Iconography: schools and techniques. On the relationship between language and style in Orthodox icon painting

How was the temple painting program born? Can the academic style of painting be called canonical? We touched on this and many other questions in a conversation with the artist Dmitry Trofimov, the head of the Tsargrad icon-painting workshop. We bring to your attention the second part of this conversation.

The Tsargrad workshop has been operating since 2007. She painted the following temples: the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Seraphim-Diveevo Convent, the Holy Trinity on Borisov Ponds (Moscow), the Assumption Church in the village of Istomino near Tarusa, as well as the iconostasis of the temples of St. Sergius of Radonezh on the Kulikovo Field, the Church of the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon in Krasnogorsk, the Resurrection Christ in Vladimir, a church in honor in Moscow, etc.

– How was the program for painting the temple born?

– When I start sketching a painting, I see white walls - a certain space in which there are only door and window openings and broken walls. It’s like a kind of chaos that the artist must transform. We structure the registers, we divide the wall. Most often, a painting program is the work of three people: the artist, the rector of the temple and an art critic who can suggest analogues and iconographic solutions. Painting in the Church can be divided into several semantic levels. Didactic: through the language of icons we talk about Holy Scripture and Tradition. The symbolic level talks about the spiritual meaning of faith. And liturgical-mystical - it reveals the very sacrament of the Church, which is associated with visible images of the Eucharist.

– In the “Tsargrad” workshop there is a division of labor into decorative artists, decorative artists, ornamentalists - each artist performs the operation assigned to him, several masters work on the icon. How does this fit with creativity and the freedom of the artist?

- It goes together. Beginners first draw ornaments, fonts, and make strokes. A person must join the team and feel its style. The creative character of the team is formed by the leader - by constantly recommending to the artists how to paint clothes, what color to choose - and from year to year, joint work gives rise to a common style. A leader is like a conductor. Why do orchestras led by different conductors sound different when playing the same works? The orchestra takes years to form, people feel each other, and ten violins sound in unison. It’s the same in icon painting. This does not happen when a team is assembled for a specific order. Even talented craftsmen must work together for a long time to become one. We have a permanent team of about fifteen people. In ancient times, painting was always started by the flagman, who “marked” the temple: he painted the wall with a sharp metal stylus. Then came the opening (opening of the painting) with color. There has always been a division between ornamentalists and personalists. And the task of the manager, whether an iconostasis or a painting is being created, is to find the harmony of the whole, to structure the space. Therefore, the manager develops a painting program and makes sketches. However, in some styles icons are always painted by one person: for example, in academic style...

– Do you write in both canonical and academic styles?

– The so-called style is, in essence, the language of painting. There are polyglots who know many languages. But most people speak one or two languages. It's the same in creativity. An artist cannot be expected to be equally proficient in all styles. Each style is a special world of culture of its era, its own image system, its own rhythm. We have gathered a large team, where some write only in the academic style, others in the style of the 17th century, and others in the Byzantine style. If a person today works in the style of the 19th century, and tomorrow he writes personal works in the style of the 14th century, he must be a brilliant artist in order to succeed.

– Do you think it is possible to paint the temple in a more ancient era than when it was built?

– It is very important that the character of the interior decoration matches the architecture of the temple. But it doesn’t have to be an exact match to the era: the main thing is stylistic unity. If we analyze Byzantine architecture, we will see that it is similar to the architecture of Russian churches of the late 18th - early 19th centuries, so we can, when painting them, turn to Byzantine style. In my opinion, the era of Komninian art - the 11th-12th centuries - is one of the most fruitful in terms of artistic language. Its symbolism and plasticity are very rich and expressive. Much of what is done in Russia today at a decent artistic level was done precisely in reference to this period. But paintings in the Russian style of the 15th century in a 19th century church can cause a feeling of dissonance.

– Icon painting styles are conventionally divided into canonical and academic. It turns out that academic painting is non-canonical?

– There are different languages ​​in church art. For two thousand years, each era gave birth to its own way of expressing eternal truths. Just as the Gospel at the Easter service is read in many languages, artists from different times and countries spoke in different languages ​​about the essence of our faith. But the styles of church art of different eras did not express Orthodoxy with the same completeness and depth. Some people treat academic painting with disdain. But over the years of the Synodal period it was blessed by many saints. The same Cathedral of Christ the Savior - its style and iconography - were approved by Saint Philaret (Drozdov). This is just one example. All saints of this period participated in the development of iconography or approval of the artists' works. At least out of respect for them, one cannot be categorical about academic painting. But we can say that the language of academicism is not complete enough.

In Byzantine and Old Russian (until the 18th century) art, the meaning of Revelation was expressed through a certain symbolic language. This language makes it easier to explain spiritual realities. If we build a historical vertical: consider what has come down to us from catacomb painting, then the mosaics of Ravenna, Byzantium, and the frescoes of Ancient Rus', we will see that only artistic techniques have changed, but not the basis. The doctrine of hesychasm, formulated in the 14th century, gave the theological basis for this language - the doctrine of light, and we see on the faces of the saints a radiance emanating from themselves. This applies not only to the images of the 13th century, but also to much earlier ones. Academic painting has completely different patterns. In order to depict the earthly Church, its language is quite applicable. But when we're talking about about sacred, spiritual things - the symbolism of academicism is not enough to express their depth. Sometimes it comes to incidents: when we see angels depicted in the style of the 18th century in the form of cupids.

– Does the symbolism of canonical icon painting differ from different times?

– In early eras – especially pre-iconoclast – many symbols were used. For example, the apostles were depicted as lambs. The most famous iconography of the concha of the pre-iconoclastic period is the Savior, and below Him is a frieze of twelve sheep. In the Church of San Apolinarie Classe near Ravenna, an encrypted image of the Transfiguration of the Lord has been preserved: instead of Christ, a mandorla with a cross is depicted, at the top of the composition there are two sheep, symbolizing the prophet Elijah and the prophet Moses, and at the bottom there are three more, symbolizing the apostles.

– Why did the first Christians depict the Savior symbolically?

– It is believed that Christians in the catacombs made symbolic, rather than realistic, paintings to hide their faith. But the catacombs were known to the authorities - at least the large ones. In addition, we know about the martyrdom of the first Christians, their desire to confess Christ before the infidels. Probably, somewhere the gospel meanings were encrypted out of precaution, but often the first Christians simply used the symbolism that came from paganism for missionary purposes. We see that until the 3rd–4th centuries the Savior was depicted as a young man, without a beard. This is symbolism that came from the cults of Apollo and Orpheus. The Romans, who lived in the 2nd century, had difficulty explaining the meaning of Revelation. The images explained Christianity in a language people could understand. And yesterday’s pagans were close to the symbolic mystery language.

– Icon painting for an artist is a whole world...

– The opportunity to know God through visual arts- an amazing gift of Orthodoxy. After all, for example, in Old Testament this was temporarily banned. But in this gift there is both responsibility and danger - it is no coincidence that the era of iconoclasm was a test for the Church. We know that by the end of the 6th century, in some cases, an incorrect attitude towards the icon appeared. The understanding that the icon is a reflection, a mirror, but not the Divinity itself was violated. Cases are described when paint was scraped off venerated images and added to the chalice with Communion. People moved to a more understandable pagan level of attitude towards the sacred. As a reaction to this, persecution of the icon began in general. Church art is our prayer. The icon painter has a huge responsibility. The knowledge of God is accomplished in creativity. This is an inner need, a doing, without which we cannot live.

Interviewed by Alina Sergeychuk

Source of material: magazine “Blagoukrasitel” No. 41 (winter 2013) of the publishing house “Rusizdat”.

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In the Russian Empire in the 18th-19th centuries. There was an opinion (and not only among the Old Believers) that only those painted in the so-called “Byzantine style” were a real icon. The “academic” style is supposedly a rotten product of the false theology of the Western Church, and a work written in this style is supposedly not a real icon, simply not an icon at all. This point of view is false simply because the icon as a phenomenon belongs, first of all, to the Church. The Church, of course, recognizes an icon in the academic style. And it recognizes not only at the level of everyday practice, the tastes and preferences of ordinary parishioners (here, as is known, misconceptions, ingrained bad habits, and superstitions can take place). Icons of the academic style began to exist in Holy Rus' from the middle of the 18th century, and became widespread in the first half of the 19th century. Many famous icon painters of this time worked in an academic manner.

Written in the strict style of Russian Art Nouveau

without imitating the members of the "Abramtsevo" circle

with an emphasis on Russian-Byzantine decor.

Icon "St. Elizabeth". St. Petersburg, beginning of the 20th century. 26.5x22.5 cm.

Setting - A.B. silverware factory Lyubavina.

Icon "Holy Queen Helena". St. Petersburg, beginning of the 20th century.

Setting, silver, gilding. 84º. 92.5x63 cm.

Painting is pure modern. Reminds me

Gustav Klimt ("Salome" and "The Kiss". 1909-10)

Icon of the Mother of God "Kazan".

Wood, mixed media, gold leaf. 31x27x2.7 cm.,

Stylistics of Russian Art Nouveau. Moscow, beginning of the 20th century.

Icon “St. Great Martyr Healer Panteleimon.”

Wood, oil, Russia, late XIX - early XX centuries,

size with frame 72x55 cm.

The frame is also in Russian Art Nouveau style:

wood, gilding, enamel painting.

Stylistics of Russian Art Nouveau.

Wood, oil. Brass basma.Russia, after 1911.

Circle of Mikhail Nesterov.

"Lord Almighty." Around 1890. 40.6x15.9 cm.

Board, oil, gilding.

Circle of Nesterov-Vasnetsov.

Three temple icons (Triptych). Icon "Lord Almighty" (h=175 cm).

Icon "Archangel Michael" (h=165 cm.).

Icon "Archangel Raphael (h=165 cm.). Turn of the XIX-XX centuries.

Stylistics of Russian Art Nouveau.

Our Lady of Jerusalem with the upcoming Apostle John

Theologian and Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helena. 1908-1917

Oil, zinc.

Silver frame with enamel frame by Khlebnikov. 84º.

Moscow, 1899-1908. 12x9.6 cm.

S.I. Vashkov. Firm Olovyanishnikov and Co.

Moscow. 1908-1917. 13x10.6 cm.

In the style of Russian Art Nouveau.

PREFACE

The era of Art Nouveau at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is trembling for the Russian ear. - the era of the Silver Age of all Russian culture with its pale wax cult of symbolism undoubtedly led to radical changes in the worldview of Russian people. Trilogy D.S. Merezhkovsky's "Christ and Antichrist", in which the writer expressed his philosophy of history and his view of the future of humanity, was begun by him in the 1890s. Her first novel, “Death of the Gods. Julian the Apostate,” the life story of the 4th century Roman emperor Julian, was later called by critics among the strongest works of D.S. Merezhkovsky. It was followed by the novel “The Resurrected Gods. Leonardo da Vinci" (1901); critics noted, on the one hand, the historical accuracy of the details, and on the other, tendentiousness. In 1902, “Julian the Apostate” and “Leonardo da Vinci” were published as separate books by M.V. Pirozhkov - like the first two parts of the trilogy. At the beginning of 1904 " New way"(No. 1-5 and No. 9-12) began publishing the third novel of the trilogy, "Antichrist. Peter and Alexey" (1904-1905) - a theological and philosophical novel about Peter I, whom the author "paints as the incarnate Antichrist", as noted, largely under the influence of the corresponding idea that existed in the schismatic environment. Ask what this has to do with Russian icon painting - the most direct: after all, Emperor Peter the Great, who rejected not only national artistic tastes, but also what his subjects liked in the West - high Catholic baroque, is considered the "gravedigger" of this very "high" baroque only in architecture, but also in painting. When in 1714 the Tsar banned stone construction throughout Russia except St. Petersburg, the creators of the “Naryshkin” Baroque masterpieces new capital were not useful. European mediocrity was built there, the Protestant “Holland” invented by Peter was created. And what? After the lifting of the ban in 1728, and even earlier - after the death of Peter in 1725, all over Russia they turned to the interrupted tradition, and Peter’s Petersburg remains the appendix of Russian culture, causing virtually no imitations. Once again, something alien is rejected, the bridge is thrown, the tradition continues to live. Baroque is back. In the first half of the 18th century, Russia still preferred professionally painted images, which artistically continued the “Armory style” with a combination of medieval and new painting techniques. The volume in these images was modeled very restrainedly, the color was highly decorative, gold spaces were widely used, which is why icons of this trend were called “gold-space”. The manner of “gold-gold writing” in the 18th–19th centuries. was considered ancient, “Greek-Orthodox”, its stylistic side was influenced by the Elizabethan Baroque, but turned out to be quite stable in relation to classicism.

Bryullov K.P. "Crucifixion". 1838 (Russian Russian Museum)

At the same time, the canonical icon is being replaced by icons of “academic writing” - paintings on religious themes. This style of icon painting came to Russia from the West and was developed in the post-Petrine era, during the synodal period of Russian history. Orthodox Church, and with the development of the influence of the Academy of Arts, picturesque icons in the academic style, painted in oil technique, began to widely spread in icon painting. This direction, which used the technical and formal means of post-Renaissance painting, became noticeably widespread only towards the end of the 18th century, when the activities of the Academy of Arts, founded in 1757, fully developed.

Borovikovsky V.

Holy and blessed prince

Alexander Nevskiy.

Wood, oil. 33.5x25.2 cm.Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Icons for capital churches were previously commissioned from artists of new training (works by I. Ya. Vishnyakov, I. N. Nikitin and others - for the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, 1724, D. G. Levitsky - for churches of Saints Cyrus and John on Solyanka and St. Catherine on Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow, 1767), but usually this was associated with orders from the court. There are also cases when individual icon painters studied with professional artists (I. Ya. Vishnyakov, I. I. Belsky), but these cases still remained isolated. Until academic education and, accordingly, academic icon painting became a relatively widespread phenomenon, pictorial images remained the property of the most educated and wealthy elite of society. The spread of secular painting, especially portraiture, contributed to the perception of the icon as a realistic portrait of a saint or as a document recording a particular event. This was reinforced by the fact that some lifetime portraits of the 18th–19th centuries. after the canonization of the ascetics depicted on them, they began to function as icons and formed the basis of the corresponding iconography (for example, portraits of Saints Demetrius of Rostov, Mitrofan of Voronezh, Tikhon of Zadonsk).

VladimirBorovikovsky.

Icon"St. Catherine" from

Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. 1804-1809.

Cardboard, oil. 176x91 cm. Timing belt.

Icons made in the academic style, which is characterized by solemnity and historicity, adorn a huge number of Russian churches. The great saints of the 18th - 20th centuries prayed in front of icons painted in this style; monastery workshops worked in this style, including workshops of outstanding spiritual centers such as Valaam or the monasteries of Athos. The highest hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church ordered icons from academic artists. Some of these icons, for example, the works of Vasily Makarovich Peshekhonov, remain known and loved by the people for many generations, without coming into conflict with the icons of the “Byzantine” style.

