There is a church tradition that says that the first icon painter in Christian history became the Evangelist and Apostle Luke, who wrote the first image Holy Mother of God. Among the countless icons painted over two thousand years, some have become standards, high role models for subsequent generations. Among the many, many masters who worked in the underground field, only a few icon painters were honored to remain in the art of the Church and in the history of world art as bright stars, illuminating the path for their followers. The most famous icon painters in history will be discussed by us in this article.

Evangelist and icon painter Luke (1st century)

Alypiy Pechersky (11-12 centuries)

Theophanes the Greek (14th-15th centuries)

Andrey Rublev (14th-15th centuries)

Apostles Peter and Paul. Icon of the mid-11th century (1051-1100). Novgorod Museum.

Saint George (1130-1150) Moscow. Tretyakov Gallery

When painting icons in Ancient Rus', paints were used in which the binding medium was an emulsion of water and egg yolk - tempera.

1151-1200 Adoration de la Croix Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov

Icons were most often painted on wooden boards. Usually they took boards from linden, in the North - from larch and spruce, in Pskov - from pine.

Angel with golden hair. End of the 12th century (1151-1200). Timing belt

The board, as a rule, was hewn out of a log, choosing the strongest inner layer of the tree trunk. This process was labor-intensive and lengthy.

Annunciation "Ustyug". XII century (1151-1200). Tretyakov Gallery

Boards for icons were made by woodworkers or woodworkers, and rarely by icon painters themselves. A shallow recess was usually made on the front side of the board - an ark, bounded along the edges of the board by fields slightly rising above it. For small icons one board could be used. For large icons, several boards were connected.

Savior Not Made by Hands. Around 1191. Tretyakov Gallery

The nature of the fastening, the depth of the ark and the width of the fields often make it possible to determine the time and place of manufacture of the icon board. The fields of ancient icons of the 11th-12th centuries are, as a rule, wide, and the ark is deep. Later icons have narrow margins, and from the 14th century icons were sometimes painted on boards without borders.

1160-1169 L "ApГґtre Pierre et Nathalie Martyre, dГ©tail

Gesso was used as a primer, which was prepared from chalk or alabaster and fish (sturgeon) glue. The icon board was coated several times with liquid hot glue, then the pavolok was glued on, rubbing it in with the palm of the hand. After the pavolok had dried, gesso was applied.

1160-1169 Recto MГЁre de Dieu du Signe, Verso L "ApГґtre Pierre et Nathalie Martyre

The gesso was applied in several stages, in layers. The surface of the gesso was carefully leveled and sometimes sanded. Sometimes relief was applied to the gesso. In ancient icons, starting from the 12th century, “chasing” was often done on gilded gesso. Sometimes such patterned embossing was done on halos. In later times (from the 16th century), to create an in-depth (or relief) pattern, gesso carving was carried out before writing began. Then the relief was gilded.

Saint George (1165-1175) Moscow. Kremlin.

A drawing was made on the prepared soil surface. First, the first drawing of the images was performed, and then the second, more detailed one. The first drawing was done by lightly touching soft coal from birch branches, the second - by black or brown paint.

Savior Emmanuel with the archangels. End of the 12th century (1175-11200). Tretyakov Gallery

Some icons were reproduced from “originals” or from copybooks obtained from icons that served as samples.

Savior Emmanuel with the archangels. End of the 12th century (1175-11200). Tretyakov Gallery detail.

After this, the actual writing began. At first, everything that was required was gilded: the fields of the icon, lights, crowns, folds of clothing. Then the pre-letter writing was done, that is, clothes, buildings, and landscapes were painted. On final stage When creating icons, faces were painted. The finished image was covered with a special kind of oil varnish - “oiled”.

1201-1225 DГ©isis Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov

The work with paints was carried out in a strictly defined sequence. Both the icon writing and its sequence were not the same in different icon painting schools and changed over time.

1201-1225 DГ©isis Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov detail

First, the areas limited by the contours of the design were covered with thin layers of appropriate paints in the following order: background (if it is not gold), mountains, buildings, clothes, exposed parts of the body, faces. After this, whitening was done, which highlighted the convex details of objects (except for faces and hands). Gradually adding white to the paint, smaller and smaller areas of highlighting were covered. The final touches were applied with pure white.

1201-1225 Dormition Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov

To create greater volume of the image, a thin layer of dark paint was applied to the darkened and recessed areas. After dark paint, all facial features and hair were drawn in thin lines.

1201-1225 Dormition Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov detail

Then light highlights were applied to the convex parts of the face: forehead, cheekbones, nose, strands of hair using white or ocher with a large addition of white. Then the “blush” was applied. A thin layer of red paint was applied to the lips, cheeks, tip of the nose, in the corners of the eyes, and on the earlobes. After this, the pupils of the eyes, hair, eyebrows, mustache, and beard were drawn in with liquid brown paint.

