, there are still many less-known and less-researched icons of the Mother of God, particularly in terms of stylistic features and painting techniques. Their detailed study and analysis of sources can effectively fill this niche in historiography and become an interesting topic for modern interdisciplinary research in the field of history, icon painting, art, restoration, and cultural heritage, as well as the basis of original concepts for exhibitions, photo catalogs, new excursion routes, etc.

The Sphragistic Images of the Virgin and Saints Portrayed with Their Hands Raised before Their Breast. A Sign of Intercession and Purity

This article discusses the relatively rare sphragistic images of the Virgin and various saints depicted with theirhands raised before their breast. It outlines their chronological frequencies and percentile values among the corpus of publishedseals bearing sacred figures. The literature dealing with this Marian iconographic type is also reviewed. An investigation ofmonastic and homiletical texts reveals that the significance of this gesture of intercession is shared for images of the Virgin andprimarily monastic saints based upon their common life of purity. The chronological highpoints for such sphragistic images arethe tenth/eleventh and the eleventh centuries, a period of increased use of sacred figures for seals, reflecting the greater use ofintercessory images in the realm of private devotions.

Иконка-привеска с изображением святого Воина-всадника из раскопок Мангупского дворца. Древняя Русь или Византия?

Introduction. The article is devoted to the icon-pendant with the image of the horseman St. George the Warrior, discovered in 2020 in the cultural horizon of the late 13th–14th centuries at the research site of the Mangup’s Princely Palace. Methods. The study is complex. The traditional methods of art history analysis and the method of analogies, widely used in archaeological science, are used in the description and attribution of the sign icon. The dating of the product is established using one of the most important stratigraphic methods in archaeology. In explaining the historical context of the find, the available data from archaeological and narrative sources on the history and culture of Mangup at the end of the 13th–14th centuries are used. Analysis. The value of the icon, in addition to its clear archaeological context and the iconographic type of the holy rider-triumphant, which is rare for Byzantine applied art, lies in the expansion of our source base on the spread of the cult of St. George in the Late Byzantine period of the history of South-Western Crimea, represented before that mainly by the churches of Eski-Kermen and Mangup. Results. Despite the general proximity of the iconography and the technique of making the Mangup find and numerous similar products from the territory of Old Rus, there is no reason to consider it as an icon-pendant of Ancient-Russian origin. The conducted research definitely indicates a weak study of this category of Christian objects of personal piety on the territory of Byzantium, the lack of their cataloging and the study of special issues. In this regard, the conclusion that the icon belongs to the number of finds of the Byzantine circle from the cultural layer of the Mangup settlement, made in one of the provincialbyzantine centers, seems to be the most objective.

Перстни-амулеты с изображением святого всадника VII в. из Крыма

Introduction. The group of jewelry with Christian symbols that existed in the Crimea in the early Middle Ages includes cast bronze rings, on a flat shield of which the image of a holy rider with a cross in his hands is engraved. The rings were found in the South-West Crimea in the burial grounds near the village of Luchistoe, Skalistoe and EskiKermen, as well as in Kerch at the early medieval necropolis of the Bosporus, in the burials of the 7th century. Methods. For the attribution of published products, a circle of analogies is identified, findings from the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire are analyzed. The iconography of the holy rider is compared on various subjects. In the Crimea, three of the published finger rings were found in in situ burials, as part of a closed complex, together with tools with a narrow dating, which makes it possible to clarify the time of existence of this type of products in the region and to determine the method of wearing it. Analysis. The plot depicted on the finger rings has an undeniable resemblance to the scene of the solemn entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, described in all four Gospels and well known from the numerous pictorial monuments of the early medieval period. The iconography of that scene originated in the era of Constantine the Great, under the influence of imperial art and in many ways corresponded to the Triumphal entry of the emperor to Rome or any large city of the empire. The image of Christ the rider on the Crimean finger rings belongs to the iconographic type, which became widespread in the 6th–7th centuries, mainly in Egypt, the Syro-Palestinian region and Asia Minor. The quality of execution of the published rings from the Crimea allows us to speak about their local production. Byzantine products that came to the peninsula thanks to stable trade relations with the empire or were brought by pilgrims from holy places served as models for the Crimean artisans. In the minds of ancient Christians, the image of Christ the rider had a powerful protective power. Placed on the shield of the ring, it endowed the decoration with the properties of an amulet, protecting the person wearing it from all troubles. The rings originating from Crimea belonged to a teenage girl and young women who wore them on their hands – on the right index or ring finger, or in special belt bags, in which, in addition to utilitarian items, various amulets were also put. Results. The study of rings makes it possible not only to expand knowledge about jewelry that existed in the early medieval times, but also to replenish our information about the daily life of the Christian population of the early medieval Crimea.