In the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the predominant form of recognition of merit in all types of activities was the title of court supplier. In 1856, by decree of Emperor Alexander II, the title of Iconographer of the Court of His Imperial Majesty, and with it the right to use the State Emblem of Russia and the inscription “Privileged Master of the Court of His Imperial Majesty” on the workshop sign, was granted to Vasily Makarovich Peshekhonov. Obtaining the title of Iconographer of the Court of His Imperial Majesty was preceded by a long work.

V.M. Peshekhonov. Nativity of the Mother of God - Annunciation. 1872

Wood, gesso, mixed technique, gold embossing.

Size 81x57.8x3.5 cm.

Or here's another:

Brief information: For more than ten years, Vasily Makarovich Peshekhonov painted icons for all newborn babies of the imperial family: the icon of St. Alexander Nevsky for Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III (1845–1894); the image of St. Nicholas - for Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich (1843–1865); icon of Holy Prince Vladimir - Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (1847–1909); an icon of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, for Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (1850–1908). Already in the position of court icon painter, V.M. Peshekhonov wrote for all the children of Emperors Alexander II and Alexander III “images in proportion to their height,” that is, icons whose size corresponded to the height of tall newborn babies. The last order of Vasily Peshekhonov for the imperial family, mentioned in archival sources, was made for the newborn Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna in 1882. Biographical information about the Peshekhonov family is very scarce. Vasily Makarovich Peshekhonov came from a family of hereditary icon painters. His grandfather Samson Fedorovich Peshekhonov and his wife Praskovia moved to St. Petersburg from the Tver province at the beginning of the 19th century, which is why in literature the Peshekhonovs are sometimes called Tver residents. In the 20s of the 19th century, their son Makari Samsonovich Peshekhonov (1780–1852) moved to St. Petersburg with his family - his wife and four sons. Alexey, Nikolay and Vasily were also skilled icon painters; Fyodor did not engage in icon painting due to disability. Makari Samsonovich was a master of personal and personal writing and founded the Peshekhonov workshop, known throughout Russia. Since the 30s of the 19th century, the workshop and house of the Peshekhonovs were located in St. Petersburg at the address: “on the Ligovsky Canal opposite Kuznechny Lane, in the Galchenkov House, No. 73.” Writer Nikolai Leskov repeatedly visited the workshop and noted the stylishness, high professional and moral qualities of the Peshekhonovs. He expressed his impressions from these visits in his stories, creating collective images of icon painters. In 1852, Makariy Samsonovich died along with his son Alexei during a storm on the Black Sea, and the icon-painting artel was headed by Vasily Makarovich. The activities of the Peshekhonov workshop and the flowering of the Peshekhonov style of icon painting date back to the 1820s–80s. In addition to works for the imperial family, the workshop under the leadership of Vasily Makarovich completed more than 30 iconostases for monasteries and churches in Russia and abroad. Restoration work, iconostases for 17 churches in St. Petersburg, as well as the Samara, Saratov, Tver and St. Petersburg dioceses, the Cathedral in Tokyo, the Trinity Cathedral of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, seven iconostases for the churches of the Valaam Monastery, as well as wall and icon case icons – this is not a complete list of the workshop’s work. Iconostases by V.M. Peshekhonov decorated the cathedrals and other cathedrals of such cities as Rybinsk, Volsk, Tver, Kirillov, Novaya Ladoga, Simbirsk, Chistopol. In 1848–1849, the Peshekhonovs participated in the restoration of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The work was headed by Makariy Samsonovich Peshekhonov. He was given the task of preserving ancient painting and restoring it only in lost fragments. According to contemporaries, Peshekhonov's frescoes were executed at a high artistic level. Unfortunately, the painting resumed by the Peshekhonovs was almost completely destroyed by the development of mold. This fact is the reason for unjustified criticism of the Peshekhonovs as restorers, because the results of the restoration of St. Sophia of Kyiv in 1843–1853 scientific literature usually assessed as a failure: the ancient frescoes were almost completely recorded. However, it should be taken into account that by 1853 only five fragments of works from Peshekhonov’s workshop remained; Currently, only one has survived - a restoration insert for the mosaic in the sail of the main dome with the image of the Apostle John the Theologian - an excellent illustration of the skill and talent of the Peshekhonovs.

And at the same time, the academic style of icon painting causes heated controversy, both among icon painters and connoisseurs of icon painting. The essence of the controversy is as follows. Supporters of the Byzantine style, who create icons “in the canon,” accuse icons in the academic style of lack of spirituality, and a departure from the traditions of icon painting, but in a philosophical sense, this is still the same debate about what is more important for us: the soul of a specific living person with its sins and errors or inanimate church canons that prescribe the behavior of this soul. Or is there still some kind of golden mean: a compromise between the canon and reality, tastes, fashion, etc. Let's try to understand these accusations. First about spirituality. Let's start with the fact that spirituality is a rather subtle and elusive matter; there are no tools for determining spirituality, and everything in this area is extremely subjective. And if someone claims that the miraculous image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, painted in the academic style, and which, according to legend, saved St. Petersburg during the war, is less spiritual than a similar icon in the Byzantine style - let this statement remain on his conscience . Usually, as an argument, you can hear such statements. They say that icons in the academic style have physicality, rosy cheeks, sensual lips, etc. In fact, the predominance of the sensual, carnal principle in the icon is not a problem of style, but of low professional level individual icon painters. One can cite many examples of icons painted in the “canon” itself, where the “cardboard” inexpressive face is lost in numerous curls of extremely sensual decorations, ornaments, etc. Now about the departure of the academic style from the traditions of icon painting. The history of icon painting goes back more than one thousand five hundred years. And now in Athonite monasteries you can see blackened, ancient icons dating from the 7th-10th centuries. But the heyday of icon painting in Byzantium occurred at the end of the 13th century, and is associated with the name of Panselin, the Greek Andrei Rublev. Panselin's paintings in Karey have reached us. Another outstanding Greek icon painter, Theophanes of Crete, worked on Mount Athos at the beginning of the 16th century. He created paintings in the Stavronikita monastery and in the refectory of the Great Lavra. In Rus', the icons of Andrei Rublev of the first third of the 15th century are rightly recognized as the pinnacle of icon painting. If we take a closer look at this entire almost two-thousand-year history of icon painting, we will discover its amazing diversity. The first icons were painted using the encaustic technique (paints based on hot wax). This fact alone refutes the popular belief that a “real” icon must necessarily be painted in egg tempera. Moreover, the style of these early icons is much closer to icons in the academic style than to the “canon.” This is not surprising. To paint icons, the first icon painters took as a basis Fayum portraits, images of real people that were created using the encaustic technique. In fact, the tradition of icon painting, like everything in this world, develops cyclically. TO XVIII century, the so-called “canonical” style fell into decline everywhere. In Greece and the Balkan countries this is partly due to the Turkish conquest, in Russia with Peter’s reforms. But this is not the main reason. Man’s perception of the world and his attitude towards the world around him, including the spiritual world, is changing. A man of the 19th century perceived the world around him differently than a man of the 13th century. And icon painting is not an endless repetition of the same patterns according to the drawings, but a living process based both on the religious experience of the icon painter himself and on the perception of the spiritual world by the entire generation. This free competition of styles, which exists in Russia today, is very beneficial for the icon, since it forces both sides to improve quality, to achieve true artistic depth, convincing not only for supporters, but also for opponents of a particular style. Thus, the proximity of the “Byzantine” school forces the “academic” to be stricter, more sober, and more expressive. The “Byzantine” school’s proximity to the “academic” school keeps it from degenerating into primitive craftsmanship.

But there were icon painters in Russia who managed to find a middle ground between these two styles. These include Ivan Matveevich Malyshev.

Signed icon "St. Nicholas the Wonderworker".

Artist Ivan Malyshev.

22.2x17.6 cm. Russia, Sergiev Posad,

studio of the artist Ivan Malyshev, 1881

At the bottom of the icon, on a gilded field

an inscription in the old spelling is placed:

“This icon was painted in the workshop of the artist Malyshev

in Sergievsky Posad in 1881."

On the back is the workshop's signature seal:

"Artist I. Malyshev. S.P.

The most revered icon in Rus'. Since Ivan Matveyevich died in 1880, and the icon is dated 1881 and bears the seal of SP (and this corresponds to the last icons of Malyshev himself), and not TSL, then we can safely say that he managed to write down the personal, and everything else was completed by his sons. Obviously, the artist himself could not complete such a number of icons. In Malyshev’s workshop there was a division of labor usual for that time; he was helped by hired workers and students. Three sons of the artist are known. The eldest sons, Konstantin and Mikhail, apparently learned the art of icon painting from their father and worked with him. In the monastery statements for the payment of salaries, they are mentioned together with their father, and, as a rule, Ivan Matveevich himself signs for the receipt of the salary. According to the same statements, it is clear that if the minister was illiterate, then another one signed for him, and the reason was indicated. It is difficult to imagine that the sons of Ivan Matveevich were illiterate; rather, this was the way of relationships in the family. After the death of Ivan Matveevich, Konstantin headed the family workshop, which was located in a house on Blinnaya Gora (the house burned down at the beginning of the 20th century). Konstantin Ivanovich also assumed the responsibilities of the headman of the Elias Church. In 1889–1890 he renewed the wall paintings of the Elias Church. Through his diligence, the floor of the temple was laid out from fire-resistant tiles, similar to the ceramic coating in the Refectory Lavra Church. In 1884, under his leadership, the iconostasis of the Kazan Church was painted (the dome of which had previously been painted by Ivan Matveevich). Ivan Matveevich's youngest son Alexander, like his father, was educated at the Imperial Academy of Arts. He studied in St. Petersburg from 1857 to 1867. Upon completion, he received the title of class artist of the third degree. Apparently, he did not return to his hometown, got married and remained to live in St. Petersburg. The names of Ivan Matveevich and Alexander Ivanovich Malyshev appear in the register of professional artists.

Brief information: Malyshev,Ivan Matveevichis one of the most famous icon painters of the second half of the 19th century. In 1835, an important event occurred in the life of Ivan Matveyevich: he left for St. Petersburg and entered the Imperial Academy of Arts as a free student. According to the Charter of the Academy, for free-students (or outsiders), training lasted six years. Few Russian icon painters can boast of such education. Ivan Matveevich Malyshev (1802–1880) is one of the most significant icon painters of the second half of the 19th century, who worked in the Lavra (we can see the icons of his workshop today in the Ilyinsky Church of Sergiev Posad and in the Spiritual Church of the Lavra). Systematic teaching of icon painting in the Lavra began in 1746 with the establishment of the Icon Painting Class at the newly created seminary and continued, with varying degrees of success, until 1918. In the process of establishing the Lavra icon painting school as an educational structure, several stages can be distinguished, and the most striking of them is this is the period of the mid-19th century (from 1846 to 1860–1870). This is the time when the Lavra was ruled by Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) and the governor, Archimandrite Anthony (Medvedev). Under them, the icon painting school found a rebirth, expanded and became known throughout the Orthodox world. The icon painter Ivan Matveevich Malyshev was also at the origins of this revival. Under the direct leadership of the Lavra's governor, Fr. Anthony in the 1850s, Malyshev directed the Lavra icon painting school towards the revival of traditional icon painting. This path turned out to be neither short nor simple, but this is exactly how it seemed at that period of time and development. The intended goal - “for the development and maintenance of the Greek Style of writing” - is clearly indicated in the manual that was given to Malyshev as the leader, or more precisely, the “owner of the school,” Fr. Anthony. This manual is a set of 16 rules that stipulate both moral requirements for students and teachers, and artistic priorities that should be adhered to when training future icon painters. Malyshev was also the founder of a large icon-painting workshop, which he created in the city. He was known to the royals and was awarded many awards. Coming from a poor peasant family, Ivan Matveevich was able to get a good education at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (apparently, like his older brother Nikolai, an architect). Malyshev's work was highly appreciated by his contemporaries. Here, for example, is a review that was placed in the Irkutsk Diocesan Gazette for 1864: “The icons in the iconostasis, on the high place, at the altar and some on the walls were painted in the Sergius Lavra by the artist Malyshev. They were painted in the Byzantine-Russian style and are distinguished by their artistry , so, especially, with a pious and edifying character. Looking at them, you do not stop only at the artist’s talent, the grace of colors, the richness of imagination, as in Italian painting, but your thought goes beyond the ordinary, human; contemplates the spiritual, heavenly, divine; feeling your soul is filled with reverence and aroused to prayer; your soul is nourished by the thoughts and feelings of the Bible and the Holy Church...”

Temple icon "Lord Pantocrator".

Wood, oil, gold leaf.152x82 cm.

Russia, Sergiev Posad, studio of the artist I. Malyshev, 1891.

At the bottom of the icon, above the gilded field, is the inscription:

“This icon was painted in the artist’s workshop

Malyshev in Sergiev Posad in 1891.”

Christ sits on the throne in bishop's robes and with the Gospel open. In fact, on the icon we see the iconographic version of “Christ the Great Bishop,” but supplemented by a characteristic element of the version “Christ the King as King” - a scepter in the left hand of Christ. Ivan Malyshev headed the icon-painting workshop of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra from 1841 to 1882. Here, in the main Russian icon-painting workshop, icons were created for the most significant churches, as well as for orders from the royal court, the aristocracy and the highest clergy. The artist personally created a special icon painting style, which determined the style of the works of the entire workshop as a whole and had a huge influence on mass icon painting in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Malyshev retained the main features of the traditional, canonical style, but brought them to a special harmony in accordance with the principles of classicism and academicism, thereby bridging the hitherto existing gap between traditional and academic manners in icon painting. The works of the mature icon painter Malyshev are distinguished by the finest glaze elaboration of faces and garments, classical proportions, realistic plasticity of figures and a number of other qualities inherent in the presented icon.