1201-1225 Le Sauveur aux Cheveux d"or Moscow, cathГ©drale de la Dormition du Kremlin

Icon painting was a great creativity. The iconographer specially prepared to carry out the “work of icon-making.” This was an act of communication with another world and required spiritual and physical cleansing, when everything carnal was suppressed as much as possible: “... when he painted the holy icon, he touched food only on Saturdays and Sundays, not giving himself rest day and night. He spent the night in vigil, prayer and prostrations. During the day, with all humility, non-covetousness, purity, patience, fasting, love, and the thought of God, he devoted himself to icon painting."

1201-1225 MГЁre de Dieu de la Tendresse Moscou, cathГ©drale de la Dormition du Kremlin

Successfully painted images were considered to have been painted not by an icon painter, but by God. Very few names of ancient Russian artists have survived. After all, it was believed that God himself painted the icon with the hands of icon painters, and therefore it seemed inappropriate to name the name of the person whose hands God used.

1201-1225 Saint Nicolas Thaumaturge Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov

The Byzantines believed that the meaning of any art was beauty. They painted icons, shining with gilding and bright colors. Each color had its own place, its own meaning. The colors were never mixed, they were light or dark, but always pure. In Byzantium, color was considered as important as a word, because each of them had its own meaning. One or more colors created a speaking image.

1201-1225 Saint Nicolas Thaumaturge, dГ©tail Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov

Studying from the Byzantines, Russian master icon painters accepted and preserved the symbolism of color. But in Rus' the icon was not as magnificent and austere as in imperial Byzantium. The colors on Russian icons have become more vibrant, bright and sonorous.

Apostles Peter and Paul.1201-1235 Saint-Petersbourg, musГ©e Russe

Belozersk Icon of the Mother of God. XIII century (1201-1235). Timing belt

1201-1300 Deesis. Ecole de Pskov Saint-Petersbourg, musГ©e Russe

1201-1300 Dormition Ecole de Pskov Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov

1201-1300 La Martyre Juliana MusГ©e P.D. Korine

1201-1400 Dormition Ecole de Pskov Moscow, Galerie Tretiakov

The art of icon painting came to Rus' from Byzantium after the people of Kiev were baptized in 988 under Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

In Kyiv, after 988, construction began on the first stone church, called Tithe. Construction and interior painting were carried out by invited Byzantine masters.

Prince Vladimir I Svyatoslavich brought a number of icons and shrines from Chersonese to Kyiv, but not a single one of the “Korsun” icons has survived.

The most famous ensemble of the pre-Mongol period in Kyiv are mosaics and frescoes St. Sophia Cathedral, built in the 11th century by Yaroslav the Wise. The style of both mosaics and frescoes exactly corresponds to the characteristics of Byzantine art of the first half of the 11th century, that is, to the ascetic style.

Important role

For ancient Russian art, the construction and painting of the Assumption Cathedral in Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. The work was carried out by Constantinople masters in 1073-89.

The ancient painting, and then the temple building itself, perished. However, a description made in the 17th century has survived, from which the main content of the painting is clear.

The temple itself served as a model for the construction of cathedrals in other cities of Rus', and the iconography of its frescoes was repeated and influenced icon painting.

Throughout the pre-Mongol period, Greek icon painters continued to be actively invited. It is still very difficult to distinguish between their works and the works of the first domestic masters. The Vladimir-Suzdal Principality used the services of the best Byzantine icon painters.

Surviving ancient icons

The oldest icons in Rus' were preserved in Veliky Novgorod.

Several huge icons that were part of the ancient decoration of the temple come from the St. Sophia Cathedral. The icon “The Golden Robe of the Savior,” depicting Christ on the throne in golden robes, is currently in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, but only painting XVII century.

The icon of the apostles Peter and Paul, kept in the Novgorod Museum along with its ancient frame, is much better preserved.

Another icon located in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow is double-sided, with the image of the Mother of God Hodegetria and the Great Martyr George (see St. George (icon of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin)).

A number of Novgorod icons XII - early XIII centuries.

The icon of St. Nicholas (Tretyakov Gallery) was also created at the very end of the century and combines monumentality with manneristic features. This is the most Byzantinized icon of Novgorod of that time. On the margins of the icon there are images of saints; this will become a widespread Novgorod tradition.

Preserved and restored ancient icons can be seen in many museums in Russia and abroad. There are many ancient icons in churches, where they are given special veneration.

The work of an icon painter

The icon painting craft has many of its own characteristics and secrets. If the icon is painted on a board, then the surface is prepared and primed.

Then the drawing is outlined. There are several ways to do this, the easiest and fastest of which is to “powder” - placing a sheet of paper with a pattern on the ground, where rows of holes are punched along the contours, and stuffing some (usually red) paint into the powder through these holes.

Now the master gilds the crowns, background and everything that is required with red gold sheets, and begins to work with paints.

The essence of the plot also has its own order and its own terms: “preliminary” means vestments, chambers, trees, rocks and other accessories of the figurative landscape. Afterwards they write the bodily parts of the figures and faces.

Illuminated places and glare both in clothes and in other accessories of the pre-person are sometimes “bleached out”, i.e. are indicated by golden strokes, for which the so-called “created” gold is used.