IMAGINARY ICONOGRAPHY OF MYKHAILO DOROSHENKO (1991‒2021)

The article is an attempt to systematize and analyse most of the existing images of Hetman Mykhailo Doroshenko created during 1991-2021. A life portrait of the Cossack leader was not found. The probability of the existence of such a portrait is very low due to a number of specific historical reasons of objective and subjective nature, as described in the article. The formation of modern iconography of Mykhailo Doroshenko was due to the growing interest in the biography of this leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks in the context of the revival of interest in national history during the first years of Ukraine's independence. Further interest in the formation of the iconography of Mykhailo Doroshenko was fostered by the needs of national-patriotic education, museum activities and educational process. Doroshenko's modern iconography is imaginary, it does not reflect the real appearance of the hetman. The vast majority of images of this leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks are works of the portrait genre, two paintings are made in the battle genre. Doroshenko's fabulous image was also used on philatelic articles and commemorative coins. There have not yet been erected monuments or memorials dedicated to Mykhailo Doroshenko in which the existing imaginary iconographic types of this figure would be used

Abraham Bids Farewell to Hagar and Ishmael: Continuity and Variation of the Iconographic Type

In traditional Christian artistic visualization, the episode of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert has given rise to various iconographic types: “The feast for the weaning of Isaac and Sara’s protests,” “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” “Hagar and Ishmael in the desert” and “Divine salvation for Hagar and Ishmael”. This study looks into the continuity and variation over time of the second of these types: “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” the one most depicted out of this entire biblical topic or episode. Since the Byzantine Octateuch in the East (11th century.) and the Canterbury Hexateuch (ca. 1025–1049) in the West, this iconographic type has remained into the Late Modern period, with some variations over time. This study is exclusively iconographic or descriptive; it only verifies the codification of the type in order to set out an analytical basis prior to future hermeneutic or iconological studies.

The Transit of Mary Magdalene’s Soul in Catalan Artistic Production in the 15th Century

There are a great many studies on the figure of Mary Magdalene in different areas of knowledge. Nevertheless, there is a gap as regards the image of this character in Catalonia, and specifically regarding the visual representation of her soul at the moment when she died. This text aims to analyze this matter based on two Catalan altarpieces: the Altarpiece of Saint Mary Magdalene from Perella (Bernat Martorell, 1437–1453) and The Death of Mary Magdalene (Jaume Huguet, 1465–1480). The analysis has been carried out based on the postulates from the tradition of studies on iconography and iconology: the relationships between image and text, the history of the iconographic types and the magnetic power of images. The basic hypothesis is that the representation of Mary Magdalene’s soul in the 15th Century in Catalonia is visually borrowed from the iconographic type of the Dormition of the Mother of God. To test this, comparative analyses have been made of the visual representation of the two women and also of the textual sources, such as the canonical and extracanonical gospels, a variety of medieval legends and different hagiographies or vitas and sermons from the period.

Land-cover patterns in Russian territorial and municipal heraldry between the 17th and 19th centuries

The paper analyzes a set of Russian territorial and municipal coats of arms between the 17th and 19th centuries for the way they blazon natural and artificial land-cover patterns of Muscovy and the Russian Empire. It establishes that the first coats of arms that designed images of such patterns date back to the late 17th century, with a geographical component as such to be auxiliary. The share of coats of arms with geographic images makes up 13% in the heraldry of the Russian Empire, although, in most cases, this motive in such coats of arms is a priority. The coats of arms depicted hydrographic patterns (2/3 of the total number of coats of arms), among which a majority involved images of rivers blazoned by four iconographic types, relief forms (less than 1/4), primarily mountains, as well as forests (1/10) and single artificial patterns in the form of water and land routes.

THE KAUSIA BOY FIGURINES FROM DEMETRIAS: A REASSESSMENT

Demetrias has yielded the largest number of terracotta figurines of a popular iconographic type of the Hellenistic period: the ‘kausia boy’, shown standing, dressed in the chiton, chlamys, kausia and krepides. The rediscovery of the material from A.S. Arvanitopoulos’ excavations at Demetrias in the early twentieth century has provided an opportunity to reassess the significance of this iconographic type in the city and in the wider Hellenistic world. Combining and comparing the material from Arvanitopoulos’ excavations with that from other excavations in the city by the German Archaeological Institute and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Magnesia, it is now clear that the kausia boy figurines from Demetrias were discovered in various contexts, including sanctuaries, graves and the foundations of the royal palace (Anaktoron); the largest number was found in the sanctuary of Pasikrata. It has been possible to identify more than ten technical types, confirming the importance of these figures in the coroplastic production of the city. This paper also discusses the iconographic types of the ‘shepherds’, kausia-wearing boys holding the syrinx and the lagobolon, as well as the animal-carrying boys, since they too are wearing the same attire, and are mechanically related to the simple kausia boy types. The study of Demetrias’ specimens, combined with the study of the distribution of these iconographic types in the Hellenistic world and the relevant iconographic, literary and epigraphic evidence enable its reinterpretation.

On the Iconography of the Potnia Theron in the North Pontic Region

Abstract The article discusses one of the variants of the image of the tendril goddess (Rankenfrau) with the mask of a satyr recorded in depictions on plates found in Chersonesos Taurica, in the funerary complex within the Kul-Oba burial-mound and also in a burial-mound near the village of Ivanovskaya (Fig. 1–3). Examination of the context for each of the finds and also their comparison allows the assumption that they were all used to decorate apparel – the head-dress of a priestess. The image of the goddess depicted on these plates can be traced back to the iconographic type of the Potnia Theron. The combination of images of the winged goddess and a satyr mask in a single item is probably linked with the cult of Artemis Orphia.