GENESIS OF THE NATIONAL RUSSIAN ICON IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 19TH CENTURY

In the 80s-90s of the 19th century in Russian religious “academic” painting,as in all Russian art, there is a dynamic process of creating one’s own national school. The main achievements in the field of new form and decoration of icon design were directly related to the traditions of Russian national art, culture and craft, the origins of which we find, of course, in the Russian lubok and in the design of ancient Church Slavonic manuscripts. And this happened just in the 80s. During this decade, critical realism dominated in painting, and the early impressionism of V. Serov, K. Korovin and I. Levitan was formed. Against this background, new trends began to appear - a gravitation towards modernity was revealed, its gradual formation, and in some cases its complete acquisition, as happened with Mikhail Vrubel. In Abramtsevo, where interest in folk art appeared and an attempt to revive it merged with early forms Art Nouveau, in 1882 V. Vasnetsov and D. Polenov built a small church, which gave a reorientation from the pseudo-Russian style to the neo-Russian one. It combines the forms of Art Nouveau with the forms of ancient Russian architecture of the pre-Mongol era. The small-sized Abramtsevo church became the forerunner of Russian Art Nouveau and became firmly entrenched in the history of Russian art. Although Russian architecture had to wait another decade and a half before the Art Nouveau style took more or less definite forms. In painting and, especially, in monumental religious painting, this happened somewhat faster. To some extent (albeit distantly) the forerunner of Art Nouveau was the late academic painting of Semiradsky, Bakalovich, Smirnov and other artists who gravitated towards “beautiful” nature and “beautiful” objects, spectacular subjects, that is, to that “a priori beauty” the presence of which has become one of the prerequisites for the Art Nouveau style. The cult of beauty was becoming a new religion. “Beauty is our religion,” Mikhail Vrubel stated bluntly and definitely in one of his letters. In this situation, beauty and its direct carrier - art -endowed with the ability to transform life, to build it according to a certain aesthetic model, on the principles of universal harmony and balance. The artist - the creator of this beauty turned into an exponent of the main aspirations of the time. At the same time, the strengthening of the role of socially transformative ideas of beauty of that time is very symptomatic, because in Russia the overwhelming majority of the population lived below the poverty line. It turns out that the theme of beauty was forced to coexist next to the theme of compassion for these unfortunate people (the Wanderers artists). Only religion could unite them.

The artistic ideology of the national neoclassical Russian icon of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the author of which is considered to be V.M. Vasnetsov, is clearly based on a belief in a special religious meaning of beauty and bears the clear influence of the aesthetics of F.M. Dostoevsky, who declared beauty to be an absolute value in his novel “The Idiot”. In the novel (Part 3, Chapter V), these words are spoken by the 18-year-old youth Ippolit Terentyev, referring to the words of Prince Myshkin conveyed to him by Nikolai Ivolgin and ironizing the latter:

“Is it true, Prince, that you once said that the world would be saved by “beauty”? “Gentlemen,” he shouted loudly to everyone, “the prince claims that the world will be saved by beauty!” And I claim that the reason he has such playful thoughts is that he is now in love. Gentlemen, the prince is in love; Just now, as soon as he came in, I was convinced of this. Don’t blush, prince, I’ll feel sorry for you. What beauty will save the world? Kolya told this to me... Are you a zealous Christian? Kolya says that you call yourself a Christian. The prince looked at him carefully and did not answer him.”

F.M. Dostoevsky was far from strictly aesthetic judgments - he wrote about spiritual beauty, about the beauty of the soul. This corresponds to the main idea of ​​the novel - to create an image of a “positively beautiful person.” Therefore, in his drafts, the author calls Myshkin “Prince Christ,” thereby reminding himself that Prince Myshkin should be as similar as possible to Christ - kindness, philanthropy, meekness, a complete lack of selfishness, the ability to sympathize with human troubles and misfortunes. Therefore, the “beauty” that the prince (and F.M. Dostoevsky himself) speaks of is the sum of the moral qualities of a “positively beautiful person.” This purely personal interpretation of beauty is typical for the writer. He believed that “people can be beautiful and happy” not only in the afterlife. They can be like this “without losing the ability to live on earth.” To do this, they must agree with the idea that Evil “cannot exist.” normal condition people” that everyone has the power to get rid of it. And then, when people are guided by the best that is in their soul, memory and intentions (Good), then they will be truly beautiful. And the world will be saved, and it will be precisely this “beauty” (that is, the best that is in people) that will save it. Of course, this will not happen overnight - spiritual work, trials and even suffering are needed, after which a person renounces Evil and turns to Good, begins to appreciate it. The writer talks about this in many of his works, including the novel “The Idiot.” For example (part 1, chapter VII):

“For some time, the general’s wife, silently and with a certain shade of disdain, examined the portrait of Nastasya Filippovna, which she held in front of her in her outstretched hand, extremely and effectively moving away from her eyes.

Yes, she’s good,” she said finally, “very much so.” I saw her twice, only from a distance. So do you appreciate such and such beauty? - she suddenly turned to the prince.

Yes... like that... - the prince answered with some effort.

So that's exactly what it is?

Exactly like this.

For what?

There is a lot of suffering in this face...- the prince said, as if involuntarily, as if talking to himself, and not answering the question.

“You may be delirious, however,” the general’s wife decided and with an arrogant gesture she threw the portrait back onto the table.”

The writer in his interpretation of beauty is a like-minded person of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), who spoke about “the moral law within us”, that “beauty is a symbol of moral goodness.” The same idea by F.M. Dostoevsky develops this in his other works. So, if in the novel “The Idiot” he writes that beauty will save the world, then in the novel “Demons” (1872) he logically concludes that “ugliness (anger, indifference, selfishness) will kill...”

Mikhail Nesterov. Philosophers (Florensky and Bulgakov).

And finally, “The Brothers Karamazov” is the last novel by F.M. Dostoevsky, which the author wrote for two years. Dostoevsky conceived the novel as the first part of the epic novel “The History of the Great Sinner.” The work was completed in November 1880. The writer died four months after publication. The novel touches on deep questions about God, freedom, and morality. During the times of historical Russia, the most important component of the Russian idea was, of course, Orthodoxy. As we know, the prototype of Elder Zosima was Elder Ambrose, now glorified among the saints. According to other ideas, the image of the elder was created under the influence of the biography of schemamonk Zosima (Verkhovsky), the founder of the Trinity-Hodegetrievskaya Hermitage.

Do you really have such a conviction about the consequences of people’s depletion of faith in the immortality of their souls? - Elder Ivan Fedorovich suddenly asked.

Yes, I stated this. There is no virtue if there is no immortality.

Blessed are you if you believe so, or are you already very unhappy!

Why are you unhappy? - Ivan Fedorovich smiled.

Because, in all likelihood, you yourself do not believe in the immortality of your soul, or even in what has been written about the church and the church issue.

Three brothers, Ivan, Alexey (Alyosha) and Dmitry (Mitya), “are busy resolving questions about the root causes and ultimate goals of existence,” and each of them makes his own choice, trying in his own way to answer the question about God and the immortality of the soul. Ivan’s way of thinking is often summed up in one phrase:

"If there is no God, everything is permitted"

which is sometimes recognized as the most famous quote from Dostoevsky, although it is not in this form in the novel. At the same time, this idea “is carried through the entire huge novel with a high degree of artistic persuasiveness.” Alyosha, unlike his brother Ivan, is “convinced of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul” and decides for himself:

“I want to live for immortality, but I don’t accept half a compromise.”

Dmitry Karamazov is inclined to the same thoughts. Dmitry feels “an invisible participation of mystical forces in the lives of people” and says:

“Here the devil fights with God, and the battlefield is the hearts of people.”

But Dmitry is no stranger to doubts at times:

“And God is torturing me. This alone is tormenting. What if He doesn't exist? What if Rakitin is right, that this is an artificial idea in humanity? Then, if He does not exist, then man is the chief of the earth, of the universe. Fabulous! But how will he be virtuous without God? Question! I’m all about it.”

A special place in the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” is occupied by the poem “The Grand Inquisitor”, composed by Ivan. Dostoevsky outlined its essence in his introductory speech before the reading of the poem by a student at St. Petersburg University in December 1879. He said:

“One atheist suffering from unbelief, in one of his painful moments, composes a wild, fantastic poem in which he depicts Christ in a conversation with one of the Catholic high priests - the Grand Inquisitor. The suffering of the writer of the poem occurs precisely because he truly sees a true servant of Christ in the depiction of his high priest with a Catholic worldview, so far removed from ancient Apostolic Orthodoxy. Meanwhile, his great Inquisitor is, in essence, an atheist himself. According to the great Inquisitor, love must be expressed in unfreedom, since freedom is painful, it gives rise to evil and makes a person responsible for the evil done, and this is unbearable for a person. The Inquisitor is convinced that freedom will not be a gift for a person, but a punishment, and he himself will refuse it. In exchange for freedom, he promises people a dream of an earthly paradise:“...We will give them the quiet, humble happiness of weak creatures as they were created. ...Yes, we will force them to work, but in the hours free from work we will arrange their life as a child’s game, with children’s songs, choirs, and innocent dances.”

The Inquisitor is well aware that all this contradicts the true teachings of Christ, but he is concerned about the organization of earthly affairs and maintaining power over people. In the inquisitor’s reasoning, Dostoevsky prophetically saw the possibility of turning people “as if into a herd of animals,” preoccupied with obtaining material wealth and forgetting that “man does not live by bread alone,” that, having had enough, sooner or later he will ask the question: I’m full, but what? what next? In the poem “The Grand Inquisitor,” Dostoevsky again raises the question that deeply worried him about the existence of God. At the same time, the writer sometimes put into the mouth of the inquisitor quite convincing arguments in defense of the fact that, perhaps, it really is better to take care of earthly, real happiness and not think about eternal life, abandoning God in the name of this.

“The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor” is the greatest creation, the pinnacle of Dostoevsky’s creativity. The Savior comes to earth again. Dostoevsky conveys this creation to the reader as the work of his hero Ivan Karamazov. In Seville, during the period of the rampant Inquisition, Christ appears among the crowd, and people recognize Him. Rays of light and power flow from his eyes, He stretches out his hands, blesses, works miracles. The Grand Inquisitor, “an old man of ninety, tall and erect, with a withered face and sunken cheeks,” orders him to be imprisoned. At night he comes to his captive and begins to talk to him. “Legend” – monologue of the Grand Inquisitor. Christ remains silent. The old man’s excited speech is directed against the teachings of the God-man. Dostoevsky was confident that Catholicism, sooner or later, would unite with socialism and form with it a single Tower of Babel, the kingdom of the Antichrist. The Inquisitor justifies betrayal of Christ with the same motive with which Ivan justified his fight against God, with the same love for humanity. According to the Inquisitor, Christ was mistaken about people:

“People are weak, vicious, insignificant and rebels... Weak, eternally vicious and eternally ungrateful human race... You judged people too highly, for, of course, they are slaves, although they were created by rebels... I swear, man is weaker and He was created lower than You thought about him... He is weak and vile.”

Thus, the “Christian teaching” about man is contrasted with the teaching of the Antichrist. Christ believed in the image of God in man and bowed before his freedom; The Inquisitor considers freedom to be the curse of these pitiful and powerless rebels and, in order to make them happy, he proclaims slavery. Only a chosen few are able to bear the covenant of Christ. According to the inquisitor, freedom will lead people to mutual destruction. But the time will come, and weak rebels will crawl to those who will give them bread and bind their disorderly freedom. The Inquisitor paints a picture of the “childish happiness” of enslaved humanity:

“They will tremble in relaxation at our anger, their minds will become timid, their eyes will become teary, like those of children and women... Yes, we will force them to work, but in the hours free from work, we will arrange their life like a children’s game with children’s songs , in chorus, with innocent dancing. Oh, we will allow them to sin... And everyone will be happy, all the millions of creatures, except for the hundreds of thousands who control them... They will die quietly, quietly fade away in Your name, and beyond the grave they will find only death...”

The Inquisitor falls silent; the prisoner is silent.

“The old man would like him to tell him something, even if it’s bitter and terrible. But He suddenly silently approaches the old man and quietly kisses him on his bloodless, ninety-year-old lips. That's the whole answer. The old man shudders. Something moved at the ends of his lips; he goes to the door, opens it and says to Him: “Go and come no more. Don’t come at all... Never, never!”

And he releases Him into the “dark stacks of hail.”

What is the secret of the Grand Inquisitor? Alyosha guesses:

“Your inquisitor does not believe in God, that’s his whole secret.”

Ivan readily agrees.

“Even so! – he answers. “Finally, you guessed it.” And, really, really, really, that’s the whole secret...”

The author of "The Karamazovs" presents the fight against God in all its demonic grandeur: the Inquisitor rejects the commandment of love for God, but becomes a fanatic of the commandment of love for one's neighbor. His mighty spiritual powers, which were previously spent on the veneration of Christ, are now turned to serving humanity. But godless love inevitably turns into hatred. Having lost faith in God, the Inquisitor must also lose faith in man, because these two faiths are inseparable. By denying the immortality of the soul, he denies the spiritual nature of man. “Legend” completes Dostoevsky’s life’s work – his struggle for man. He reveals in her the religious basis of personality and the inseparability of faith in man from faith in God. With unheard of force, he affirms freedom as the image of God in man and shows the Antichrist beginning of power and despotism. “Without freedom, man is a beast, humanity is a herd”; but freedom is supernatural and supra-rational; in the order of the natural world, freedom is only necessity. Freedom is a divine gift, the most precious asset of man.

“It cannot be substantiated by reason, science, or natural law - it is rooted in God, revealed in Christ. Freedom is an act of faith."

The Antichrist kingdom of the Inquisitor is built on miracle, mystery and authority. In spiritual life, the beginning of all power is from the evil one. Never in all of world literature has Christianity been presented with such amazing force as a religion of spiritual freedom. Dostoevsky's Christ is not only the Savior and Redeemer, but also the One Liberator of man. The Inquisitor, with dark inspiration and red-hot passion, denounces his Prisoner; he remains silent and responds to the accusation with a kiss. He does not need to justify himself: the enemy’s arguments are refuted by the mere presence of Him who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