When the painting of the icon is completely finished, and the proper signatures have been made on it (with vermilion or other paint and applied gold), it is covered with drying oil - a special kind of oil varnish that imparts shine and great strength to its surface.

“Wherever the relics of a saint are and no matter what state of preservation they are in, his resurrected and enlightened body exists in eternity, and the icon, revealing it, thereby no longer depicts the holy witness, but is the witness itself.”

Pavel Florensky

Iconography in our time

Modern icon painting during last couple has been going through very many decades interesting period: - what had been created over centuries was suddenly wiped off the face of the earth in a few decades.

Modern icon painting, many experts believe, has not yet been established as an independent school. For obvious reasons, due to persecution of the church, there was a serious break in this craft, which stopped the development of the Russian school of icon painting.

Modern artists now rely on old schools, mostly copying ancient works.

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Helpful information

iconography

Start

Art developed on the basis of the Orthodox faith and strengthened as a basis visual arts Ancient Rus'. It began at the end of the 10th century, with the baptism of Rus'. Icon painting remained the core of ancient Russian culture until the end of the 17th century, when, in the era of Peter the Great, it was supplanted by secular types of fine art.

Tithe Church

The Church of the Tithes has not survived, but archaeological finds suggest that the most important parts of its painting were made using the mosaic technique, and the rest of the temple was decorated with frescoes.

Historical Evidence

Icon painting can be judged by numerous wall paintings, for the execution of which the princes invited the best masters. Along with Christianity, Rus' also received the achievements of Byzantine culture.

First icon painting school

The icon painters who completed the painting remained in the monastery, where they founded an icon painting school. The first famous Russian icon painters came from it - the Venerables Alypius and Gregory.

Icon size

Unusual for Byzantine art is the gigantic size of the icons intended for the huge temple.

Created gold

Gold leaf is ground into powder and then diluted with gum. In this way, they literally get gold paint. When necessary, they create patterns on clothes, halos around faces and everything that should shine with a special light on the icon.

Living tradition

According to the icon painting workshop Living Tradition, various icon painters, from different countries, representing different schools and trends, the question was asked: “Why, despite the active revival of icon painting in Russia, almost all modern paintings and icons are technical clones of the most famous ancient images?”

Some answers are repetitive, others are extremely original. The bulk of the interviewed Russian and American icon painters complained that the painting technique of modern church artists is not yet perfect enough; some spoke about the interruption of tradition and the difference in teaching methods (in ancient times and in our time). Opinions were also expressed that the root of the problem lies in the loss by our contemporaries of the sense of reality of the presence of what is depicted, and about many other things. I am forced to admit that all the points of view expressed certainly contain a significant amount of truth. The tradition is undoubtedly interrupted, and modern man lives a different life, in a different space and in different categories than the medieval one. It is now simply technically impossible for us to fully fulfill all the requirements presented to ancient icon painters, especially since each priest ordering an icon or fresco in each specific case is guided by his own, sometimes very individual, taste.

Having adopted Christianity in 988, the ancient Russian state found itself involved in the powerful flow of Byzantine culture. The process of comprehension and creative processing of the heritage of the Eastern Roman Empire, combined with its own cultural traditions, subsequently gave birth to original and distinctive ancient Russian art. It is closely connected with the historical conditions in which it was formed and reflected the pressing problems and aspirations of medieval man. The form, themes, and content of ancient Russian art were closely related to religion and were under the strict control of the church.

In particular, in painting there were rules and techniques that every artist had to follow - canons. Types of images, compositional schemes, symbolism were approved and illuminated by the church.

The worldview and worldview of medieval people differed from modern ones and had certain features, without knowledge of which it is impossible to fully perceive works of ancient Russian art.

The oblivion of the language of icons occurred partly under the influence of Western art and is directly related to the secularization of society. Iconography is ascetic, harsh and completely illusory. Unlike secular painting, it has always gravitated towards fundamental otherness, the depiction of a different, transformed unreal world.

A sign, a symbol, a parable is a way of expressing truth that is well known to us from the Bible. The language of religious symbolism is capable of conveying complex and deep concepts of spiritual reality. Christ, the apostles and prophets resorted to the language of parables in their sermons. A vine, a lost drachma, a withered fig tree, etc. - images that have become meaningful symbols in Christian culture.

The first Christians did not know icons in our understanding of the word, but the developed imagery of the Old and New Testaments already contained the rudiments of iconology.

When determining artistic features icons, it is necessary to remember that for a person of the Middle Ages, an icon was not a picture, but an object of worship. Its purpose is to remind you of the image of God, to help you enter the psychological state necessary for prayer.

For a believer, there has never been a question whether he likes the icon or not, how or how artistically it is made. Its content was important to him. At that time, many did not know how to read, but the language of symbols was instilled in any believer from childhood. The symbolism of color, gestures, and depicted objects is the language of the icon.

