| Saint Paraskeva, tempera on wood panel, 19th C. |
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Holy Art of Imperial Russia Icons from the 17th C. to the Early 20th C.
The sacred images on view in this exhibition are of a kind once readily found in
even the humblest homes of Russia, as well as its churches and public shrines. Centuries-old artistic conventions are juxtaposed
with new, Westernized formal elements and vernacular interpretations of these new forms. For Orthodox Russians, icons served
as more than just religious paintings; they were relic-like objects directly linked to the holy figures they depicted.
They were seen as comforters and powerful guardians. Icons were the direct line from the real world to the spiritual and appeared
everywhere in pre-Soviet Russia.
Since
the 11th century, Russian icons remained remarkably unchanged in style, rooted in the Byzantine tradition of vivid
color and flat perspective. By the mid 17th century there was a great schism in the Orthodox Church that split
into two major divisions—the conservative “Old Believers” who kept the traditional forms and rituals, and
the State Church, which was more open to change and Westernization. During the 18th century came the ascension
of the Romanov tsar Peter the Great and his creation of St. Petersburg as a “window to the West.” As a result
some icons began showing the influence
of Western European renaissance paintings created centuries earlier. As the years passed, State Church icons exhibited increasing
realism.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, one of Stalin’s
main agendas was to abolish religion. In the spirit of revolution and through intimidation, thousands of families voluntarily
destroyed their icons or gave them to government officials to destroy or sell in the Western market. Many were used
for scrap lumber or firewood; others were defaced. Amid the turmoil, thousands of people fled Russia for Western Europe and
the United States. They took their Orthodox religious roots with them and saved many icons from destruction. Until the collapse
of the Soviet Union, the country encouraged the foreign sale and export of icons from the Romanov era. This exhibition
introduces the public to these beautiful and complex sacred objects and demonstrates the rich variety of styles and techniques
used during this period.
| Seven Archangels, oil on wood, early 20th C. |
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| Archangel Michael, oil. tempera on wood, 20th C. |
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| Mother of God of the Sun, tempera on wood, 19th C. |
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| Saint George with riza, oil/wood, brass, 19th C. |
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| Lord Sabaoth, oil on wood panel, late 19th C. |
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| Venerable Mary of Egypt, tempera on wood, 17th C. |
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| The Holy Evangelist Mark, tempera on wood, 19th C. |
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| Feodor Mother of God, tempera on wood, c. 1900 |
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| Saint Florus and Lourus, tempera on wood, 18th C. |
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| Processional cross, oil on wood, c. 1900 |
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| Holy Prince Vladimir, oil on wood, late 19th C. |
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