A well-known, albeit relative, approach to the Art Nouveau style is noticeable in the painting of V. Vasnetsov of the 80s. At the moment when the artist moved away from the everyday genre and began to look for forms to express his ideas related to national folklore, neither the realistic system of the Wanderers nor the academic doctrine completely suited him. But he took advantage of both, greatly modifying each of them. At the point of their convergence, distant analogies with modernity appeared. They make themselves felt in the artist’s unconditional appeal to the form of panels, to large-sized canvases designed for public interiors (remember that most of the works of the 80s were created by order of S.I. Mamontov for the interiors of railway departments). The theme of Vasnetsov’s paintings also gives rise to comparison with the Art Nouveau style. Russian realists of the 60-80s extremely rarely, rather as an exception than a rule, turned to fairy tales or epics. Throughout European art of the 19th century, the fairy tale was the prerogative of the romantic movement. In neo-romanticism at the end of the century, interest in fairy-tale plots revived again. Symbolism and Art Nouveau adopted this “fashion for fairy tales,” as exemplified by numerous works by German, Scandinavian, Finnish, and Polish painters. Vasnetsov's paintings fit into the same row. But, of course, the main criterion for belonging to a style should be the pictorial system, the formal language of art itself. Here Vasnetsov is more distant from the Art Nouveau style, although some shifts towards the latter are outlined in his work. They are especially noticeable in the painting “Three Princesses of the Underground Kingdom” (1884). The standing poses of the three figures, characterizing the action as a kind of theatrical performance, the usual union of naturalness and conventional decorativeness for the Art Nouveau style - with these features Vasnetsov seems to be moving “into the territory” of the new style. But much remains on the old territory. Viktor Vasnetsov is far from refined stylization, he is simple-minded, the dialogue with nature is not interrupted. It is no coincidence that the artist, like the realists of the 70s and 80s, so willingly uses in his paintings sketches written from peasants and village children. Creativity V.M. Vasnetsov, as well as the activities of many other artists of the Abramtsevo circle, indicate that modernism in Russia was formed in line with national concepts. Russian folk art as a heritage for professional art, national folklore as a source of subject matter for painting, pre-Mongol architecture as a model for modern architecture - all these facts speak eloquently about the interest in national artistic traditions. There is no doubt that the artists of the previous period - the Peredvizhniki - faced the problem of the national uniqueness of art. But for them, the essence of this originality was contained in the expression of the meaning of the modern life of the nation. For artists of emerging modernism, national tradition was more important. This tilt towards national issues is generally characteristic of the Art Nouveau style in a number of European countries. The early work of M. Nesterov, who acquired his theme and his artistic language at the very end of the 80s, is also connected with this trend. He looked for his heroes in religious legends, among Russian saints; represented national nature in an ideal, “purified” form. Along with these thematic and figurative innovations came new stylistic qualities. True, modernist tendencies appeared in these early works in their infancy and in erased forms, which is generally typical for many phenomena of Russian painting of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, when different, sometimes opposing artistic directions simultaneously developed, mixing and influencing each other. In Nesterov’s “The Hermit” (1889), thoughtful picturesqueness, the ethereality of the figure, the emphasized role of its silhouette, the dissolution of the social motive in a state of idyllic tranquility - that is, the features that bring Nesterov closer to symbolism and modernity are combined with the spontaneity of the perception of nature. In “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1890), Nesterov creates a “conditionally real” landscape and connects the mythological with the real. In the work of this artist, Art Nouveau breaks through the dominant principles of the Moscow school of painting, oriented towards plein air and impressionism. This tendency manifests itself to an even greater extent in Levitan, however, already in the first half of the 90s, when he created “Above Eternal Peace” (1894). In this picture, which was the highest point of philosophical meditation of the famous landscape painter, who in the 80s strictly focused on the plein air, the barely audible notes of Böcklin’s “Island of the Dead” or the mysterious, although quite real, landscapes of V. Leistikov, the famous German Secessionist of the 90s, sounded years. However, it should be borne in mind that Levitan’s dramatic, almost tragic lyricism had completely different origins, which greatly alienated the Russian artist from both the Swiss and the German master. Levitanov's grief returns us to Nekrasov's muse, to thinking about human suffering and human sorrows. In the future, we will touch on other variants of Russian Art Nouveau, which arose in painting as a kind of development of certain stylistic trends that suddenly received the opportunity to develop into Art Nouveau. True, everything that we listed above was still an approach to a new style. However, there was one master in Russia who, in the 80s, had already established Art Nouveau as a style and symbolism as a way of thinking. This master was M. Vrubel. In 1885, after leaving the St. Petersburg Academy, the so-called Kiev period of the artist’s work began, which lasted until 1889. During these years, Vrubel's style was formed, which formed an organic part of the Russian version of the Art Nouveau style. Vrubel's creativity had different starting points of movement than Vasnetsov's, Nesterov's or Levitanov's. He was not keen on plein air (Vrubel has almost no plein air works); he was far from the realism of the Itinerants, who, in the opinion of young painters, neglected formal tasks. At the same time, Vrubel has noticeable academic features - in the a priori nature of beauty, which is deliberately chosen as a certain object of reconstruction, in the careful assimilation of Chistyakov’s principles of constructing form, in his attraction to the stable rules of art. Mikhail Vrubel overcomes academicism much more consistently and quickly, rethinks nature, and rejects the alliance with naturalism that was so characteristic of late European academicism.

M. Vrubel. Funeral lament. Sketch. 1887.

M. Vrubel. Resurrection. Sketch. 1887.

Unrealized sketches of the paintings of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev, remaining in watercolor sheets, dedicated to two subjects - “The Funeral Lament” and “The Resurrection” (1887), most clearly indicate the above. In one of the versions of “The Tombstone,” made in the technique of black watercolor, Vrubel transforms real space into an abstract convention, using the language of understatement and allusion designed for recognition. In “Resurrection” he lays out forms as if from luminous crystals, and includes flowers in the composition that weave patterns across the surface of the leaf. Ornamentality becomes a distinctive quality of Vrubel’s graphics and painting. “Girl against the background of a Persian carpet” (1886) includes ornament as the subject of the image and at the same time puts forward the ornamental principle as the principle of the composition of the picture as a whole. Sketches of ornaments made by Vrubel were realized in ornamental panels located along the ships of the vaults of the Vladimir Cathedral. The artist created the ornaments in a new style, choosing images of peacocks, lily flowers and a wickerwork of plant forms as the initial forms. “Models” taken from the animal and plant world are stylized and schematized; one image seems to be woven into another; the pictorial element in this situation recedes into the background in front of the pattern, abstracted by linear and color rhythm. Vrubel uses curved lines. This makes the ornament tense and associated with a living form capable of self-development. M. Vrubel entered modernity in several ways, being the first among Russian artists to figure out the general direction of movement of European artistic culture. His transition to new paths was decisive and irrevocable. However, the Art Nouveau style acquired a more widespread character in Russia already in the 90-900s. D.V. Sarabyanov "Modern Style". M., 1989. p. 77-82.

THE BIRTH OF RUSSIAN MODERN MODERNITY

Vasnetsov V.M. "Our Lady

with a child on the throne."

Late XIX – early XX centuries.

Canvas, wood, gold leaf,

oil. 49 x 18 cm

Decorated in antique style

wooden carved frame.

Vasnetsov,VictorMikhailovich was born on May 3/15, 1848 in the village of Lopyal, Vyatka province, into the family of a priest who, according to the artist, “infused into our souls a living, indestructible idea of ​​the Living, truly existing God!” . After studying at the Vyatka Theological Seminary (1862-1867), Vasnetsov entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he seriously thought about the place of Russian art in world culture. In 1879, Vasnetsov joined the Mamontov circle, whose members held readings, painted and staged plays in the winter in the house of the outstanding philanthropist Savva Mamontov on Spasskaya-Sadovaya Street, and in the summer they went to his country estate Abramtsevo. In Abramtsevo, Vasnetsov took his first steps towards a religious-national direction: he designed a church in the name of the Savior Not Made by Hands (1881-1882) and painted a number of icons for it. The best icon was the icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh is not canonical, but deeply felt, taken from the very heart, a dearly loved and revered image of a humble, wise old man. Behind him stretches the endless expanses of Rus', the monastery he founded is visible, and in the heavens is the image of the Holy Trinity.

“The history of the church in Abramtsevo is amazing because it was essentially an activity for a group of friends - talented, energetic, enthusiastic people. The result is what is proudly called “the first work of Russian Art Nouveau” (1881-1882) and is characterized as “a subtle antique stylization, harmoniously combining elements various schools medieval Russian architecture." It’s not for me to judge what modernism has to do with it, but the church is really good. It seems to me that this combination of the complete seriousness of the idea of ​​​​the building (the creators were deeply religious people) with the friendly and joyful atmosphere of its creation determined the unique spirit of this building - very joyful and a little “toy-like”.

Victor Vasnetsov:

“We are all artists: Polenov, Repin, myself, Savva Ivanovich himself and his family set to work together, enthusiastically. Our artistic assistants: Elizaveta Grigorievna, Elena Dmitrievna Polenova, Natalya Vasilyevna Polenova (then still Yakunchikova), Vera Alekseevna Repina are not from us We drew facades, ornaments, made drawings, painted images, and our ladies embroidered banners, shrouds, and even on the scaffolding, near the church, carved ornaments in stone, like real stonemasons... The rise in energy and artistic creativity was extraordinary: everyone worked tirelessly, with competition, unselfishly. It seemed that the artistic impulse of creativity of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was in full swing again. But then cities, entire regions, countries, peoples lived there with this impulse, and we only have the Abramtsevo small artistic friendly family and circle. But what a problem, I was breathing full breasts in this creative atmosphere... Now the curious go to Abramtsevo to see our small, modest, without ostentatious luxury, Abramtsevo church. For us - its workers - it is a touching legend about the past, about the experience, the holy and creative impulse, about the friendly work of artistic friends, about Uncle Savva, about his loved ones..."

V.D. Polenov“Annunciation” (1882) (gate of the iconostasis).

From a letter from E.G. Mamontova:

“How wonderful our church turns out. I just can’t stop looking at it... The church doesn’t even let Vasnetsov sleep at night, everyone draws different details. How good it will be inside... The main interest is the church. There was talk and speculation about it all day yesterday "Heated debates. Everyone is passionately passionate about carving ornaments... Vasnetsov's window looks really lovely; not only the arches, but all the columns are covered with ornaments"
Vasnetsov did not want to see anything ordinary in the church; he wanted this creation of creative inspiration to correspond to the joyful mood with which it was built. So, when the turn came to the floor and Savva Ivanovich decided to make it ordinary - cement mosaic (there were no slabs), Vasnetsov fiercely protested.

“Only artistic layout of the pattern”, - he insisted and began to lead her.First, the outline of a stylized flower appeared on paper, and then the drawing was transferred to the floor of the Abramtsevo church.

"... Vasnetsov himself, - recalls Natalya Polenova, - several times a day he ran into the church, helped lay out the pattern, directed the curves of the lines and selected stones according to tones. To everyone's joy, a huge fantastic flower soon grew along the entire floor."

The church was consecrated in 1882, and almost immediately after that V.D.’s wedding took place there. Polenov - he became friends with his wife during the construction of the church.

The choirs are painted with images of flowers and butterflies by V.M. Vasnetsov.

Based on drawings by V.M. Vasnetsov made a mosaic floor

with a stylized flower and construction date:

1881–1882 in Old Church Slavonic.

At the top left is the festive rite of the iconostasis.

At the top right is the prophetic order of the iconostasis.

In Mamontov’s estate “Abramtsevo” near Moscow, art workshops were created in which folk art objects, including toys, were produced and collected. To revive and develop the traditions of Russian toys, the “Children’s Education” workshop was opened in Moscow. At first, dolls were created in it, which were dressed in festive folk costumes of different provinces (regions) of Russia. It was in this workshop that the idea of ​​creating a Russian wooden doll was born. In the late 90s of the 19th century, based on a sketch by artist Sergei Malyutin, local turner Zvezdochkin turned the first wooden doll. And when Malyutin painted it, it turned out to be a girl in a Russian sundress. Matryoshka Malyutin was a round-faced girl in an embroidered shirt, sundress and apron, in a colorful scarf, with a black rooster in her hands.

Abramtsevo. Folk crafts. Origins of Russian Art Nouveau.

The first Russian nesting doll, carved by Vasily Zvezdochkin and painted by Sergei Malyutin, had eight seats: a girl with a black rooster was followed by a boy, then a girl again, and so on. All the figures were different from each other, and the last, eighth, depicted a swaddled baby. The idea of ​​​​creating a detachable wooden doll was suggested to Malyutin Japanese toy, which was brought to the Abramtsevo estate near Moscow from the Japanese island of Honshu by Savva Mamontov’s wife. It was a figurine of a good-natured bald old man, the Buddhist saint Fukurum, with several figures embedded inside. However, the Japanese believe that the first such toy was carved on the island of Honshu by a Russian wanderer - a monk. The technology for making nesting dolls was developed by Russian craftsmen who knew how to carve wooden objects that fit into each other (for example, Easter eggs) mastered with ease. The principle of making a nesting doll remains unchanged to this day, preserving all the techniques of turning art of Russian craftsmen.

"Fathers" of the Russian nesting doll:

philanthropist Savva Mamontov, artist

Sergey Malyutin and turner Vasily Zvezdochkin

Brief information: Abramtsevo is the former estate of Savva Mamontov, whose name is associated with an informal association of artists, sculptors, musicians and theatrical figures of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century. The circle, founded in 1872 in Rome, continued to exist on an estate near Moscow. Unique Church of the Savior Not Made by Handsimagewas built in 1881-1882 according to the design of Viktor Vasnetsov(he won the “family” competition from Polenov)architect P. Samarin, such famous artists as Ilya Repin, Nikolai Nevrev, Mikhail Vrubel, Mark Antokolsky and other members of the Abramtsevo circle participated in the design of the interior decoration of the temple.The Mamontov family of capitalists and all close artist friends participated in a detailed discussion of the project and its implementation (physically, with hands and feet).The construction of the Orthodox church united the creative potential of outstanding authors, which resulted in the birth of the national-romantic direction of Russian Art Nouveau.

I.E. Repin. “Savior Not Made by Hands” (1881–1882).

N.V. Nevrev."Nicholas the Wonderworker" (1881)

V.M. Vasnetsov. Icon "Sergius of Radonezh." (1881)

E. D. Polenova.Icon "Saints Prince Fyodor

with sons Konstantin and David" (1890s)

The temple contains one of the most original and new works of Russian church art - an artistic iconostasis, which includes the icons “The Savior Not Made by Hands” by Ilya Repin, “Nicholas the Wonderworker” by Nikolai Nevrev, “Sergius of Radonezh” and “The Mother of God” by Viktor Vasnetsov, “The Annunciation” by Vasily Polenov and others. The Vasnetsov Church made a breakthrough into a completely new artistic space: it was called “Novgorod-Pskov” with “Vladimir-Moscow” elements, but it was neither Novgorod, nor Pskov, nor Vladimir, nor Yaroslavl, but, simply, Russian. Neither the church “a la” XII century, nor the church “a la” XVI century, but the church of the twentieth century, completely lying in the tradition of Russian architecture of all previous centuries. Declaring this, V. Vasnetsov, apparently, still felt insecure, which is why he attached buttresses to the new church, as if it were an “ancient” temple, which was subsequently strengthened. This technique would later be successfully repeated by A. Shchusev in the Trinity Cathedral of the Pochaev Lavra, but this time confidently, like a sign, affirmingly.