One of the church fathers, Neil of Sinai, wrote that icons are in churches “for the purpose of instructing in the faith those who do not know and cannot read the Holy Scriptures.”

The basis for the emergence of Russian painting were examples of Byzantine art. It was from there that the canons came to Rus'.

The canon did not at all fetter the thoughts of the medieval painter, but it disciplined him and forced him to pay careful attention to details.

Considering the educational role of icon painting, a unified system of signs was very important, helping viewers navigate the plot and internal meaning of the work.

The philosophical meaning of the canon is that the “spiritual world” is immaterial and invisible, and therefore inaccessible to ordinary perception. It can only be depicted using symbols. The icon painter did not strive for external formal realism; on the contrary, he in every possible way emphasizes the difference between the depicted heavenly world with the saints who have joined it and the earthly world in which the viewer lives. To achieve this, proportions are deliberately distorted and perspective is disrupted.

The use of reverse perspective or a uniform, impenetrable background seemed to bring the viewer closer to the depicted image; the space of the icon seemed to move forward along with the saints placed on it.

The face (face) in an icon is the most important thing. In the practice of icon painting, first the background, landscape, architecture, clothes were painted; they could also be painted by a second-hand master - an assistant, and only then chief master started painting the face. Compliance with this order of work was important, because the icon, like the entire universe, is hierarchical. The proportions of the face were deliberately distorted. It was believed that the eyes are the mirror of the soul, which is why the eyes on the icons are so large and soulful. Let us recall the expressive eyes of pre-Mongol icons (for example, “The Savior Not Made by Hands” Novgorod, 12th century). The mouth, on the contrary, symbolized sensuality, so the lips were drawn disproportionately small. Starting from Rublev's time at the beginning of the 15th century. the eyes no longer painted so exaggeratedly large, nevertheless, great attention is always paid to them. On Rublev’s icon “The Savior of Zvenigorod,” what is first striking is the deep and soulful gaze of the Savior. Theophanes the Greek depicted some saints with eyes closed or even with empty eye sockets - in this way the artist tried to convey the idea that their gaze was not directed at external world, but inward, to contemplation of divine truth and inner prayer.

The figures of the depicted biblical characters were painted less densely, in few layers, deliberately elongated, which created the visual effect of their lightness, overcoming the physicality and volume of their bodies. They seem to float in space above the ground, which is an expression of their spirituality, their transformed state.

The actual image of a person occupies the main space of the icon. Everything else - chambers, mountains, trees - play a secondary role, their iconic nature is brought to the maximum conventionality. However, they also carry a certain semantic load (the mountain symbolizes man’s path to God, the oak tree is a symbol of eternal life, the cup and vine are symbols of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, etc.). The older the icon, the fewer secondary elements it contains.

For the perception of icon painting by a modern viewer, it is important to remember that an icon is very complex work in its own way internal organization, artistic language, is no less complex than, for example, a Renaissance painting. However, the icon painter thought in completely different categories and followed a different aesthetic.

Since the spread of Christianity in the West and the East took place in different historical conditions, church art also developed in different ways. IN Western Europe Christianity was preached among the barbarians who captured the Western Roman Empire. For them, the icon had to show and tell as truthfully as possible gospel story, hence the realism, the gradual transformation of the icon into a painting with a religious plot. The Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantium, on the contrary, preserved traditions ancient culture and developed them, here the icon remained as a symbolic text and served not to excite the imagination, but for internal comprehension and contemplation. The sign and symbol are the alphabet of the medieval spectator.

It is curious that in the 19th century. icons were considered to be primitive art due to the fact that realism had a strong influence on the aesthetic perception of painting. Old Russian icon painters were accused of ignorance of anatomy and techniques for constructing direct perspective. Subsequently, at the beginning of the 20th century, many avant-garde artists, K. Petrov-Vodkin, V. Kadinsky and others, carefully studied and themselves tried to adopt means of expression ancient masters. Henri Matisse recognized the significant influence of the Russian icon on his work.

Through modernism and the avant-garde, not only Russia, but also the West are returning to the symbolic nature of art, using local colors, silhouettes and schematics as means of expression.

The iconographic canon is a separate topic that requires special study. Here are some basic rules:

• Proportions. The width of ancient icons correlates with the height 3:4 or 4:5, regardless of the size of the icon board.
• Dimensions of figures. The height of the face is equal to 0.1 of the height of his body (according to Byzantine rules, a person’s height is equal to 9 head measures). The distance between the pupils was equal to the size of the nose.
• Lines. There should be no torn lines on the icon; they are either closed, or emanate from one point, or connect to another line. The lines of the face are thin at the beginning and end, and thickened in the middle. The lines of architecture are of equal thickness everywhere.
• The use of reverse perspective - consisting only of close and medium plans, the long shot was limited to an opaque background - gold, red, green or blue. As they move away from the viewer, objects do not decrease, but increase.

Special rules stipulated the application of paints, the use of certain colors, etc.

All painters resorted to the symbolism of colors, each color carrying its own meaning.

