Russian Icon Research Articles

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.

New Data on Orange Mineral Pigments in the Works of the Nevyansk School of Icon Painting

The purpose of this paper is to investigate an unusual technological feature of the icons of the Old Believer mining and metallurgical Urals, that consists in the use of the minerals crocoite and realgar as artistic pigments. During the technological examination of sixty-two Nevyansk icons of the 18th – 19th centuries in the State Research Institute for Restoration (GOSNIIR) in 2019–2023, realgar was found in twenty-two icons, while crocoite was detected in eleven, which proves the widespread usage of these minerals in Ural icon painting. Chemical analysis of the paint layer samples from the icons was carried out using a set of analytical methods such as polarized microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, micro-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. It should be noted that both mineral pigments are rare not only for Russian painting, but also for late Russian icon painting of other artistic centers and schools. Thus, it can be assumed that realgar was introduced to the Ural masters as an imported paint from Western Europe under the name Rauschgelb / Rusgeel, where it was in high demand among painters between the 16th and 18th centuries. It is also possible that it could have been brought to Russia, to the Urals, from China or Central Asia, where its large deposits are located. However, the appearance of crocoite in Nevyansk icons is undeniably due to the discovery and development of its deposits in the Middle Urals. Both minerals were first applied in Nevyansk icons in the second half of the 18th century (the lower chronological boundary of crocoite use is the first half of the 60s of the 18th century). Apparently, in the 19th century they gradually ceased to be in common use among the Ural icon painters.

K.S. Petrov-Vodkin: from Clairvoyance to Philosophy

In the article the author carries out the philosophical analysis of the artistic work of K.S. Petrov- Vodkin. The author examines the process of the artist’s formation and connects its culmination with the use of «spherical perspective» in painting. Revealing the philosophical meaning of the «spherical perspective», the author shows its fundamental difference from the linear perspective and the reverse perspective, and also dispels the popular idea of Petrov-Vodkin being a cosmist. Analyzing the «Bathing of the Red Horse» painting, the author shows that Petrov-Vodkin was a revolutionary not in politics, but in painting, offering his theory of color and advocating the creation of the Russian school of painting. Comparing the «Bathing of the Red Horse» with the «Black Square» by K. Malevich, on the one hand, and with the Russian icon, on the other hand, the author refers the canvas to the archeoavantgarde. The image of A.S. Pushkin constitutes the quintessence of the artist’s inner path for Petrov-Vodkin. When referring to it, the artist in Petrov-Vodkin gives way to the thinker. The idea of the intrinsic value of painting is replaced by the idea of the intrinsic value of Russian culture.

Count S. D. Sheremetev and the establishment of the Committee of Guardianship of Russian Icon Painting

By the end of the nineteenth century, it had become obvious that there was a need to prepare and publish a new Icon-painting Script (Podlinnik) - a manual that holds the canonical rules in accordance with which icons and church walls should be painted. A trusted courtier of the Dowager Empress, Count S.D. Sheremetev arranged a considerable discussion of this issue in the Society of Lovers of Ancient Literature, of which he was a chairperson. In the course of this discussion, it became clear that the situation necessitated not only the publication of a new Podlinnik, but also the establishment of icon-painting schools and, in general, the systematization of a wide range of issues related to the development of this trade. Sheremetev approached the Emperor with the request, and Nicholas II established a special structure under his command - the Committee of Care on Russian Icon Painting, which was charged with reforming the icon painting trade. Director General of the Most Holy Synod, K.P. Pobedonostsev was not initiated into this project: the creation and initial stages of the structure's activities took place outside his jurisdiction. This circumstance led to his conflict with Sheremetev.

EFFORTS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR GUARDIANSHIP OF RUSSIAN ICON PAINTING TO PRESERVE RUSSIAN ICON TRADITIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

The Orthodox culture attracts the attention of wide circles today. The canonical Orthodox icon is worshiped not as a material object, but as a refl ection of a religious image. The Russian philosopher, theologian Pavel Florensky noted that an icon is a vision of the other world outlined by an icon painter, a kind of window in another world for a believer. The spiritual life of society is impossible without the spiritual activity of the people. Of particular importance in this case are cultural and educational institutions, whose activity is aimed at educating people. Cultural transformations at the beginning of the 20th century are ambiguously refl ected in modern scientifi c and journalistic literature. In this regard, there is a need to turn to the historical aspects of the turn of the 20th century. The article highlights the activities of the Committee for Guardianship of Russian Icon Painting. The authors of the paper describe the concern of the Committee for the preservation of the traditions of Russian icon painting and the diffi culties experienced by the Committee in the preparation of educated icon painters. The publishing activity of the Committee is shown and its initiatives are presented.