“Abramtsevo is the best dacha in the world, it’s just ideal!” wrote I.E. Repin. In the spring of 1874, the Mamontovs, traveling from Rome to Russia, visited Paris, where they met I.E. Repin and V.D. Polenov. Both of them spent their retirement there, receiving gold medals for their diploma works from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Both comrades were destined for artistic careers in Russia, and both stood at a crossroads, undecided where to settle. The acquaintance with the Mamontovs, the exceptional impression gained from this acquaintance, convinced both of them to choose Moscow as their place of residence. So, since 1877, Repin and Polenov settled in Moscow, spending the winter in the cozy house of Savva Ivanovich on Sadovo-Spasskaya, and moving to Abramtsevo in the summer. An artist of inexhaustible temperament, Repin worked always and everywhere, he worked easily and quickly. The inhabitants of Abramtsevo were surprised: as soon as the sun rose, Ilya Efimovich was already on his feet, saying: “The hours of the morning are the best hours of my life.” The atmosphere of the estate, the general creative enthusiasm, the constant communication of artists, the absence of interference with creativity - all this made Repin’s period of stay in Abramtsevo especially fruitful. Ilya Efimovich practically did not work in the Art Nouveau style - it was not his style. In 1881, for the iconostasis of the Abramtsevo church, Repin wrote big image The Savior Not Made by Hands, executed with an academicism unusual for church painting. 10 years later, Ilya Repin painted two more icons: “The Lord in the Crown of Thorns” and “The Virgin and Child.” Ilya Repin painted icons in his youth; at the age of 17 he was already considered a gifted icon painter. But then he left icon painting for painting. The great Russian artist created these icons when he was already in mature age, after the death of his father. In May 1892, the great Russian artist Ilya Repin (1844 - 1930) acquired the Zdravnevo estate, 16 versts from Vitebsk. Here, during 1892 - 1902, the artist created a number of his famous paintings and drawings. In this list, a special place is occupied by the icons “Christ in the Crown of Thorns” and “The Virgin and Child.” The Orthodox faith was an integral part of the artist’s life and work. Ilya Efimovich more than once reproduced in his paintings scenes from the Holy Scriptures, the deeds of saints, and episodes from the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. Let us also remember that Ilya Repin acquired his first lessons in craftsmanship from icon painters in his native Chuguev and began as an icon painter himself, although he subsequently rarely returned to this genre. In the holy land of White Rus', the small wooden Church of the Nativity became the center of spiritual attraction for Repin and his family. Holy Mother of God in the village of Sloboda (now the village of Verkhovye). And, of course, this would hardly have happened if not for the strength of faith and moral qualities of the priest Dimitry Diakonov (1858 - 1907), the rector of the temple at that time. Father Dimitri gave himself entirely to the ministry:

“He loved to serve, he loved to preach, he fulfilled the duties at the first call,” recalls a contemporary. The rector’s special concern was the splendor of the temple: “Fr. Demetrius was an artist at heart: in his church, not only was it always remarkably clean and tidy, but all the existing sacred things and icons were placed in the highest degree symmetrically and with great taste: the modest iconostasis was always elegantly decorated with greenery and flowers; In general, the hand and eye of the artist were visible in everything in the temple. And so it happened that in this church, furnished with such taste, as if as a reward for Fr. For his love of art, local icons of the Savior and the Mother of God by the famous Russian artist Repin were donated to Dmitry.”

Ilya Repin. The Lord is crowned with thorns. 1894.

Ilya Repin. Virgin and Child. 1895-96.

Vitebsk. Galvanized iron, oil. 101x52.5 cm.

Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore.

For many, Russian Art Nouveau is, first of all, the fantastically beautiful mansions of Fyodor Shekhtel in Moscow, huge crystal chandeliers, but not properly round, but oval, with a capricious slope, table lamps with a thickened leg covered with a bright linear ornament; wooden decor wriggling like a snake into long curved lines and varnished in places with dark, in others with light ocher... For others, these are objects of Russian decorative and applied art, made in the aesthetics of Art Nouveau. For example, in the Abramtsevo estate with its nature, church and wooden houses, icons in carved and painted frames, carved wooden furniture and Vrubel majolica. Talashkino is known almost as widely as Abramtsevo. There is Savva Mamontov, here is Princess Maria Tenisheva. It was thanks to her that Talashkino became an artistic center known throughout Russia. In Flenovo, which is located about 1.5 km from Talashkino, there is the building of Tenisheva’s art workshop, as well as two buildings in the pseudo-Russian style with elements of the Art Nouveau style - the Teremok hut, built according to the design of the artist Sergei Malyutin in 1901-1902 , and the Church of the Holy Spirit, created according to the design of Sergei Malyutin, Maria Tenisheva and Ivan Barshchevsky in 1902-1908. The church in 1910-1914 was decorated with mosaics based on sketches by Nicholas Roerich, assembled in the private mosaic workshop of Vladimir Frolov. The church is amazing. It is located at the top of a forested hill. The church is very extraordinary. First of all, its form is more fantasy than Orthodox. Ocher brick; roofs - motley terracotta; a thin, defenseless neck with a heavy-looking dark crown and a thin golden cross; heart-shaped lines of kokoshniks hanging over each other in three tiers and Mosaic on the facade of the main entrance. It is called “Savior Not Made by Hands.” The color of the mosaics is still very rich - azure, deep crimson, pure ocher. The face of Christ with a detached and at the same time attentive gaze is stunning.

Mosaic "The Savior Not Made by Hands" by N.K. Roerich.

By 1905, construction of the Temple was almost completed. In 1908, the princess invited her close friend N.K. to paint the Temple. Roerich. Then the decision came to dedicate the Temple to the Holy Spirit.

The work of Nicholas Roerich (including the church work) at the beginning of the 20th century was one of the significant and deeply respected phenomena of Russian culture. N.K. Roerich was the author of the mosaics of the Church of Peter and Paul in the village of Morozovka near Shlisselburg (1906), the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Parkhomovka in Ukraine (1906), the Trinity Cathedral of the Pochaev Lavra in the Ternopil region, also in Ukraine (1910), the iconostasis of the Church of the Kazan Mother of God in Perm (1907), paintings of the chapel of St. Anastasia in Pskov (1913).

Drawing of the western facade from the funds of the Smolensk Museum-Reserve.

“I just dropped the word, and he responded. This word is a temple... - recalled M.K. in Paris in the 1920s. Tenisheva.- Only with him, if the Lord leads, I will finish it. He is a man who lives in spirit, the chosen one of the Lord’s spark, through him God’s truth will be revealed. The temple will be completed in the name of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power of Divine spiritual joy, connecting and all-encompassing being with its secret power... What a task for an artist! What a great field for imagination! How much can you contribute to the Spiritual Temple of Creativity! We understood each other, Nikolai Konstantinovich fell in love with my idea, he understood the Holy Spirit. Amen. All the way from Moscow to Talashkin we talked heatedly, carried away by plans and thoughts into the infinite. Holy moments, grace-filled..."

Mosaic inner surface entrance arch.

Nikolai Konstantinovich also left his memories of this meeting with Maria Klavdievna in 1928, the year of the princess’s death:

“We decided to call this temple the Temple of the Spirit. Moreover, the central place in it should have been occupied by the image of the Mother of the World. The joint work that connected us before was even more crystallized by common thoughts about the temple. All thoughts about the synthesis of all iconographic ideas brought Maria Klavdievna the liveliest joy. Much had to be done in the temple, which we knew about only from internal conversations.”

“Turning to a broad understanding of religious principles, we can assume that Maria Klavdievna responded to the needs of the near future without prejudice or superstition.”

The result of the “internal conversations” of Maria Klavdievna and Nikolai Konstantinovich, the creators of Russia spiritually close to each other, was the creation of a new Orthodox church - the Temple in the name of the Holy Spirit. Since ancient times in Rus' there was a tradition of building churches dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit, in which the events described in the Acts of the Apostles were sung:

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as from a rushing strong wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And cloven tongues as of fire appeared to them, and one rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

There was an iconography developed over centuries depicting the apostles or the Mother of God with the apostles, on whom tongues of flame descend. The peculiarity of the Temple in Flenov is that it is dedicated not to the Descent, but to the Holy Spirit himself. There is every reason to assert that the Temple in Flenov was the first in Rus' and in Russia to have such a dedication.

For the first time the image of the Mother of the World N.K. Roerich captured it in 1906. The famous orientalist, scientist and traveler V.V. Golubev ordered N.K. Roerich to paint the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary on his estate, in the village of Parkhomovka, near Kiev. It was then that a sketch of the altar image “The Queen of Heaven Above the River of Life” appeared. Canon N.K. Roerich was inspired by the mosaic image of Our Lady Oranta - the Unbreakable Wall (as it was popularly called) - in the altar of the 11th-century Church of St. Sophia of Kyiv.

“When writing the sketch, many legends about miracles associated with the name of the Lady were renewed in my memory,”- the artist recalled.

“Who does not remember this Kiev Shrine in all Her Byzantine grandeur, Her hands raised in prayer, blue-blue clothes, red royal shoes, a white scarf behind her belt, and three stars on her shoulders and head. The face is stern, with large open eyes, facing the worshipers. In a spiritual connection with the deepened mood of the pilgrims. There are no fleeting everyday moods in him. Those who enter the Temple are seized by a particularly strict prayerful mood,” ― the artist wrote about Our Lady of Kyiv.

In the depiction of the Queen of Heaven, the artist, relying on Orthodox tradition, also synthesized two types of ancient Russian iconography: Hagia Sophia and the Mother of God. Only images of St. Sophia and the Mother of God according to Psalm 44, which reads: “The Queen appears at Your right hand in robes of gold and robes”, in the ancient Russian tradition are found in royal vestments, and only the Mother of God can be found in icons seated on a throne with her hands raised to her chest. But the sketch was not destined to come true, because... brother V.V. Golubeva, who directly supervised the work of painting the church, did not accept N.K.’s idea. Roerich. The fact is that the artist showed in the image not only ancient Russian tradition, but also combined in the guise of the Queen of Heaven pagan and eastern ideas about the Mother of the World. It should be noted that the artist thought of this image in connection not only with the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, but also with the Temple, the construction of which was started by M.K. Tenisheva. I saw N.K. in her Temple. Roerich has an image where “all our treasure of the Divine should not be forgotten.” Collaborating with the princess starting in 1903, and often visiting her estate, conducting excavations near Smolensk, Nikolai Konstantinovich wrote about Talashkin in 1905:

“I also saw the beginning of the temple of this life. He still has a long way to go. They bring the best to him. In this building the miraculous heritage of old Rus' with its great sense of decoration can be happily realized. And the insane scope of the design of the outer walls of the Yuriev-Polsky Cathedral, and the phantasmagoria of the churches of Rostov and Yaroslavl, and the impressiveness of the Prophets of Novgorod Sophia - all our treasure of the Divine should not be forgotten. Even the temples of Ajanta and Lhasa. Let the years pass in quiet work. Let her realize the precepts of beauty as fully as possible. Where can we desire the pinnacle of beauty, if not in the temple, the highest creation of our spirit?”.

So, according to N.K. Roerich, and it happened: years later, the artist embodied the image of the Mother of the World in the Temple of the Holy Spirit in Flenov.Nicholas Roerich depicted above the altar not the Russian Mother of God, but his Mother of the World. What do we see now?Inside there are only bare walls... In the materials of the All-Union Central Research Laboratory for the Conservation and Restoration of Museum Art Values ​​(VTsNILKR, Moscow) for 1974 you can read:

“No more than one-fourth of the painting has survived. Lost along with the plaster was that part of the paintings where the face of the Queen of Heaven, the central figure of the composition of the paintings, was located. The main reason for the loss is the destruction and fall of plaster layers along with the painting. Undoubtedly, the premises of the temple, together with the painting, experienced all the vicissitudes of the fate of an abandoned building and then used for other purposes. But at the same time, it is obvious that during the construction and then the preparation of the wall for painting, serious miscalculations and unreasonable combinations of various incompatible materials were made.”

“Currently, the department of monumental painting of the All-Russian Central Scientific Research Center has developed a method for restoring the surviving fragments of paintings in the Church of St. Spirit and conservation work began on the monument. But the technological sophistication in the execution of paintings also played a negative role here. Conservation techniques and methods have also become incredibly complex, and it will take a very long time to fully complete the restoration process.”

But there was a unique painting by Nicholas Roerich “The Queen of Heaven on the Bank of the River of Life”:

“Fiery, golden-scarlet, crimson, red hosts of heavenly forces, the walls of buildings unfolding above the clouds, in the middle of them is the Queen of Heaven in a white dress, and below is a dim cloudy day and the icy waters of the everyday river of life. What is strangely striking and perhaps attractive about this composition is that, although all the elements in it are apparently Byzantine, it is of a purely Buddhist, Tibetan character. Whether the white clothing of the Mother of God among the purple hosts, or the tightness of the heavenly forces over the dim expanse of the earth gives this impression, but in this icon something more ancient and eastern is felt. It’s deeply interesting what impression it will make when it fills the entire space of the main nave of the church above the low wooden iconostasis,” was written by the symbolist poet and landscape artist Maximilian Voloshin, who was lucky enough to see the frescoes of Nicholas Roerich in the Temple of the Spirit in Flenov.The village priest, who was invited to consecrate the church, was lucky enough to see them. I can imagine how taken aback he was when he saw these frescoes in a church without an altar, without an iconostasis, which, of course, were laid out according to the Orthodox canon. Father did not understand what a masterpiece was in front of him, so he did not consecrate the non-canonical temple with non-canonical paintings. The village priest did not understand to whom and what the temple was dedicated.It should be noted that periodically disagreements with representatives of the Orthodox Church arose not only among N.K. Roerich. Similar problems M.A. was also in the works. Vrubel, and V.M. Vasnetsova, and M.V. Nesterova, and K.S. Petrova-Vodkina. The process of ambiguous searches for a new style in church art, which by the beginning of the 20th century already had an almost 1000-year history, the diversity of tastes of customers, including representatives of the Church - all this could contribute to misunderstandings between the artist and the customer. It was a natural creative process, and in the case of Nikolai Konstantinovich it always ended in a compromise on both sides. That's whyRoerich himself interprets this event completely differently. Sketches of paintings for the Temple in Flenov were discussed with representatives of the Smolensk diocese and were approved.

“When the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino was conceived, an image of the Lady of Heaven was proposed on the altar apse. I remember how some objections arose, but it was the proof of the Kyiv “Unbreakable Wall” that stopped the unnecessary debate,”- the artist recalled.

The Temple of the Holy Spirit was not consecrated solely because of the outbreak of the First World War, which prevented the completion of the paintings.

“But it was in the temple that the first news of the war was heard. And further plans froze, never to be completed again. But, if a significant part of the temple walls remained white, then the main idea of ​​this aspiration still managed to be expressed,”- recalled Nikolai Konstantinovich. Initially, the work of Princess Maria Klavdievna was in tune with N.K. Roerich with his understanding of the deep intertwining in Russian culture of the traditions of the East and the “animal style” of paganism.

“But, remembering the distant cradle of enamel, the East, I wanted to go further, to do something more fantastic, more connecting Russian production with its deep beginnings,” wrote N.K. Roerich, reflecting on the animal figures created by the princess using the enamel technique and presented at the Paris exhibition in 1909. “Near the concepts of the East, images of animals always crowd: beasts cursed in motionless, significant poses. The symbolism of animal images may still be too difficult for us. This world, closest to man, evoked special thoughts about fabulous animal images. Fantasy clearly cast images of the simplest animals in eternal, motionless forms, and powerful symbols always guarded the frightened life of man. Prophetic cats, cockerels, unicorns, owls, horses took shape... They established forms that were necessary for some, and idolatrous for others.
I think in the latest works of the book. Tenisheva wanted to use ancient craftsmanship to capture the ancient idolatry of the hearth. Bring to life the forms of forgotten talismans sent by the goddess of prosperity to guard a person’s home. In the set of stylized forms, one senses not an animal artist, but dreams of talismans of antiquity. Ornaments full of secret meaning especially attract our attention, and so is the real task of the book. Tenisheva expands the horizons of great artistic immersions,”- noted the artist in the article “The Sworn Beast”.