• Gold is a color that symbolizes the radiance of Divine glory in which the saints abide. The golden background of the icon, the halos of the saints, the golden radiance around the figure of Christ, the golden clothes of the Savior and the Mother of God - all this serves as an expression of holiness and eternal values ​​belonging to the world.
• Yellow, or ocher, is the color closest in the spectrum to gold, often simply a substitute for it, and is also the color of the highest power of angels.
  
• White is a color symbolizing purity and innocence, involvement in the divine world. The clothes of Christ are painted white, for example in the composition “Transfiguration”, as well as the clothes of the righteous on icons depicting the Last Judgment.
• Black is a color that in some cases symbolizes hell, the maximum distance from God, in others it is a sign of sadness and humility.
• Blue, the color of the Mother of God, also meant purity and righteousness.
• Blue is the color of greatness, symbolizing the divine, heavenly, the incomprehensibility of mystery and the depth of revelation.
• Red is the royal color, a symbol of power and might (the cloak of Michael the Archangel - the leader of the heavenly army and St. George - the conqueror of the serpent); in other cases it could be a symbol of atoning blood, martyrdom.
• Green - symbolized eternal life, eternal bloom, is also the color of the Holy Spirit.

The medieval painter did not know the palette, did not mix colors during work, the colors were drawn up in advance and were mandatory. The paint recipes of different schools did not coincide, but, as a rule, they were ground on egg yolk and were very durable and bright.

Gestures also had a symbolic meaning. A gesture in an icon conveys a certain spiritual impulse and carries certain spiritual information:

• hand pressed to the chest - heartfelt empathy;
• a hand raised up is a call to repentance;
• a hand extended forward with an open palm is a sign of obedience and submission;
• two hands raised up - a prayer for peace;
• hands raised forward - a prayer for help, a gesture of request;
• hands pressed to the cheeks - a sign of sadness, grief.

The objects in the hands of the depicted saint were also of great importance, as signs of his service. Thus, the Apostle Paul was usually depicted with a book in his hands - this is the Gospel, less often with a sword, symbolizing the Word of God. Peter usually has keys in his hands - these are the keys to the kingdom of God. Martyrs are depicted holding a cross in their hands or a palm branch - symbols of belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven; prophets usually hold scrolls of their prophecies in their hands.

And this is far from exhaustive material on the symbolism of color and gestures. It is no coincidence that icons were called “theology in colors.”

“In the lines and colors of the icon we have beauty that is primarily semantic,” wrote the philosopher E. Trubetskoy in 1916. In his famous work “Speculation in Colors”, he deeply developed this idea, arguing that ancient Russian masters reflected on the meaning of life, carried answers to eternal questions existence “not in words, but in colors and images.”

The discovery of ancient Russian painting at the beginning of the 20th century and the recognition of its artistic significance revived the understanding of its true spiritual meaning. Thus, the philosopher and priest Sergei Bulgakov, a contemporary of Trubetskoy, in his autobiography compares European and Russian painting. When Bulgakov first saw Raphael's Sistine Madonna, the painting made a strong impression on him. However, later, when he became familiar with ancient Russian art, he suddenly saw the main thing that the “Sistine Madonna” lacks: although she depicts the Mother of God, one cannot pray in front of her. If a secular artist, when painting a picture, strived for maximum artistic expression, he is, first of all, an author, then the monk-icon painter did not think about aesthetics - he thought about the prototype, he believed that God was guiding his hand.

The main guide for creating icons for painters was ancient originals brought from Byzantium. For many centuries, canonical painting fit into strictly defined frameworks, allowing only the repetition of iconographic originals.

The images were strictly regulated in space, poses, and a certain plot outline was observed. To help painters, there were special vaults with drawings of images of Orthodox saints and their verbal descriptions. At the end of the 17th century. Even a consolidated edition of the originals appeared, collecting most of the stories accumulated over the centuries, as well as reference materials, lists of terms and objects.

The main characters of the icons are the Mother of God, Christ, John the Baptist, apostles, forefathers, prophets, holy companions and great martyrs. The images could be:

• main ones (face only),
• shoulder-length (up to the shoulders),
• waist-length (to the waist),
• V full height.

Saints were often painted surrounded by separate small compositions on the themes of their lives - the so-called hagiographical marks. Such icons told about the Christian feat of the character.

A separate group consisted of icons dedicated to evangelical events, which formed the basis of the main church holidays, as well as icons painted on the basis of Old Testament stories.

Let's look at the basic iconography of the Mother of God and Christ - the most important and revered images in Christianity.

Images of the Mother of God.

Hodegetria (Guidebook) This is a half-length image of the Mother of God with the Child Christ in her arms. The right hand of Christ is in a blessing gesture, in his left he has a scroll - a sign of the Holy Teaching. The Mother of God holds her son with one hand and points to him with the other.

Eleusa (Tenderness) This is a half-length image of the Mother of God with a baby in her arms, bowed to each other. The Mother of God hugs her son, he presses his cheek to hers.