Clarification of attribution of prophetic and ancestral ranks from the collection of the Mikhail Abramov Museum of the Russian Icon

The collection of the Museum of the Russian Icons contains icons of prophetic and forefatherly ranks, which form part of a certain iconostasis, dated in the first publication about 1700 (the end of the XVII century). The purpose of this article is to clarify the attribution of the monument based on information received from the previous owner and archival documents.

Художник и его круг. Мастер русского зарубежья Евгений Климов

The article is devoted to the artist of the Russian emigre artistic circle Eugene E. Klimoff (1901–1990). A committed realist, as a painter and graphic artist, Klimoff worked in the field of landscape and portrait. The artist’s creative heritage includes many portraits of representatives of Russian artistic emigre circles, cultural and scientific figures, as well as landscapes of those places in which he happened to live during his life. These landscapes are autobiographical and belong to the category of historical evidence, acquiring special value after a hundred of years. A significant part of the landscapes is executed in the technique of lithography, and the attention of this article is focused on them. At the same time, the landscapes by Klimoff are analysed not only from the point of view of a modern art critic but also from that of his contemporaries. This perspective became possible due to Klimoff’s extensive correspondence with many famous Russian artists in exile, including Alexandre Benois, Zinaida Serebryakova, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, and others. Klimoff’s activities in various fields of art pursued a specific goal — the promotion of Russian art in its entirety in those cities and countries where he happened to stay. He became one of the founders of the cultural and educational society “Akropol” in Latvia, and in 1932 became its executive secretary; in 1940, he headed the Russian Department at the Riga Art Museum. In different countries of the world, Klimoff painted churches and restored church murals; he also gave public lectures on ancient Russian icon painting, subsequently expanding a variety of lecture topics and including Russian fine art of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, including the work of his Russian contemporaries. At the same time, Klimoff’s activities as an educator began to spread in another direction — towards homeland, for which he carefully preserved not only his and his circle artists’ works but also memories of them in a form of correspondence with famous Russian culture and art personalities.

Iveron Icon of the Mother of God: reconstruction based on physical–chemical tests as an element of conservation

Recently art conservators tend to wonder which of the possible intervention paths to undertake while planning a conservation project and how deep their interference with the original substance should be. Limiting intervention to ceasing the ongoing degradation process and securing the object for the future without restoring any missing parts of the composition is just one of the many available approaches. Making a brand new copy of the painting where all the missing parts could be fully reconstructed and exposing it along with the original is a good alternative to traditional restoration practice. This method has been used by Danuta Stępień during conservation of a Russian icon entitled “Our Lady of Iver” (Moscow, 1908–1917, egg tempera on a wooden panel partially covered by a silver oklad, 10.8 × 13.2 × 0.8 cm). The silver oklad was executed by the workshop of Smirnow. Technology and materials have been identified via different analytical techniques: VIS, UV, IR and X-ray photography, microscopic photography, SEM–EDS analysis and FTIR. Specific medical radiological instruments have also been used as non-invasive analytical tools. The following materials have been identified: yellow ochre, cinnabar, cadmium red, red iron oxides, silver, gold and copper. The oklad is made of an Ag-rich silver–copper alloy. Its whole surfaces are richly engraved with traces of gold detected inside the engravings. Based on this fact, an assumption has been made that originally the upper part of the oklad might have been entirely covered with a layer of gold. The information gathered during research allowed to execute a fine copy of the icon using similar materials and techniques. An alternative to classic restoration approach is to create a faithful but fully reconstructed copy that could be exposed along with the original painting. This solution not only assures maximum respect for the original substance but also allows the recipients to better understand its history and technique.