“Symbols strong in spells are needed for the wanderings of our art,” ― he concluded. In the animal symbols of N.K. Roerich saw the eternal, cosmic meaning of Being, which has come down to us from the depths of centuries. The artist will call it: “buried treasure”, “lower than the depths”. From generation to generation, our ancestors, through the images of animals, conveyed the knowledge of the laws of the Cosmos through the language of symbols. Animal symbols in the ancient mysteries spoke of earthly nature man, his connection with dense matter, which is transformed through the spiritual battle of St. George with the Serpent, Theseus with the Minotaur, through the “descent into hell” of Orpheus for Eurydice, Demeter for Persephone. These same “symbols powerful with spells” have come down to us in the so-called Stone Age caves, which also served as a space for the transformation of matter, a temple of mysteries, and a labyrinth for the hero. Striking the Dragon-Minotaur in its depths, the hero freed from the snares of hell from the power of Pluto a soul that, like the hero, could have different names: Elizabeth, Eurydice, Persephone. It is no coincidence that Christian churches were often decorated on the outer façade with chimeras or frightening masks.

In 1903, Vyacheslav Tenishev passed away. He died in Paris. Maria Klavdievna decided that his resting place would be their native Talashkino, where they were happy together. The Temple of the Spirit was simultaneously built as a crypt - the burial place of the spouse, and in the future, hers. There, in the basement of the temple, as if in a crypt, the embalmed body of Prince Tenishev was buried. In 1923, “Kombedov activists” opened the Temple of the Spirit and dragged the deceased Prince Tenishev out of there. The body of the “bourgeois” was thrown into a shallow hole without any honor. However, local peasants, for whom the Tenishevs created an exemplary farm on their estate and for whose children they organized an agricultural school, took Vyacheslav Nikolaevich’s body out of the pit at night and reburied it in the village cemetery. The place of his burial was kept secret, so his grave was lost.

In 1901, according to the design of the artist S.V. Malyutin, the fabulous “Teremok” was erected. Initially, it housed a library for students of the agricultural school. The building itself is very original. With its fantastic paintings, curls of monstrous flowers, strange animals and birds, it resembles a house from folk tales.

Inside there is evidence of Talashkin's artistic life. Musicians, artists, artists came here. Many of them stayed and worked at the estate for a long time: A.N. Benoit, M.A. Vrubel, K.A. Korovin, A.A. Kurennoy, M.V. Nesterov, A.V. Prakhov, I.E. Repin, Ya.F. Tsionglinsky. Repin and Korovin painted portraits of the owner in Talashkino - M.K. Tenisheva. But the Talashkin art workshops, which opened in 1900, brought true fame to these places. The artist S.V. was invited to lead the new business. Malyutina.

Over the five years of its existence, the carving, carpentry, ceramics and embroidery workshops produced many household items from children's toys and balalaikas to entire furniture sets. Sketches for many were made by famous artists: Vrubel, Malyutin, Korovin, etc. In the building of the former agricultural school there is now an interesting exhibition, testifying to another direction of M.K.’s activity. Tenisheva. One of the largest collections of folk art was collected in Talashkino.

V.M. Vasnetsov.Icon "Our Lady". (1882).

It was precisely this icon that was sometimes perceived as the image of the Mother of God of Vasnetsov, which first appeared in the iconostasis of the Abramtsevo Church and which the students of the Committee of Trusteeship of Russian Icon Painting were called upon to paint. Vasnetsov himself discussed the romantic rapprochement between the idea of ​​beauty and the icon of Christ:

“By placing Christ as the light center of the tasks of art, I do not narrow its scope, but rather expand it. We must hope that artists will believe that the task of art is not just the negation of good (our time), but also good itself (the image of its manifestations).” The image of Christ in the Vladimir Cathedral was clearly designed for a special mystical contact between the artist - the author of the icon - the artisan and the viewer. Moreover, this internal connection could be achieved under one condition - the creative perception of a religious image. A special creative act was required from the artisan and the viewer in comprehending the idea of ​​absolute beauty that the artist put into the prayer image. Since art was often considered (following John Ruskin) as the self-expression of a nation, it was necessary to find the key to a special emotional perception of the “national spectator”.

Vasnetsov himself looked for this key not by copying an ancient icon, but in the artistic culture of European romanticism, as well as in the field of national epic and Russian religious philosophy. This was also noted by Igor Grabar:

“Vasnetsov dreamed of resurrecting the spirit, and not just primitive techniques; he wanted not a new deception, but a new religious ecstasy, expressed by modern artistic means.”

V.M. Vasnetsov. "The Virgin and Child". 1889.

Canvas, oil. 170x102.6 cm.

Gift of the Moscow Theological Academy from

His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

Alexy I in 1956.

Signed at the bottom left with a brush in brown pigment - “March 2, 1889 V. Vasnetsov”; below, with a brush and a white-orange pigment - “Emily and Adrien”. For the first time to the image of the Mother of God V.M. Vasnetsov converted in 1881-1882, painting an icon for the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands in Abramtsevo. Subsequently, this theme was developed in the grandiose composition of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv (1885-1895). The head of the work on painting the cathedral was St. Petersburg University professor A.V. Prakhov. V.M. Vasnetsov was inspired by the famous mosaic “Our Lady of the Unbreakable Wall” of the Kyiv St. Sophia Cathedral and the “Sistine Madonna” by Raphael. In the center of the composition is a walking Mother of God with the Child Christ in her arms. The Child, wrapped in a shroud, leaned forward with his whole body and raised his hands, blessing those present. The heads of the Mother of God and the Child are surrounded by a soft glow. This iconography was subsequently often used in Russian icon painting. The dedicatory inscription on the painting “The Virgin and Child” indicates that it was painted by V.M. Vasnetsov as a gift to the Prakhovs after completing the paintings of the Vladimir Cathedral.

The word "icon" is of Greek origin.
Greek word eikon means “image”, “portrait”. During the period of the formation of Christian art in Byzantium, this word denoted any image of the Savior, the Mother of God, a Saint, an Angel or an event in Sacred History, regardless of whether this image was monumental painting or easel, and regardless of what technique it was executed. Now the word “icon” is applied primarily to prayer icons, painted, carved, mosaic, etc. It is in this sense that it is used in archeology and art history.

The Orthodox Church affirms and teaches that the sacred image is a consequence of the Incarnation, is based on it and is therefore inherent in the very essence of Christianity, from which it is inseparable.

Sacred Tradition

The image appeared in Christian art initially. Tradition dates the creation of the first icons to apostolic times and is associated with the name of the Evangelist Luke. According to legend, he depicted not what he saw, but the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child of God.

The roots of the visual techniques of icon painting, on the one hand, are in book miniatures, from which the fine writing, airiness, and sophistication of the palette were borrowed. On the other hand, in the Fayum portrait, from which the iconographic images inherited huge eyes, a stamp of mournful detachment on their faces, and a golden background.

In the Roman catacombs from the 2nd-4th centuries, works of Christian art of a symbolic or narrative nature have been preserved.
The oldest icons that have come down to us date back to the 6th century and were made using the encaustic technique on a wooden base, which makes them similar to Egyptian-Hellenistic art (the so-called “Fayum portraits”).

The Trullo (or Fifth-Sixth) Council prohibits symbolic images of the Savior, ordering that He should be depicted only “according to human nature.”

In the 8th century, the Christian Church was faced with the heresy of iconoclasm, the ideology of which completely prevailed in state, church and cultural life. Icons continued to be created in the provinces, far from imperial and church supervision. The development of an adequate response to the iconoclasts, the adoption of the dogma of icon veneration at the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787) brought a deeper understanding of the icon, laying down serious theological foundations, connecting the theology of the image with Christological dogmas.

The theology of the icon had a huge influence on the development of iconography and the formation of iconographic canons. Moving away from the naturalistic rendering of the sensory world, icon painting becomes more conventional, gravitating towards flatness, the image of faces is replaced by the image of faces, which reflect the physical and spiritual, the sensual and the supersensible. Hellenistic traditions are gradually being reworked and adapted to Christian concepts.

The tasks of icon painting are the embodiment of the deity in a bodily image. The word “icon” itself means “image” or “image” in Greek. It was supposed to remind of the image that flashes in the mind of the person praying. It is a "bridge" between a person and divine world, sacred object. Christian icon painters managed to accomplish a difficult task: to convey through pictorial, material means the intangible, spiritual, and ethereal. Therefore, iconographic images are characterized by extreme dematerialization of figures reduced to two-dimensional shadows of the smooth surface of a board, a golden background, a mystical environment, non-flatness and non-space, but something unsteady, flickering in the light of lamps. The golden color was perceived as divine not only by the eye, but also by the mind. Believers call it “Tabor”, because, according to the biblical legend, the transfiguration of Christ took place on Mount Tabor, where his image appeared in a blinding golden radiance. At the same time, Christ, the Virgin Mary, the apostles, and saints were really living people who had earthly features.

To convey the spirituality and divinity of earthly images, a special, strictly defined type of depiction of a particular subject, called the iconographic canon, has developed in Christian art. Canonicity, like a number of other characteristics of Byzantine culture, was closely connected with the system of worldview of the Byzantines. The underlying idea of ​​the image, the sign of essence and the principle of hierarchy required constant contemplative deepening into the same phenomena (images, signs, texts, etc.). which led to the organization of culture along stereotypical principles. The canon of fine art most fully reflects the aesthetic essence of Byzantine culture. The iconographic canon performed a number of important functions. First of all, it carried information of a utilitarian, historical and narrative nature, i.e. took on the entire burden of descriptive religious text. The iconographic scheme in this regard was practically identical to the literal meaning of the text. The canon was also recorded in special descriptions of the saint’s appearance; physiognomic instructions had to be followed strictly.

There is a Christian symbolism of color, the foundations of which were developed by the Byzantine writer Dionysius the Areopagite in the 4th century. According to it, the cherry color, which combines red and violet, the beginning and end of the spectrum, means Christ himself, who is the beginning and end of all things. Blue is the color of the sky, purity. Red is divine fire, the color of the blood of Christ, in Byzantium it is the color of royalty. Green color youth, freshness, renewal. Yellow is identical to gold. White is a symbol of God, similar to Light and combines all the colors of the rainbow. Black is the innermost secrets of God. Christ is invariably depicted in a cherry tunic and a blue cloak - himation, and the Mother of God - in a dark blue tunic and cherry veil - maphoria. The canons of the image also include reverse perspective, which has vanishing points not behind, inside the image, but in the person’s eye, i.e. in front of the image. Each object, therefore, expands as it moves away, as if “unfolding” towards the viewer. The image “moves” towards the person,
and not from him. Iconography is as informative as possible; it reproduces a complete world.

The architectural structure of the icon and the technology of icon painting developed in line with ideas about its purpose: to bear a sacred image. Icons were and are written on boards, most often cypress. Several boards are held together with dowels. The top of the boards is covered with gesso, a primer made with fish glue. The gesso is polished until smooth, and then an image is applied: first a drawing, and then a painting layer. In the icon there are fields, a middle-central image and an ark - a narrow strip along the perimeter of the icon. The iconographic images developed in Byzantium also strictly correspond to the canon.

For the first time in three centuries of Christianity, symbolic and allegorical images were common. Christ was depicted as a lamb, an anchor, a ship, a fish, a vine, and a good shepherd. Only in the IV-VI centuries. Illustrative and symbolic iconography began to take shape, which became the structural basis of all Eastern Christian art.

Different understandings of the icon in the Western and Eastern traditions ultimately led to different directions in the development of art in general: having had a tremendous influence on the art of Western Europe (especially Italy), icon painting during the Renaissance was supplanted by painting and sculpture. Icon painting developed mainly on the territory of the Byzantine Empire and countries that adopted the eastern branch of Christianity-Orthodoxy.

Byzantium

The iconography of the Byzantine Empire was the largest artistic phenomenon in the Eastern Christian world. Byzantine artistic culture not only became the ancestor of some national cultures (for example, Old Russian), but throughout its entire existence it influenced the iconography of other Orthodox countries: Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Rus', Georgia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt. Also influenced by Byzantium was the culture of Italy, especially Venice. Byzantine iconography and the new stylistic trends that emerged in Byzantium were of utmost importance for these countries.

Pre-Iconoclastic era

Apostle Peter. Encaustic icon. VI century. Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai.

The oldest icons that have survived to our time date back to the 6th century. Early icons of the 6th-7th centuries preserve the ancient painting technique - encaustic. Some works retain certain features of ancient naturalism and pictorial illusionism (for example, the icons “Christ Pantocrator” and “Apostle Peter” from the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai), while others are prone to conventionality and schematic representation (for example, the icon “Bishop Abraham” from the Dahlem Museum , Berlin, icon “Christ and Saint Mina” from the Louvre). A different, not ancient, artistic language was characteristic of the eastern regions of Byzantium - Egypt, Syria, Palestine. In their icon painting, expressiveness was initially more important than knowledge of anatomy and the ability to convey volume.

The Virgin and Child. Encaustic icon. VI century. Kyiv. Museum of Art. Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko.

Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus. Encaustic icon. 6th or 7th century. Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai.

For Ravenna - the largest ensemble of early Christian and early Byzantine mosaics surviving to the present day and mosaics of the 5th century (Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Orthodox Baptistery) are characterized by lively angles of figures, naturalistic modeling of volume, and picturesque mosaic masonry. In mosaics from the late 5th century (Arian Baptistery) and 6th century (basilicasSant'Apollinare Nuovo And Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Church of San Vitale ) the figures become flat, the lines of the folds of clothes are rigid, sketchy. Poses and gestures freeze, the depth of space almost disappears. The faces lose their sharp individuality, the mosaic laying becomes strictly ordered. The reason for these changes was a purposeful search for a special figurative language capable of expressing Christian teaching.

Iconoclastic period

The development of Christian art was interrupted by iconoclasm, which established itself as the official ideology

empire since 730. This caused the destruction of icons and paintings in churches. Persecution of icon worshipers. Many icon painters emigrated to the distant ends of the Empire and neighboring countries - to Cappadocia, Crimea, Italy, and partly to the Middle East, where they continued to create icons.

This struggle lasted a total of more than 100 years and is divided into two periods. The first was from 730 to 787, when the Seventh Ecumenical Council took place under Empress Irina, which restored the veneration of icons and revealed the dogma of this veneration. Although in 787, at the Seventh Ecumenical Council, iconoclasm was condemned as a heresy and the theological justification for icon veneration was formulated, the final restoration of icon veneration came only in 843. During the period of iconoclasm, instead of icons in churches, only images of the cross were used, instead of old paintings, decorative images of plants and animals were made, secular scenes were depicted, in particular, horse racing, beloved by Emperor Constantine V.