Oranta (Praying) This is a full-length image of the Mother of God with her hands raised to the sky. When a round medallion with the infant Christ is depicted on Oranta’s chest, this type in iconography is called Great Panagia(All Holy).

Sign or Incarnation This is a half-length image of the Mother of God with her hands raised in prayer. As in the Great Panagia, on the chest of the Mother of God there is a disk with the image of Christ, symbolizing the incarnation of the God-man.

In total, there were about 200 iconographic types of images of the Mother of God, the names of which are usually associated with the name of the area where they were especially revered or where they first appeared: Vladimir, Kazan, Smolensk, Iverskaya, etc. The love and veneration of the Mother of God among the people inextricably merged with her icons, some of them are recognized as miraculous and there are holidays in honor of them.

To the most famous icons The Mother of God belongs to Vladimir (belongs to the “Tenderness” type), scientists date it to the 12th century, according to chronicle evidence it was brought from Constantinople. Subsequently, the Mother of God of Vladimir was rewritten several times; there were many copies of her from the 14th-15th centuries. For example, the famous repetition of “Our Lady of Vladimir” was created at the beginning of the 15th century. for the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir, to replace the ancient original transported to Moscow.

The famous Mother of God of the Don, supposedly painted by Theophanes the Greek himself and which became the main shrine of the church founded in the 16th century, also belongs to the “Tenderness” type. Moscow Donskoy Monastery.

One of the best icons of the “Hodegetria” type is considered to be “Our Lady of Smolensk,” created in 1482 by the great artist Dionysius. It is called Smolenskaya because, according to chronicle legend, the oldest of the Hodegetria copies brought to Rus' was kept in Smolensk, and it was from it that all subsequent icons were made.

Chief and central image ancient Russian painting - the image of Jesus Christ, the Savior, as he was called in Rus'.

Image of Christ.

Pantocrator (Almighty) This is a half-length or full-length image of Christ. His right hand is raised in a blessing gesture; in his left he holds the Gospel - a sign of the teaching he brought into the world.

Savior on the throne this is an image of Christ in the robes of a Byzantine emperor seated on a throne (throne). Right hand raised in front of his chest he blesses, and with his left he touches the opened Gospel.

In addition to the usual composition of “The Savior on the Throne,” there were also images in ancient Russian art where the figure of Christ seated on the throne was surrounded by various symbolic signs indicating the fullness of his power and the judgment he carried out on the world. These images formed a separate set and were called Savior is in power.

Spas Bishop the Great an image of Christ in a bishop's robe, revealing him in the image of a New Testament high priest.

Savior Not Made by Hands this is one of the oldest images of Christ, where only the face of the Savior is depicted, imprinted on fabric.

Savior Not Made by Hands in a Crown of Thorns one of the varieties of this image, although it is rare; this type of image appears in Russian icon painting only in the 17th century.

Relatively rare is the image of Christ in infancy, calledEmmanuel ("God is with us").Even less common is the image of the infant Christ with a star-shaped halo, personifying Christ before the incarnation (i.e., before birth), or Christ in the form of an archangel with wings. Such icons are calledAngel of the Great Council .

The most numerous icons were those that reproduced Miraculous image. The oldest surviving one is the Novgorod “Savior Not Made by Hands,” created in the 12th century. and now owned by the State Tretyakov Gallery. No less famous is the “Savior Not Made by Hands” from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, dating back to the 15th century.

There were also numerous images of the “Savior Almighty”. The famous “Zvenigorod Spas” by Andrei Rublev from this series is one of greatest works ancient Russian painting, one of the best creations of the author.

In Rus', icon painting was considered an important, state matter. Chronicles, along with events of national significance, noted the construction of new churches and the creation of icons.

There was ancient tradition- only monks are allowed to paint icons, and those who have not stained themselves with sinful deeds. Stoglavy Cathedral 1551, among other issues, he paid attention to icon painting. The Council decided that the icon painter must be a righteous person, pure life, and his craft is serving God and the church. Thus, the greatest icon painters of ancient Rus', Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny, according to the collection “Tales of the Holy Elders,” were righteous and “exceeded everyone in virtues,” for which they were awarded their unusual talents.

For many centuries, icons in Rus' were surrounded by an aura of enormous moral authority. Work on the icon began with fervent prayer, not only of the performing monk, but of the entire monastery. It was considered a great sin to throw away or burn icons. If the image darkened or faded (this happened often: in the old days it was customary to cover the image on top with drying oil due to which they darkened over time) it was “recorded” new painting. There was also a custom of floating damaged and unusable icons down the river face down after a preliminary prayer service. Some ancient icons were especially revered and were considered miraculous, i.e. capable of performing miracles. The history of such miraculous icons included many legends about miraculous rescues and healings brought to believers.

Thus, the main shrine of Novgorod - the icon of Our Lady of the Sign from the Church of Hagia Sophia supposedly saved the city from a siege. Chronicles tell how in 1169 the Novgorod Saint John, having learned that the Suzdal people were going to war against Novgorod, began to pray earnestly, and suddenly heard a voice: he was ordered, when the siege began, to go out to the Suzdal people with the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign. They did so, after which the Suzdal people were defeated.

