Null Russian school, workshops of the Old Believers, 18th-19th cent. 18TH-19TH C…

Description

Russian school, workshops of the Old Believers, 18th-19th cent. 18TH-19TH C. "San Jorge slaying the dragon and twelve hagiographic scenes". Tempera, gold leaf on panel. Measurements: 52 x 38.5 cm. The legend of Saint George is one of the most recurrent passages in Christian literature and iconography. The first mentions of Saint George as a martyr appear as early as the 5th century, and are initially limited to a specific territory: Cappadocia (the legend says it was his birthplace), Nicomedia and Diospolis (Lydia). According to the earliest versions of hagiography, George suffered torture at the hands of the Persian king Dadian; this figure was later replaced by the historical figure of Emperor Diocletian. In the period after the iconoclastic period, around the 11th century, the story of George's numerous tortures was supplemented by a developed cycle of miracles. It is believed to have been created mainly in Eastern monastic circles. The most popular of the miracles, "The Miracle with the Dragon", is the one depicted on our icon in the central square. This legend dates back to the oral tradition of the 8th century; it is not recorded in manuscripts for the first time until the 12th century. However, these dates may vary in different historical sources. In Russia, the cult of St George began to gain popularity around the 11th century, coinciding with the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. In both Byzantine and Russian Orthodox art, depictions of St George with hagiographic scenes are rather rare and scarce compared to other popular saints. The curious detail of the present icon is the central scene, which depicts St George on horseback slaying the dragon. Only in the early Muscovite tradition and in the Byzantine tradition itself does the central scene depict St George standing upright and full-length; in all other interpretations of the scene St George appears as he does in the present icon. The symbolism of this particular iconography goes back to early Christian beliefs, which form practically the basis of all Christianity, of the struggle between good and evil. This is one of the reasons why the theme of St George is so recurrent throughout history. The theme of the twelve hagiographic scenes in this icon focuses mainly on the story of his tortures and the death of St. George, without going into the subject of post-mortem miracles. The hagiographic scenes have to be read in a specific order, usually as a book from left to right. The story starts from the eecna in the upper left-hand corner, which shows St George talking to the podres. The second scene is just below, showing St George facing the king, who will later torture him. The next scene is in the upper right-hand corner, showing St George in prison. Below this is the scene of the first torture. From this image, the scenes continue as if they were sentences in a book, and are read from left to right, culminating in the lower right-hand corner with the death of the saint. All the side scenes are accompanied by explanatory inscriptions in the outer border. This is a feature typical of the Old Master believers, who believed that the most intellectual way of conveying the Christian message is by means of a detailed description.

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Russian school, workshops of the Old Believers, 18th-19th cent. 18TH-19TH C. "San Jorge slaying the dragon and twelve hagiographic scenes". Tempera, gold leaf on panel. Measurements: 52 x 38.5 cm. The legend of Saint George is one of the most recurrent passages in Christian literature and iconography. The first mentions of Saint George as a martyr appear as early as the 5th century, and are initially limited to a specific territory: Cappadocia (the legend says it was his birthplace), Nicomedia and Diospolis (Lydia). According to the earliest versions of hagiography, George suffered torture at the hands of the Persian king Dadian; this figure was later replaced by the historical figure of Emperor Diocletian. In the period after the iconoclastic period, around the 11th century, the story of George's numerous tortures was supplemented by a developed cycle of miracles. It is believed to have been created mainly in Eastern monastic circles. The most popular of the miracles, "The Miracle with the Dragon", is the one depicted on our icon in the central square. This legend dates back to the oral tradition of the 8th century; it is not recorded in manuscripts for the first time until the 12th century. However, these dates may vary in different historical sources. In Russia, the cult of St George began to gain popularity around the 11th century, coinciding with the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. In both Byzantine and Russian Orthodox art, depictions of St George with hagiographic scenes are rather rare and scarce compared to other popular saints. The curious detail of the present icon is the central scene, which depicts St George on horseback slaying the dragon. Only in the early Muscovite tradition and in the Byzantine tradition itself does the central scene depict St George standing upright and full-length; in all other interpretations of the scene St George appears as he does in the present icon. The symbolism of this particular iconography goes back to early Christian beliefs, which form practically the basis of all Christianity, of the struggle between good and evil. This is one of the reasons why the theme of St George is so recurrent throughout history. The theme of the twelve hagiographic scenes in this icon focuses mainly on the story of his tortures and the death of St. George, without going into the subject of post-mortem miracles. The hagiographic scenes have to be read in a specific order, usually as a book from left to right. The story starts from the eecna in the upper left-hand corner, which shows St George talking to the podres. The second scene is just below, showing St George facing the king, who will later torture him. The next scene is in the upper right-hand corner, showing St George in prison. Below this is the scene of the first torture. From this image, the scenes continue as if they were sentences in a book, and are read from left to right, culminating in the lower right-hand corner with the death of the saint. All the side scenes are accompanied by explanatory inscriptions in the outer border. This is a feature typical of the Old Master believers, who believed that the most intellectual way of conveying the Christian message is by means of a detailed description.