Macedonian period

After the final victory over the heresy of iconoclasm in 843, the creation of paintings and icons for the temples of Constantinople and other cities began again. From 867 to 1056, Byzantium was ruled by the Macedonian dynasty, which gave its name
the entire period, which is divided into two stages:

Macedonian "Renaissance"

Apostle Thaddeus presents King Abgar with the Image of Christ not made by hands. Folding sash. 10th century

King Abgar receives the Image of Christ Not Made by Hands. Folding sash. 10th century

The first half of the Macedonian period was characterized by increased interest in the classical ancient heritage. The works of this time are distinguished by their naturalness in the depiction of the human body, softness in the depiction of draperies, and liveliness in the faces. Vivid examples of classical art are: the mosaic of Sophia of Constantinople with the image of the Mother of God on the throne (mid-9th century), a folding icon from the monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai with the image of the Apostle Thaddeus and King Abgar receiving a plate with the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands (mid-10th century).

In the second half of the 10th century, icon painting retained classical features, but icon painters were looking for ways to give the images greater spirituality.

Ascetic style

In the first half of the 11th century, the style Byzantine icon painting changes sharply in the direction opposite to the ancient classics. From this time, several large ensembles of monumental painting have been preserved: frescoes of the church of Panagia ton Chalkeon in Thessaloniki from 1028, mosaics of the katholikon of the monastery of Hosios Loukas in Phokis 30-40. XI century, mosaics and frescoes of Sophia of Kyiv of the same time, frescoes of Sophia of Ohrid from the middle - 3 quarters of the 11th century, mosaics of Nea Moni on the island of Chios 1042-56. and others.

Archdeacon Lavrenty. Mosaic of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. XI century.

All of the listed monuments are characterized by an extreme degree of asceticism of images. The images are completely devoid of anything temporary and changeable. The faces are devoid of any feelings or emotions; they are extremely frozen, conveying the inner composure of those depicted. For this reason, huge symmetrical eyes with a detached, motionless gaze are emphasized. The figures freeze in strictly defined poses and often acquire squat, heavy proportions. Hands and feet become heavy and rough. The modeling of clothing folds is stylized, becoming very graphic, only conditionally conveying natural forms. The light in the modeling acquires supernatural brightness, bearing the symbolic meaning of Divine Light.

This stylistic trend includes a double-sided icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria with a perfectly preserved image of the Great Martyr George on the reverse (XI century, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin), as well as many book miniatures. The ascetic trend in icon painting continued to exist later, appearing in the 12th century. An example is the two icons of Our Lady Hodegetria in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos and in the Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul.

Komnenian period

Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Beginning of the 12th century. Constantinople.

The next period in the history of Byzantine icon painting falls on the reign of the dynasties of Douk, Comneni and Angels (1059-1204). In general it is called Komninian. In the second half of the 11th century, asceticism was again replaced by
classic shape and harmonious image. Works of this time (for example, the mosaics of Daphne around 1100) achieve a balance between classical form and spirituality of the image, they are elegant and poetic.

The creation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God (TG) dates back to the end of the 11th century or the beginning of the 12th century. This is one of the best images of the Comnenian era, undoubtedly from Constantinople. In 1131-32 the icon was brought to Rus', where
became especially revered. From the original painting, only the faces of the Mother of God and the Child have been preserved. Beautiful, filled with subtle sorrow for the suffering of the Son, the face of the Mother of God is a characteristic example of the more open and humane art of the Comnenian era. At the same time, in his example one can see the characteristic physiognomic features of Komninian painting: an elongated face, narrow eyes, a thin nose with a triangular pit on the bridge of the nose.

Saint Gregory the Wonderworker. Icon. XII century. Hermitage Museum.

Christ Pantocrator the Merciful. Mosaic icon. XII century.

The mosaic icon “Christ Pantocrator the Merciful” from the State Museums Dahlem in Berlin dates back to the first half of the 12th century. It expresses the internal and external harmony of the image, concentration and contemplation, the Divine and human in the Savior.

Annunciation. Icon. End of the 12th century Sinai.

In the second half of the 12th century, the icon “Gregory the Wonderworker” was created from the State. Hermitage. The icon is distinguished by its magnificent Constantinople script. In the image of the saint, the individual principle is especially strongly emphasized; before us is, as it were, a portrait of a philosopher.

Comnenian mannerism

Crucifixion of Christ with images of saints in the margins. Icon of the second half of the 12th century.

In addition to the classical direction, other trends appeared in the icon painting of the 12th century, tending to disrupt balance and harmony in the direction of greater spiritualization of the image. In some cases, this was achieved by increased expression of painting (the earliest example is the frescoes of the Church of St. Panteleimon in Nerezi from 1164, the icons “Descent into Hell” and “Assumption” of the late 12th century from the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai).

In the latest works of the 12th century, the linear stylization of the image is extremely enhanced. And the draperies of clothes and even faces are covered with a network of bright whitewash lines, which play a decisive role in constructing the form. Here, as before, light has the most important symbolic meaning. The proportions of the figures are also stylized, becoming overly elongated and thin. Stylization reaches its maximum manifestation in the so-called late Comnenian mannerism. This term primarily refers to the frescoes of the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo, as well as a number of icons, for example, the “Annunciation” of the late 12th century from the collection in Sinai. In these paintings and icons, the figures are endowed with sharp and rapid movements, the folds of clothing curl intricately, and the faces have distorted, specifically expressive features.

In Russia there are also examples of this style, for example, the frescoes of the Church of St. George in Staraya Ladoga and the reverse of the icon “Savior Not Made by Hands,” which depicts the veneration of angels to the Cross (Tretyakov Gallery).

XIII century

The flourishing of icon painting and other arts was interrupted by the terrible tragedy of 1204. This year, the knights of the Fourth Crusade captured and terribly sacked Constantinople. For more than half a century, the Byzantine Empire existed only as three separate states with centers in Nicaea, Trebizond and Epirus. The Latin Crusader Empire was formed around Constantinople. Despite this, icon painting continued to develop. The 13th century was marked by several important stylistic phenomena.

Saint Panteleimon in his life. Icon. XIII century. Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai.

Christ Pantocrator. Icon from the Hilandar monastery. 1260s

At the turn of the 12th-13th centuries, a significant change in style occurred in the art of the entire Byzantine world. Conventionally, this phenomenon is called “art around 1200.” Linear stylization and expression in icon painting are replaced by calm and monumentalism. The images become large, static, with a clear silhouette and a sculptural, plastic form. A very characteristic example of this style are the frescoes in the monastery of St. John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos. A number of icons from the monastery of St. date back to the beginning of the 13th century. Catherine on Sinai: “Christ Pantocrator”, mosaic “Our Lady Hodegetria”, “Archangel Michael” from the Deesis, “St. Theodore Stratilates and Demetrius of Thessalonica." All of them exhibit features of a new direction, making them different from the images of the Comnenian style.

At the same time, a new type of iconography arose. If earlier scenes of the life of a particular saint could be depicted in illustrated Minologies, on epistyles (long horizontal icons for altar barriers), on the doors of folding triptychs, now scenes of life (“stamps”) began to be placed along the perimeter of the middle of the icon, in which
the saint himself is depicted. The hagiographic icons of St. Catherine (full-length) and St. Nicholas (waist-length) have been preserved in the collection at Sinai.

In the second half of the 13th century, classical ideals predominated in icon painting. In the icons of Christ and the Mother of God from the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos (1260s) there is a regular, classical form, the painting is complex, nuanced and harmonious. There is no tension in the images. On the contrary, the living and concrete gaze of Christ is calm and welcoming. In these icons, Byzantine art approached the highest possible degree of proximity of the Divine to the human. In 1280-90 art continued to follow the classical orientation, but at the same time, a special monumentality, power and emphasis of techniques appeared in it. The images showed heroic pathos. However, due to excessive intensity, the harmony decreased somewhat. A striking example of icon painting from the late 13th century is “Matthew the Evangelist” from the icon gallery in Ohrid.

Crusader workshops

A special phenomenon in icon painting are the workshops created in the east by the crusaders. They combined the features of European (Romanesque) and Byzantine art. Here, Western artists adopted the techniques of Byzantine writing, and the Byzantines executed icons close to the tastes of the crusaders who ordered them. As a result
the result was an interesting fusion of two different traditions, variously intertwined in each separate work(for example, frescoes of the Cypriot Church of Antiphonitis). Crusader workshops existed in Jerusalem, Acre,
in Cyprus and Sinai.

Palaiologan period

The founder of the last dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, Michael VIII Palaiologos, returned Constantinople to the hands of the Greeks in 1261. His successor on the throne was Andronikos II (reigned 1282-1328). At the court of Andronikos II, exquisite art flourished magnificently, corresponding to the chamber court culture, which was characterized by excellent education and an increased interest in ancient literature and art.

Palaiologan Renaissance- this is what is commonly called a phenomenon in Byzantine art in the first quarter of the 14th century.

Theodore Stratilates» in the State Assembly meeting. The images on such icons are unusually beautiful and amaze with the miniature nature of the work. The images are either calm,
without psychological or spiritual depth, or, on the contrary, sharply characteristic, as if portraiture. These are the images on the icon with the four saints, also located in the Hermitage.

Many icons painted in the usual tempera technique have also survived. They are all different, the images are never repeated, reflecting different qualities and states. So in the icon “Our Lady of Psychosostria (Soul Savior)” from Ohridhardness and strength are expressed in the icon “Our Lady Hodegetria” from the Byzantine Museum in Thessalonica on the contrary, lyricism and tenderness are conveyed. On the back of “Our Lady of Psychosostria” the “Annunciation” is depicted, and on the paired icon of the Savior on the back is written “The Crucifixion of Christ”, which poignantly conveys pain and sorrow overcome by the power of the spirit. Another masterpiece of the era is the icon “The Twelve Apostles” from the collectionMuseum of Fine Arts. Pushkin. In it, the images of the apostles are endowed with such a bright individuality that it seems that we are looking at a portrait of scientists, philosophers, historians, poets, philologists, and humanists who lived in those years at the imperial court.

All of these icons are characterized by impeccable proportions, flexible movements, imposing poses of figures, stable poses and easy-to-read, precise compositions. There is a moment of entertainment, concreteness of the situation and the presence of the characters in space, their communication.

Similar features were also clearly manifested in monumental painting. But here the Paleologian era brought especially
many innovations in the field of iconography. Many new plots and expanded narrative cycles appeared, and programs became rich in complex symbolism associated with the interpretation of Holy Scripture and liturgical texts. Complex symbols and even allegories began to be used. In Constantinople, two ensembles of mosaics and frescoes from the first decades of the 14th century have been preserved - in the monastery of Pommakarystos (Fitie-jami) and the monastery of Chora (Kahrie-jami). In the depiction of various scenes from the life of the Mother of God and from the Gospel, previously unknown theatricality appeared,
narrative details, literary quality.

Varlaam, who came to Constantinople from Calabria in Italy, and Gregory Palama- scientist-monk with Athos . Varlaam was raised in a European environment and differed significantly from Gregory Palamas and the Athonite monks in matters of spiritual life and prayer. They fundamentally differently understood the tasks and capabilities of man in communication with God. Varlaam adhered to the side of humanism and denied the possibility of any mystical connection between man and God . Therefore, he denied the practice that existed on Athos hesychasm - the ancient Eastern Christian tradition of prayer. Athonite monks believed that when they prayed, they saw the Divine light - that
the most you've ever seen the apostles on Mount Tabor at the moment Transfiguration of the Lord. This light (called Favorian) was understood as a visible manifestation of uncreated Divine energy, permeating the whole world, transforming a person and allowing him to communicate with God. For Varlaam, this light could have an exclusively created character, and no
There could be no direct communication with God and no transformation of man by Divine energies. Gregory Palamas defended hesychasm as the original Orthodox teaching about human salvation. The dispute ended with the victory of Gregory Palamas. At the cathedral in
Constantinople in 1352, hesychasm was recognized as true, and Divine energies as uncreated, that is, manifestations of God himself in the created world.
The icons of the time of controversy are characterized by tension in the image, and in artistic terms, a lack of harmony, which only recently became so popular in exquisite court art. An example of an icon from this period is the half-length Deesis image of John the Baptist from the Hermitage collection.

It is believed that an icon is an image of God or a Saint on earth, who is a mediator and conductor between the earthly world and the spiritual. The development of image writing goes back to ancient times. The first image, according to legend, was the imprint of Christ, which appeared on a towel (ubrus) when he was drying himself.

Byzantine icons are the first surviving images in which they tried to depict the Lord God, the Mother of God and her son.

Writing images

The first Byzantine icons that have survived to this day date back to the 6th century. Undoubtedly, there were earlier ones, but, unfortunately, they have not survived. The first Christians were very often persecuted and persecuted; many manuscripts and images of that time were simply destroyed. Moreover, at that time it was considered idolatry.

The writing style can be judged from some surviving mosaics. Everything was quite simple and ascetic. Each icon had to show the strength of spirit and the depth of the image.

At the moment, many surviving Byzantine icons are kept in the monastery of St. Catherine. The most famous of them:

• "Christ Pantocrator".
• "Apostle Peter".
• "Our Lady Enthroned"

Their style of painting - encaustic - was considered one of the most popular at that time. Its peculiarity is that the image is painted with wax paint, even while it is still hot. This method of writing made it possible to depict forms on the icon very realistically. Later, the technique was supplanted by tempera, as it was believed that it was more consistent with the canons of writing.

Another very interesting point is that these three icons represent important images that were subsequently formed in iconography. Subsequently, the style of writing gradually reduced to symbolic, where it was not the humanity of the person depicted on the icon that predominated, but his spirituality. In the Comnenian period (1059-1204), the face of the images again became more human, but spirituality remained. A striking example is the Vladimir Icon. In the eighteenth century, despite the defeat of Constantinople, something new appeared in icon painting. This is calm and monumentalism. Subsequently, Byzantine icon painters continued to search for the correct depiction of the face and the image as a whole. In the 14th century, the transmission of Divine light in icons became important. Until the capture of Constantinople, searches and experiments in this direction did not stop. New masterpieces also appeared.

Byzantine icon painting at one time had a significant influence on all countries where Christianity spread.

Painting icons in Russia

The first images in Russia appeared immediately after the baptism of Rus'. These were Byzantine icons that were painted to order. Masters were also invited for training. Thus, at first it was very much influenced by the Byzantine.

In the 11th century, the first school arose in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The first famous icon painters appeared - Alypius and his “collaborator,” as recorded in one manuscript, Gregory. It is believed that from Kyiv Christianity spread to other Russian cities. Along with it comes icon painting.

After some time, very large schools emerged in Novgorod, Pskov, and Moscow. Each of them has formed its own characteristics in writing. At this time, signing images and assigning authorship to them came into use. We can say that from the sixteenth century the Russian style of writing completely separated from the Byzantine one and became independent.