The famous icon of Our Lady of Vladimir is credited with saving Moscow from Tamerlane in 1395, when he unexpectedly interrupted his campaign against the city and returned to the steppe. Muscovites explained this event by the intercession of the Mother of God, who allegedly appeared to Tamerlane in a dream and ordered him not to touch the city. The icon of “Our Lady of the Don”, according to legend, was with Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field in 1380 and helped to win the victory over the Tatars.

Kazan icon Mother of God According to legend, she helped Minin and Pozharsky liberate Moscow from the Poles in 1612.

Belief in the miraculous power of icons is still strong today; the tradition of their veneration is preserved by the modern church. The icon as a spiritual phenomenon is increasingly attracting attention, not only in the Orthodox, but also in the Catholic world. IN Lately An increasing number of Christians appreciate the icon as a common Christian spiritual heritage. Today exactly ancient icon is perceived as a revelation necessary for modern man.

Icon painting is of no less interest to historians and art critics. Today, no one has to prove the aesthetic value of an icon, however, in order to understand its true spiritual value, comprehend the artistic language of the author, and unravel its deep meaning, it is necessary to continue the study of this most interesting layer of ancient Russian art.

Ph.D. ist. Sciences, Art. teacher
departments social sciences And
regional studies of Russia
State Institute
Russian language named after. A.S. Pushkin
Kuprina I.V.

Icons (gr. “image”) - in Christian tradition the name of picturesque images of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the Saints. Iconic images are of a sacred nature and serve as the subject of religious celebration as visual representations that can elevate the soul of a believer from the Downworld to the Heavenly world, that is, from a board surface covered with paints to the depicted character. In the words of the Byzantine theologian Gregory of Nyssa: “Icons are literacy for the illiterate... Holy icons are books written, instead of letters, by persons and things. The illiterate see in them what they should follow by faith. Christians learn from icons.”
The origin of icons dates back to the beginning of Christianity. According to legend, Evangelist Luke personally painted several icons of the Mother of God.

The first icon is considered to be the “Savior Not Made by Hands,” which is an imprint on the plate of the face of the Savior, made personally by Jesus Christ.

In VI - 7th centuries were established in Byzantium common types iconographic images. In later times, “iconographic originals” appeared as a guide for icon painters, which contained detailed instructions regarding the nature of the depiction of external features and accessories for each saint.

In Rus', icon painting developed in strict accordance with Byzantine models, which were periodically supplied from Byzantium to the Russian state. Greek artists who came to Rus' brought with them books of samples (in Rus' they were called copybooks), from which Russian masters made copies. This explains the rapid success of Byzantine art in Kievan Rus.

Icon painting was categorically prohibited to persons of non-Christian religion. People who were skilled in art and distinguished by good behavior were allowed to paint icons.

In Rus', icons were considered the most perfect works of art and were treated with the greatest respect. It was considered indecent to talk about buying or selling icons. Icons were “exchanged for money” or given as gifts. Instead of the expression “the icon burned,” the phrase “the icon disappeared” or “the icon ascended to heaven” was used.

Icons accompanied the Christian from his birth to death. Icons had a huge influence on the soul Orthodox man in almost all circumstances of his life - personal, family, civil, military, public.

The main ancient Russian icon painting schools

The practice of Russian icon painting workshops goes back to the skills and techniques that were developed in Byzantium. However, domestic craftsmen made their own adjustments to the process of icon production, dictated by local customs and materials.

The main icon painting centers in Rus' were Novgorod, Pskov and Moscow. ABOUT ancient icon painting Nothing is known about the southern Russian cities (Chernigov and Kyiv), although these centers of icon painting undoubtedly existed. In recent decades, the contours of such ancient Russian art centers, like Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver, Rostov, Suzdal.

During the period of fragmentation of Rus', when the ancient Russian state broke up into many appanage principalities, icons were made not only in large, but also in small towns, which did not always mean the presence of icon-painting centers in them.

The main producers of icons in Novgorod, Vladimir, Yaroslavl and others major cities There were workshops at the princely and archbishop's courts, which most organically assimilated the basics of Byzantine icon painting.

The icons of the 11th-13th centuries have so much in common that it is extremely difficult to group them into schools. Only careful attention helps here. stylistic analysis And established place origin of icons. The situation is further complicated by the fact that in those days almost all icon-painting centers of Rus' used the icon “ Our Lady of Vladimir”, interpreting its formal and substantive qualities in every possible way.

Icons from the 11th to 13th centuries stand out for their monumentality and special solemnity. The figures are shown in calm, motionless poses, the faces are stern, the backgrounds are smooth, gold or silver. These icons were painted by order of princes or high clergy and decorated large churches. Since the icon “Our Lady of Vladimir” served as the iconographic model for such images, most often these icons depicted Jesus Christ and the Mother of God. However, icons depicting patrons of customers (their patrons) were also widespread at this time. Among the princes, icons of this kind were especially revered.

