132 - Icon; 18th century.

Icon; 18th century. “The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.” Painting on wood panel. Measurements: 54 x 42 x 2.5 cm. This icon depicts the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, known in the Orthodox tradition as “The Meeting of the Lord” (???????? ????????), one of the major feasts of the liturgical calendar. The episode, recounted in the Gospel of Saint Luke, depicts the moment when the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph present the Infant Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, where he is received by the elderly Simeon and the prophetess Anna. The scene is centered on the encounter between the Child and Simeon, the true spiritual core of the composition. Mary, Saint Joseph, Simeon, and Anna are depicted gathered in an architectural space with stylized forms, following the conventions typical of Orthodox religious painting. The architecture, rendered through schematic buildings and non-naturalistic perspectives, helps create a symbolic space characteristic of the language of Russian iconography. The figures, marked by a solemn, ceremonial air and frontal pose, have elongated faces and restrained gestures, while the use of color and golden backgrounds accentuates the supernatural dimension of the scene. The inscription at the top, in Church Slavonic, identifies the feast as ???????? ????????, “The Presentation of the Lord.” This element is particularly significant, as in Orthodox iconography, image and word form a single unit.