If we talk about schools in particular, then the characteristic features of the Novgorod school were simplicity and conciseness, brightness of tones and large forms. The Pskov school has an imprecise drawing, which is more asymmetrical, but endowed with a certain expressiveness. Characterized by a slightly gloomy color with a predominance of dark green, dark cherry, red with an orange tint. The background of the icons is often yellow.

The Moscow school is considered the pinnacle of icon painting of that time. She was greatly influenced by the work that brought certain traditions from Constantinople. Separately, there was the work of Andrei Rublev, who created magnificent examples of icons. In his work, he used a writing style that was characteristic of Byzantium in the 15th century. At the same time, he also applied Russian directions. The end result was some amazingly styled images.

It should be noted that although Russian iconography followed its own path, it retained all types of icon writing that were available in Byzantium. Of course, over time they have transformed somewhat, and even new ones have appeared. This was due to the emergence of new canonized saints, as well as special veneration for those who were of little importance in Byzantium.

In the 17th century, icon painting in Russia became more and more artistic than spiritual, and also acquired an unprecedented scope. Masters are increasingly valued and are also sent to other countries to paint temples. Russian icons are ordered and sold to many Orthodox countries. In subsequent years, this art is only confirmed in mastery.

Icon painting in Russia during the Soviet Union experienced its decline, some ancient images were lost. However, now it is slowly being revived, new names of artists are appearing who are successful in this field.

The meaning of icons of the Mother of God in the lives of believers

The Mother of God has always occupied a special place in Christianity. From the very first days, she was an intercessor and defender of both the common people and cities and countries. Obviously, this is why there are so many icons of the Mother of God. According to legend, its first images were painted by Luke, the evangelist. have special miraculous powers. Also, some lists, written from different images, became healing and protective over time.

If we talk about which icon of the Mother of God helps in what way, then you should know that in different troubles you should ask for help from different images. For example, the image of the Mother of God, called “Seeking the Lost,” will help with headaches, eye diseases, and will also help with alcoholism. The icon “It is worthy to eat” will help with various diseases of the soul and body, and it is also good to pray to it after completing any task.

Types of icons of the Mother of God

It can be noted that each image of the Mother of God has its own meaning, which can be understood from the type of writing of the icon. The types were formed back in Byzantium. Of these, the following stand out.

Oranta (Praying)

This is how the early Christian Byzantine icon of the Mother of God is presented, where she is depicted in full height or waist-deep with her arms raised, which are spread to the sides with palms outward, without a baby. Similar images were found in the Roman catacombs; the iconographic type became more widespread after 843. The main meaning is the intercession and mediation of the Mother of God.

There is also a variant of the image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Christ in a round medallion at chest level. In Russian iconography it is called “The Sign”. The meaning of the image is the Epiphany.

Famous icons:

• “Yaroslavskaya”.
• “Inexhaustible Chalice”, etc.

Hodegetria (Guide Book)

This type of Byzantine icon of the Mother of God spread widely throughout the Christian world after the 6th century. According to legend, the Evangelist Luke also wrote it for the first time. After some time, the icon became the intercessor of Constantinople. The original was lost forever during the siege, but many copies have survived.

The icon depicts the Mother of God holding the infant Christ in her arms. It is he who is the center of the composition. With his right hand Christ blesses, and in his left he holds a scroll. The Mother of God points to him with her hand, as if showing the true path. This is precisely the meaning of images of this type.

Famous icons:

• “Kazanskaya”.
• "Tikhvinskaya".
• “Iverskaya” and others.

Eleusa (Merciful)

Similar icons also originated in Byzantium, but became more widespread in Russia. This style of writing arose later, in the ninth century. It is very similar to the Hodegetria type, only more gentle. Here the faces of the baby and the Mother of God touch each other. The image becomes more gentle. It is believed that this type of icon conveys the love of a mother for her son, similar to human relationships. In some versions this image is called “Caressing”.

Icons of this type:

• “Vladimirskaya”.
• “Pochaevskaya”.
• “Recovery of the dead”, etc.

Panahranta

Images of this type appeared in Byzantium in the 11th century. They depict the Virgin Mary seated on an altar (throne) with a baby sitting on her lap. Such icons of the Mother of God symbolize her greatness.

This type of image:

• “Sovereign”.
• “The Queen of All.”
• “Pecherskaya”.
• “Kiprskaya” and others.

Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” (“Rejoice, Unbrideless Bride”)

The “Tenderness” icon, which depicts the face of the Virgin Mary without her baby, belonged to Seraphim of Sarov. She stood in his cell, with a lamp always burning in front of her, with the oil from which he anointed the suffering, and they were healed. Its exact origin is unknown. It is believed that the image was painted around the 17th century. However, some think that the icon was revealed to Seraphim of Sarov, since he had special relationship with the Mother of God. She saved him from illness more than once and often appeared in visions.

After the death of the elder, the “Tenderness” icon was bequeathed to the Diveyevo convent. Since then, many lists have been written from it, some of which have become miraculous.

The image is a half-length image. It depicts the Mother of God without a son, with her arms crossed on her chest and her head slightly bowed. This is one of the most tender images of the Mother of God, where she is depicted before the birth of Christ, but after the descent of the Holy Spirit on her. This is a female icon of the Mother of God. How does she help? The image is of particular importance for girls and women from ten to thirty years old. It is believed that prayers to him will ease the difficult teenage period and preserve maiden purity and chastity. This icon is also an assistant during the conception of children and at their birth.

Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God

This is another equally famous image of the Virgin Mary. He has been famous for his miraculous deeds for a long time and is highly revered among Orthodox believers. The Pochaev Icon is located in the Holy Dormition which is an ancient Orthodox place. The image was donated by local landowner Anna Goyskaya in 1597. Before that, she received it as a gift from the Greek Metropolitan Neophytos. The icon is painted in the Byzantine style using tempera. At least 300 scrolls were made from it, which later became miraculous.

The Pochaev Icon saved the monastery from invaders many times; in addition, many healings were performed with its help. Since then, prayers offered to this image have helped with foreign invasions and healed eye diseases.

“Mourning”

The “Sorrowful” icon is an image of the Mother of God with downcast eyes that are covered by eyelids. The whole image shows the mother's grief over her lost son. The Mother of God is depicted alone, and there are also images with a baby.

There are many spelling options. For example, in Jerusalem, in the Chapel of the Bounds of Christ, there is an ancient icon depicting the Weeping Mother of God. In Russia, the miraculous image “Joy of All Who Sorrow” is popular, which is famous for its healings.

The “Sorrowful” icon is a helper and savior during the loss of loved ones; prayer to this image will help strengthen one’s faith in eternal life.

Origin of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

This image, in its iconographic type, belongs to Hodegetria, and it is the most famous icon. It is not known for certain whether this is an original or just a list. The Smolensk icon came to Russia in 1046. It was like Constantine IX Monomakh’s blessing for his daughter Anna to marry Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich of Chernigov. Vsevolod’s son, Vladimir Monomakh, moved this icon to Smolensk, where it was kept in the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which he also built. This is how this image got its name.

Subsequently, the icon performed many different miracles. For example, 1239 could have been fatal for Smolensk. Batu’s huge horde at that time was marching across Russian land, approaching the city. Through the prayers of the inhabitants, as well as the feat of the warrior Mercury, before whom the Mother of God appeared in a vision, Smolensk was saved.

The icon traveled often. In 1398 it was brought to Moscow and placed in the Annunciation Cathedral, where it remained until 1456. This year a list was written from it and left in Moscow, and the original was sent back to Smolensk. Subsequently, the image became a symbol of the unity of the Russian land.

By the way, the original icon of the Mother of God (Byzantine) was lost after 1940. In the 1920s, by decree, she was confiscated to the museum, after which her fate is unknown. Now in the Assumption Cathedral there is another icon, which is a scroll. It was written in 1602.

Icon of Seraphim of Sarov

Seraphim of Sarov is a Russian miracle worker who founded the Diveyevo women's monastery and subsequently became its patron. He was marked with God's sign from an early age; after falling from the bell tower, he was delivered from illness after praying before the icon of the Mother of God. At the same time, the saint had a vision of her. Seraphim always strived for monasticism, so in 1778 he was accepted as a novice at the Sarov monastery, and in 1786 he became a monk there.

Very often the Monk Seraphim saw angels, once he even had a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. Subsequently, the saint strove for solitude and had experience of living in the desert. He also performed the feat of pillar-bearing for a thousand days. Most of the exploits of this time remained unknown. After some time, Seraphim of Sarov returned to the Sarov monastery, as he could not walk due to leg disease. There, in his old cell, he continued his prayer before the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”.

According to the stories, after some time the Mother of God ordered him to stop being a recluse and begin to heal human souls. He received the gift of clairvoyance, as well as miracles. Obviously, this is why today the icon of Seraphim of Sarov is of great importance for the believer. The monk knew about his death and prepared for it in advance. I even told my spiritual children about her. He was found praying before the icon of the Mother of God, which had been with him all his life. After Seraphim's death, many miracles were performed at his grave; in 1903 he was canonized.

The icon of Seraphim of Sarov has meaning for those who are depressed. Prayer will also help in grief. In any of the physical and spiritual illnesses, the icon of the saint will help. There is also Seraphim of Sarov.

Icon of Sergius of Radonezh

Sergius of Radonezh is one of the most revered saints in Rus'. He is the founder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. He was also its first abbot. The charter of the Trinity Monastery was very strict, since St. Sergius himself strictly observed monastic life. After some time, due to the discontent of the brethren, he had to leave. Elsewhere, he founded the Kirzhach Annunciation Monastery. He did not stay there long, as he was asked to return to the Trinity Monastery. It was there that he departed to God in 1392.

The oldest hagiographic icon of Sergius of Radonezh was made in the 1420s. Now it is located in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. This is an embroidered cover on which a waist image is presented St. Sergius, and around there are nineteen marks of his life.

Today there is more than one icon of Radonezh. There is also an image that is located in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. It dates back to the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. In the museum. A. Rublev is another icon of this period.

The image of Radonezh is an assistant for physical and spiritual illnesses, as well as during everyday problems. They turn to the saint if it is necessary to protect children from bad influence, and also to avoid failures in studies. Prayer before the image of St. Sergius is useful for the proud. The icon of Radonezh is very revered among Christian believers.

Image of Saints Peter and Fevronia

The life story of Peter and Fevronia of Murom shows how pious and devoted to the Lord one can be, even while in family ties. Their family life began with Fevronia healing her future husband from scabs and ulcers on his body. For this, she asked him to marry her after he was cured. Of course, the prince did not want to marry the poison dart frog’s daughter, but Fevronia foresaw this. The prince’s illness resumed, and even then he married her. They began to rule together and became known for their piety.

Of course, the reign was not cloudless. They were expelled from the city, then asked to return. After this, they ruled until old age, and then took monasticism. The couple asked to be buried in one coffin with a thin partition, but their order was not carried out. Therefore, they were carried twice to different temples, but they still miraculously ended up together.

She is the patroness of true Christian marriage. The life image of the saints, which dates back to 1618, is now in Muromsk, in the Historical and Art Museum. Also, icons of saints can be found in other churches. For example, in Moscow, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord has an image with a particle of relics.

Guardian icons

In Rus', at one time, another type of images appeared - these are dimensional. For the first time such an icon was painted for the son of Ivan the Terrible. About twenty surviving similar images have survived to this day. These were guardian icons - it was believed that the saints depicted were the patrons of infants until the end of their lives. In our time, this practice has resumed. Anyone can order such an image for a child. Now in general there is a certain set of icons that are used for various rituals. These are, for example, personal icons, wedding, family, etc. For each occasion, you can purchase an appropriate image.

Iconography comes to Kievan Rus after her baptism, in the 9th century, from Byzantium. Invited Byzantine (Greek) icon painters painted the churches of Kyiv and other large cities of Rus'. Until the Tatar-Mongol invasion (1237-1240), Byzantine and Kiev icon painting served as a model for other local schools. With the emergence of feudal fragmentation in Rus', separate icon painting schools began to emerge in each of the principalities. In the 13th century, a cultural gap began between Russia and Byzantium, which also reflected the fact that icons painted after the 13th century began to differ more and more from their Byzantine origins.

The northern parts of Rus' were less affected by the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. In Pskov, Vladimir and Novgorod, icon painting was then developing strongly, and stood out for its special originality. During the period of rapid development of the Moscow principality, the Moscow school was born. It was then that the “official” history of Russian icon painting begins, which begins to move further and further away from the stylistic features and traditions of its ancestor - Byzantium.

The Moscow school received its greatest development in the 14th-15th centuries and it was associated with the works of such icon painters as Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny. The same period saw the heyday of the Pskov school, distinguished by the expression of images, the sharpness of light images and impasto brush strokes.

Subsequently, the originality of Russian icon painting was supplemented by the development of the Stroganov school of icon painting, which was based on rich colors, the use of gold and silver, and refinement in the poses and gestures of the characters.

In the 16th century, Yaroslavl began to actively develop as a cultural and economic center. The Yaroslavl school of icon painting emerges, which continues to exist for almost two centuries, and makes its great contribution to the development of the history of icon painting in Russia. A wealth of design, the use of additional details in design, complex plots and much more appeared in icon painting in those centuries.

In the 17th century, the Palekh school appeared. The writing of the Palekh style is complicated by a wide variety of compositional elements, and the technique is also complicated by many shadow and light additions. The colors are rich and bright. Also during this period, oil painting was introduced into icon painting, allowing images to be conveyed more voluminously. This direction is called the “frying style” of icon painting.

In the 18th century, with the development of the Academy of Arts, picturesque icons in the academic style, painted in oil technique, began to become widespread in icon painting.

This is not the whole history of icon painting; there are quite a lot of icon painting schools, and each of them can be devoted to a separate large article.

Russian icon painting, having developed over centuries, has become so rich and diverse that many believe that it has surpassed its Byzantine (Greek) origins by an order of magnitude.

One and the same icon painted in the traditions of different icon painting schools can differ greatly in artistic perception, which is subjective; some people may like it, while others absolutely do not.

Various design options, styles, techniques, compositions, colors, etc. - all this must be taken into account when ordering an icon.

At present, in general, the following techniques and styles of icon painting can be distinguished, which should be determined when writing a new icon:

• Technique: tempera, oil,
• Medieval iconography and iconography of “late” centuries.
• Writing style: picturesque, iconographic.

It should be noted. that at present, manufactured icons may have the characteristics of several icon painting schools, and it can sometimes be difficult to clearly define. Which school does the icon belong to?

Here are just some examples of all of the above:

	Tempera, icon painting style, Moscow school.		Tempera, icon painting style, icon painting of the Middle Ages, Byzantine style.
	Palekh. pictorial style, tempera.		Tempera, Yaroslavl icon painting school, icon painting style.		Tempera, Yaroslavl icon painting school, medieval icon painting.
	Moscow school of icon painting, tempera.		Rostov-Yaroslavl school of icon painting, tempera.
	Painting style, tempera.				Painting (academic) style, oil.