Null Russian school, possibly Old Believers' Workshops.
"Odighitria".
Tempera on…

Description

Russian school, possibly Old Believers' Workshops. "Odighitria". Tempera on panel. Work exhibited in "Oriens. Exposició d'icones de l'Eglesia Oriental", Parroquia de Sant Joan, Lleida, 2003. Measurements: 44 x 38,5 cm. This half-length Mother of God, with her head slightly inclined, holding the Child Jesus in her left arm, indicating Him with her right arm, is called Odighitria. The term "Odighitria", translated from Greek, means "she who shows the way". It is one of the most recurrent representations of the Mother of God and Jesus in Orthodox iconography. With the indicative gesture, the Virgin tells the viewer that the Truth is behind the Child Jesus, and all those who will follow Him. The present icon is highly decorative, with the red mantle covering her entire head, decorated with three golden medallions with the faces of the archangels St Michael and St Gabriel at the bottom, and St John the Child at the top. The interest of the icon lies especially in the rarity of the indications on the edge of the mantle, with inscriptions of the veneration of the Virgin, and in the embrace that the Child offers to his mother, something completely exceptional in this type of iconography.

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Russian school, possibly Old Believers' Workshops. "Odighitria". Tempera on panel. Work exhibited in "Oriens. Exposició d'icones de l'Eglesia Oriental", Parroquia de Sant Joan, Lleida, 2003. Measurements: 44 x 38,5 cm. This half-length Mother of God, with her head slightly inclined, holding the Child Jesus in her left arm, indicating Him with her right arm, is called Odighitria. The term "Odighitria", translated from Greek, means "she who shows the way". It is one of the most recurrent representations of the Mother of God and Jesus in Orthodox iconography. With the indicative gesture, the Virgin tells the viewer that the Truth is behind the Child Jesus, and all those who will follow Him. The present icon is highly decorative, with the red mantle covering her entire head, decorated with three golden medallions with the faces of the archangels St Michael and St Gabriel at the bottom, and St John the Child at the top. The interest of the icon lies especially in the rarity of the indications on the edge of the mantle, with inscriptions of the veneration of the Virgin, and in the embrace that the Child offers to his mother, something completely exceptional in this type of iconography.

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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. 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.

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