Description
Russian school, workshops of the Old Believers, second half of the 17th century. "Resurrection of Christ, Christ's Descent into Hell, and His Life in 12 hagiographic scenes". Tempera on panel. Measurements: 53 x 44,5 cm. Descent of Christ to hell is one of the most important representations in Christian iconography. This passage has been known in Ancient Rus since the 11th century, although it became most popular in the second half of the 14th century. Iconography of this New Testament passage finally developed in the 17th century in Moscow workshops. In this period the icon reached its maximum complexity, combining the New and Old Testament passages, and at the same time composing the scenes of the Resurrection and Christ's descent into hell in one. The icon of interest, despite its relatively simple composition, a central register surrounded by 12 hagiographic scenes, is very attractive due to the symbolism of the symbolic details that accompany each of the miniatures. In the central scene, which forms the theme of the icon, there are depictions of the devil and hell, which are very rare in orthodox iconography. The open mouth of the monstrous dragon is an allegory of hell. While the devil is in the lower right corner of the scene, depicted as a naked being with a beard ending in a beak and in profile - the three main features of the devil or sinners in an Orthodox icon. The central scene is framed by a decorative border, imitating wood carving. The twelve scenes around it represent passages from the life of Jesus Christ, from his birth to his resurrection, as well as some passages of a Marian nature, the last scene of the shekel being the burial of the Virgin in the lower left-hand corner. A curious detail of this piece is to be found in the ninth scene, which represents the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, located in the lower right-hand corner. The inscription '????' is the Cyrillic translation of the Latin phrase 'INRI'. It is a very unusual inscription on the icons of the Russian Old Believers, as it caused a lot of controversy in the end, as it was a direct citation of Pontius Pilate, the murderer of Christ. The fact that it accompanies the cross helps to determine the early date of the creation of this icon, around 1700, when this inscription was still used by Old Believer painters.
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Russian school, workshops of the Old Believers, second half of the 17th century. "Resurrection of Christ, Christ's Descent into Hell, and His Life in 12 hagiographic scenes". Tempera on panel. Measurements: 53 x 44,5 cm. Descent of Christ to hell is one of the most important representations in Christian iconography. This passage has been known in Ancient Rus since the 11th century, although it became most popular in the second half of the 14th century. Iconography of this New Testament passage finally developed in the 17th century in Moscow workshops. In this period the icon reached its maximum complexity, combining the New and Old Testament passages, and at the same time composing the scenes of the Resurrection and Christ's descent into hell in one. The icon of interest, despite its relatively simple composition, a central register surrounded by 12 hagiographic scenes, is very attractive due to the symbolism of the symbolic details that accompany each of the miniatures. In the central scene, which forms the theme of the icon, there are depictions of the devil and hell, which are very rare in orthodox iconography. The open mouth of the monstrous dragon is an allegory of hell. While the devil is in the lower right corner of the scene, depicted as a naked being with a beard ending in a beak and in profile - the three main features of the devil or sinners in an Orthodox icon. The central scene is framed by a decorative border, imitating wood carving. The twelve scenes around it represent passages from the life of Jesus Christ, from his birth to his resurrection, as well as some passages of a Marian nature, the last scene of the shekel being the burial of the Virgin in the lower left-hand corner. A curious detail of this piece is to be found in the ninth scene, which represents the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, located in the lower right-hand corner. The inscription '????' is the Cyrillic translation of the Latin phrase 'INRI'. It is a very unusual inscription on the icons of the Russian Old Believers, as it caused a lot of controversy in the end, as it was a direct citation of Pontius Pilate, the murderer of Christ. The fact that it accompanies the cross helps to determine the early date of the creation of this icon, around 1700, when this inscription was still used by Old Believer painters.