СЮЖЕТ "СЕМЬ ТАИНСТВ" В РУССКОМ ИСКУССТВЕ XVII В. И ЕГО КНИЖНЫЙ ИСТОЧНИК

The article deals with a rather rare for Russian art of the 17th century story of the Seven Sacraments. Its source was the engravings of the printing house of the Kyev Pechersk Lavra, which were among the book “projects” of the head of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Constantinople Orthodox Church, Petro Mohyla (1632–1647). A few images of that motif have long been known to researchers, but the origin of its variations has not been revealed. The issue is studied on the examples of two icons of the last quarter of the 17th century “Crucifixion with the Seven Sacraments”. Their distinguishing feature is the depicting the optional for all Christians sacrament of marriage in the foreground. The author of the article suggests that the creation of such an iconography was associated with the marriage of Tsar Feodor Alekseyevich. The development of baroque aesthetics also prompted artists to combine elements of different iconographic schemes in one composition and create a complicated version of the Life-Giving Tree with scenes of the seven Sacraments and the Passion of Jesus cycle. They used several literary and visual sources. The surviving samples of such a composition demonstrate the variability of its iconography and the creative nature of the work of Russian icon painters in the 17th century, who could create completely independent works on the same subject with pronounced individual characteristics.

ГЕНЕЗИС РУССКОЙ ИКОНОГРАФИИ БОГОМАТЕРИ «ВСЕХ СКОРБЯЩИХ РАДОСТЬ»

The purpose of the article is to analyze the process of borrowing the iconography of the image of the mother of God. The connections of the Eastern Christian image and teaching, the liturgical texts of the Orthodox Church are under the study. For this purpose, the study of the main cultural and theological aspects of formation and their symbolic and symbolic design in the iconography is carried out. At the same time, the author pre-sents visually similar images that have received different content, which influenced their under-standing in Western European and Eastern Christianity. The goal assumes an interdisciplinary nature of the research, the comparative-historical method is the main one, which allows, among other things, to track the dynamics of the phenomenon, and semiotic analysis for the interpretation of symbolic aspects of the image. The author presents the development of the Russian iconography of the Mother of God «Joy of All Who Sorrow» based on a review of Western European iconographic sources and texts. As a result, the author emphasizes that in the culture of Modern times Russian icon painters gave the Western European iconographic pattern a different theological interpretation by imitating it.

An Example of Microwave Holography Investigation of an Old Orthodox Russian Icon Dated to 19th Century

The study, preservation and restoration of the cultural heritage objects of mankind are not only of great cultural importance but also have a significant economic component because cultural values of past centuries attract tourists from all over the world. The use of modern technical and scientific achievements in the field of non-destructive testing makes it possible to obtain new knowledge about cultural objects regarding their origin and dating, as well as to contribute to their better restoration and preservation. An important component of their use is additional opportunities to identify high quality fakes of original cultural objects that have historical significance. The capabilities of various non-destructive testing (NDT) methods used to examine cultural objects are characterized by their penetration depth, resolution, and sensitivity to material properties. Thus, in many cases, it is necessary to perform multi-sensor non-destructive testing and creating large data sets that require an efficient evaluation. This article considers an example of using microwave (MW) holographic sensors for the examining of an old Orthodox Russian Icon dated of the late 19th century. The paper describes the technology of microwave holography, which has recently been applied to the examination of art works. Unlike the well-studied X-ray method, MW holography makes it possible to examine objects with one-sided access. Its other advantages are the relative cheapness of the equipment and the safety of use due to the low level of radiation. The article describes a MW holograms reconstruction algorithm, as well as a method for improving the quality of obtained MW images. The data collected at MW research of the Icon are compared with the results of X-ray examination and confirmed by subsequent opening and visual examination performed by professional restorers.

Hygro-mechanical short-term behaviour of selected coatings: experiments and material modelling on vapour permeability and mechanical properties