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Estim. 3 000 - 4 000 EUR

Russian icon from the Old Believers' Workshop, 19th century.. "Resurrection of Christ, descent into hell and his life in 16 hagiographic scenes". Tempera on panel. Measurements: 43 x 36 cm. Christ's descent into hell is one of the most important representations in Christian iconography. This passage was known in Ancient Rus since the 11th century, although it gained maximum popularity 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 passages of the New and Old Testament, and in turn, composing in one the scenes of the resurrection and the descent of Christ to hell. The icon of interest, attracts the viewer's attention in a spiral, concentrating maximum attention on the central register, where, through a complex and dynamic composition, the resurrection and the descent into hell are narrated simultaneously. In both cases the figure of Christ with golden mandorla, is surrounded by various saints, apostles, and Old Testament characters such as Adam, who is recognized as a bearded man holding the hand of Christ. In turn, this scene is surrounded by a frame of 16 hagiographic scenes, which tell different passages of the New Testament, mostly of Marian content, although there are some scenes that tell the life of Christ. Each scene is accompanied by an inscription located on the border of the icon, where in turn, in the corners of it, are the four evangelists. The visual characteristics of the icon, help to deduce its chronological period, as the end of the XVII century. At the same time it contains several features typical of medieval Russian iconography, which, in sum, may indicate that this icon belongs to the workshops of the Old Believers. Among them, the eight-pointed crosses, the blessing with two fingers, and, most importantly, the inscriptions on the border. The Old Believers were a group of the Orthodox, who after Nikon's church reforms of 1654, decided to follow their opponent Avvakum, defending the traditional foundations of the Orthodox Church. Fleeing persecution, they settled in the villages of Pomorie, near the Urals and in Siberia, although by the 18th century they began to settle in the northern areas near Moscow. The Faith of the Old Believers was legalized in 1905 only, boosting the interest within the Russian Empire for the discovery of the national religious heritage, as well as developing the collecting of ancient icons, never experienced until then.