The characteristic features of the Novgorod school of icon painting are the decorativeness of the line, the severity of the faces and the simultaneous sensuality of the image, narrative, bright contrasts of colors. The most popular were images of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Icons “Ustyug Annunciation”, “Golden Hair Angel”, “Savior Not Made by Hands”, “Nicholas the Wonderworker”.

Characteristic features of the Vladimir school of icon painting are the mosaic style of painting and the use of the “Vladimir Mother of God” as a model.

Icons “Deesis”, “Dmitry of Thessalonica”.

The characteristic features of the Yaroslavl icon painting school are a free and bold style of painting, open color, deviation from Byzantine canons, cheerful colors, and a lot of decorations.

Icons “Our Lady of the Great Panagia”, “Savior Golden Hair”.

As for Moscow as an icon-painting center, Moscow’s icons have not reached our time. icons XII-XIII centuries. Throughout the 14th century, various artistic movements coexisted in Moscow icon painting - both local and imported from Byzantium, the western and southern regions of the country. The Moscow school of this period is characterized by the following features: appeal to various icon painting traditions; the desire for “antique” forms of depicted figures, faces, architectural backgrounds; an attempt to transform the viewer into a witness, an accomplice of the depicted event; psychological images; close connection with literary texts; conveying strong movements and complex angles; coloristic richness.

Icons “Boris and Gleb”, “Boris and Gleb with their lives”, “Boris and Gleb on horseback”, “Saviour’s Yaroe Oko”, “Our Lady of the Don”.
Most researchers of ancient Russian art associate the formation of the Moscow school of icon painting with the name of Andrei Rublev (c. 1370-1430). Along the way of integrating numerous painting traditions, Rublev was able to develop such a perfect artistic language of icon painting, which became the leading one in Rus' throughout the 15th century.

In general, Rublev’s icons are characterized by “borderliness” of the image (the pose, gestures, etc. are not clear), “confidence” (a feeling of heart-to-heart conversation is created), “harmony” of dynamics and statics, three-dimensionality and flatness.

Icons “Apostle Paul”, “Archangel Michael”, “Savior”, “Trinity”.

IN early XVI century, a number of trends have been observed in Old Russian icon painting: 1) the Moscow icon painting school received the status of the most important in the Old Russian state; 2) icons compositionally and subject-wise
have become more complex; 3) there was a sharp turn towards the individualization of icon writing.

Icons of Dionysius (1430/40 - after 1508) “The Mother of God Hodegetria”, “Metropolitan Peter with the Life”, “Metropolitan Alexy with the Life”, “The Crucifixion”.

Closer to the middle of the 16th century, icon images become overly verbose, begin to be overloaded with allegories, and the dogmatic dictate principle in them intensifies. At this time, the church begins to more and more zealously ensure that innovations do not penetrate into icon painting, giving preference to the sensual phenomenon of the essence of enthusiastic aspiration human soul to God.

However, it was from the middle of the 16th century that icon painting ceased to be a purely spiritual art and divorced from everyday conditions. Interest in pattern making has increased incredibly. Instead of gold, ocher and red backgrounds, the icons acquired dark ones. The symbolism of color was partly lost.

High Russian iconostasis

Originally in Orthodox churches In Byzantium, the altar was covered with a cloth suspended on a pole with images of saints embroidered on it in gold. The altar had to be covered because the altar space itself symbolized paradise. In this case, the fabric with the representations of saints was understood as an image of the fence of paradise, through the windows of which the saints, whose souls belong to paradise, look at the parishioners.

At the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century, they began to place a temple icon in front of the altar. Soon the temple icon began to be placed on the altar barrier next to the royal doors (the gate to the central apse). Typically, the Byzantine altar barrier-iconostasis included three rows or ranks of icons: a) deesis (an image of Jesus Christ with two coming), b) holidays, c) temple icons. On top of the solid altar barrier-iconostasis there was either a cross or a “Crucifixion” icon.

In Rus', it was not a solid, but a composite iconostasis-templon brought from Byzantium that took root. This was due to difficulties in delivery, and was originally called "Deesis".

At the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th century, a completely wooden blank altar barrier or wall with the “royal” doors in the center appeared in Rus', located between the altar pillars of the central apse, not reaching the top of the altar arch.

At the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century, a continuous altar wall appeared in Rus' from the northern to the southern wall. An example can be the foundation of the altar wall-iconostasis of the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Consistently, the Russian iconostasis included all the main aspects of church wall painting. The prophets and forefathers were transferred from the dome to the prophetic and forefathers tiers of the iconostasis. Scenes of Orthodox holidays were transferred from the vaults and walls to the festive tier of the iconostasis. The Deesis from the central apse was moved to the Deesis level. The evangelists from the sails were transferred to the royal doors.

The classic type of High Russian iconostasis is the iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, created under the leadership of Theophanes the Greek in 1405.

The iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral with its monumental rank icons and an extensive cycle of “holidays” served as the starting point for everything further development classical form of the ancient Russian iconostasis.