Many pieces of fine art are made of wood that has been treated with coatings. Since wood is a very hygroscopic material, the moisture content strongly influences the deformation of wooden parts. Coatings often act as moisture barriers. Therefore, the moisture permeability of coatings must be considered for the evaluation of the structural behaviour. The mechanical properties are also relevant to evaluate the deformation of thin artwork like panel paintings as well as the damage of paintings and varnishes. Therefore, the mechanical properties and the permeability of selected coatings used for cultural wooden artwork are investigated and presented in the article at hand. In this study, coatings of three artworks are investigated: a Lusatian cupboard from the eighteenth century, an altarpiece by L. Cranach the Elder and a Russian icon from 1912. The coatings considered are white ground, colours, varnishes, glue and textile reinforced sizing. Mechanical tests are conducted to evaluate the stiffness and tensile strength of the Russian icon’s coating. Cup tests are made to identify the moisture permeability of the coatings. This test was conducted for single coatings as well as for coating systems consisting of different coatings to investigate both the moisture barrier of single coatings and the interaction of coatings. Exponential functions for the relative humidity-dependent permeability are fitted based on the experimental data. The results allow the quantification of permeability for all investigated coatings—from white ground with a high permeability to beeswax with a low permeability—and the magnitude of moisture dependency of the coating’s permeability. Furthermore, it is shown that the simple addition of the water vapour resistance of single coatings underrates the resistance of a total coating system. By the mechanical tests, the strength, ultimate strain and Young’s modulus are obtained. The permeability and the mechanical parameters are required as input for numerical simulations of the structural behaviour of coated wooden artwork. These results are a good step forward to assess the risk of damage of coated wooden artwork.

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.

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

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.

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.

Subscription copper-cast plastic from the collection of the Museum of Russian Icon. New discoveries

At the exhibition dedicated to the history and culture of the Old Believers in the Museum of Russian Icon, a number of objects of copper artistic casting expanding our understanding of the development of this type of applied art were presented. During the pre-exhibition research three signed and dated objects were identified as a part of the complex of Moscow Old Believers plastics. Among them one can find a rare triptych “Deesis, with selected saints” of 1798/1799. The date (from the creation of the world) was engraved on the lower end.The image of the “Mother of God and Child” (“Kazansksya”) 1809/1810 from the museum collection belongs to the same group of dated monuments. These two items are the works created by master Mikhail Gupkin. His career started in Moscow at the end of the 18th century and then continued in Kaluga. Two signed and dated items from the collection of the Museum of Russian Icon appear to be a valuable addition to the complex of copper-cast plastic made by the master in his Kaluga period.The Moscow group of subscription copper casting is supplemented with an icon made after the model of master Ignat Timofeev. This image of the “Mother of God and Child” (“Kazanskaya”) is distinguished by the inscription on the upper smooth frame of the centerpiece: “S IK KA IG TI”. These first letters of five words can be deciphered as followed: “Siya Ikona Kazanskaya IGnata Timofeeva” (“This Kasanskaya icon made by Ignat Timoeev”). Later the works of this master, who carried out orders from the Preobrazhenskaya Old Believers community became the basis of Moscow copper workshops’ range of products.

“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.

Old Believers’ singing manuscripts from the collection of the Andrey Rublev Museum at the Avvakum jubilee exhibition at the Museum of Russian Icon

The article is an expanded description of three 18th — 19th c. Old Believers’ origin chanting manuscripts from the collection of the Andrey Rublev Museum demonstrated at the anniversary Avvakum exhibition at the Museum of Russian Icon. These manuscripts — “Holidays”, “Octoechos and Obikhod” and “Trezvony” represent two branches of the Old Believers — accepting priesthood (popovtsy) and priestless (bespopovtsy) which in regards to singing books affects the editions of the text: so called “true-speech” and “separate-speech”. The author speaks about the contents of the books, their repertoire and its musical characteristics, specific singing concepts and terms found in them. The manuscript of the Pomor “Trezvons” is examined in more detail including the сomprehensive list of services containinig a large number of Russian saints feasts the features of rites with a short and a complete composition of chants genres.To illustrate the unique artistic design of the manuscripts the article publishes photographs of various colored handdrawn headpieces, frames, drop caps, flowers on the page margins, a miniature of the seated St. John of Damascus and a sample of hook notation.From the Appendix of Guslitsy “Obikhod” of 1809 is given a musical example of the chant “The monk is coming from the monastery” which represents a translation of the hook znamenny notation into the modern one. It is designated in the manuscript as “Examples of odes” and is an example of a non-liturgical educational genre, where each new line is sung to the motive of one of the eight odes of the znamenny chant. To make it easier to memorize the melodies a subtext was invented, telling a story reminiscent to a folk song or a spiritual verse. So, in the Old Believers singing books the ancient Russian tradition of monophonic znamenny singing in which an archaic melody, considered sacred and not made by hands is combined with folk elements of paralyturgical genres and decorative design of manuscripts and persists.

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.