Estim. 1 800 - 2 000 EUR

Russian icon, probably Moscow or northern schools, second half of the 19th century. "The Protection of the Mother of God" or "The Virgin of Pokrov". Tempera, gold leaf on board. It presents restorations. Measurements: 35 x 30 cm. "The Virgin of Pokrov" is one of the iconographies of the Russian Orthodox Church, although it describes events that took place in Constantinople around 910. A priori the story was taken from the biography of Andrew of Constantinople, who together with his disciple Epiphanius, saw the Mother of God flying over the Church of St. Mary of the Blanquernas, covering the believers with her omophorion, as a symbol of protection. On several occasions the story was modified, the last being the version of Bishop Demetrius of Rostov, composed towards the end of the XVII century, and which said that among those who saw the miracle were John the Baptist, John the Apostle, Andrew of Constantinople, and King Leo the Wise. The significance of this miracle is that the Mother of God protected the city of Constantinople against the Muslim invasion. The prototype of the icon of the protection of the Mother of God, or, in Russian, of Pokrov, develops around the 14th century, although it will have more repercussion in the following centuries. There are two main typologies of the representation of this scene. One, the oldest, belongs to the Novgorod school. The other, the one we have in front of us, was developed in the Rostov and Suzdal school, and was finally implemented in the Moscow school. The latter typology is distinguished by the Mother of God depicted in the central register, in front of the church. The omophorion, or the "pokrov", with which she protects the believers, she holds in her two hands, instead of being held by the two angels, as would be depicted by the Novgorod painters. Apart from the apostles, different martyrs, and Andrew of Constantinople, in the lower central register, just below the Virgin, there is a character typical of the Rostov school, Roman the Méloda, the author of several songs dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is worth noting that on both sides of the scene we see St. Alexius of Rome, or St. Alexius the Beggar, and the martyr Anisia of Thessalonica. The characteristics of the auctioned lot are very peculiar, and help to determine the approximate date and even the school with great accuracy. The central figure of the Virgin appears with her face slightly turned to the left, while in the traditional version it is usually frontal. Together with the very ornamental typography, and the painted clouds, imitating archaic stylistics, it can be concluded that it is an icon painted in the workshops of the northern schools, or rather in the Muscovite workshops, both styles with many points in common. Most probably it is about the so-called "fedoseevtsy" painters, who were the Old Believers from the North of Russia, who settled in Moscow, in the Preoobrazhenskoe cemetery, around 1771, and organized an icon-painting workshop there.

Estim. 2 500 - 2 700 EUR

Russian icon from the Old Believers' Workshops, 19th century. "Resurrection of Christ, Christ's Descent into Hell, and his life in 28 hagiographic scenes". Tempera on panel. It shows humidity damage, loss of pictorial layer and a crack in the panel. Measurements: 53 x 42,5 cm. Christ's descent into hell is one of the most important representations in Christian iconography. This passage was known in Ancient Rus since the 11th century, although it gained maximum popularity 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 passages of the New and Old Testament, and in turn, composing in one the scenes of the resurrection and the descent of Christ to hell. The icon of interest, attracts the viewer's attention by its complex structure, concentrating maximum attention on the central register, where, through a complex and dynamic composition, the resurrection and the descent into hell are narrated simultaneously. In both cases the figure of Christ with golden mandorla, is surrounded by various saints, apostles, and Old Testament characters, such as Adam, who is recognized as a bearded man holding Christ's hand. In this section, the allegory of hell, represented as an eye, and polychrome in reddish tones, is very striking. The central register is surrounded by two rows of hagiographic scenes, which relate Marian passages, the life of Christ, and his passions. Each of these twenty-eight scenes is astonishing for its pictorial quality, great detail, and architectural richness. Among this horror vacui, a series of details stand out, which help to classify this icon as belonging to the workshops of the Old Believers. For example, the abundance of diverse inscriptions in the frames of the scenes-miniatures, and the typology of the eight-point cross, and with a skull on the feet of Jesus Christ, or the blessing with two fingers, are the most evident signs. The Old Believers were a group of the Orthodox, who after Nikon's ecclesiastical reforms of 1654, decided to follow their opponent Avvakum, defending the traditional foundations of the Orthodox Church. Fleeing persecution, they settled in the villages of Pomorie, near the Urals and in Siberia, although by the 18th century they began to settle in the northern areas near Moscow. The Faith of the Old Believers was legalized in 1905 only, boosting the interest within the Russian Empire for the discovery of the national religious heritage, as well as developing the collecting of ancient icons, never experienced until then.

Estim. 500 - 700 EUR

Large Russian icon of Old Believers depicting the Legend of Saint George. In the upper register, the Saint pierces the dragon with his spear before the ramparts of Silenus. Bottom left, the Saint dislodges the dragon from its cave. On the right, he receives a sword from the Silene princess, who was to be sacrificed to the beast on the very day of the Saint's arrival. Tempera on wood. Probably Novgorod school, 18th-19th century. 90 x 70 cm. Restorations, repaints. We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Christos Karydis - Ionian University - Athens, for his valuable information.

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