Mediaeval russian icon- and fresco-painting

Your journey round the Golden Ring will be a wonderful opportunity to see some very fine specimens of Russian painting from the whole mediaeval period from the 10^th to the early 18^th century. The numerous museums and churches of North-East Russia contain many masterpieces of monumental art and icon-painting. And although a lot of the icons from Vladimir, Suzdal, Yaroslavl and Uglich have been moved to the central museums, the area is still unusually rich in art.

We know of little painting in Northeast Russia from the first half of the 12th century. In the second half, however, the local centres developed intensively. Churches were built and decorated with icons and frescoes. A most important specimen of this period are the frescoes of the St Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir painted at the end of the century by Greek and Russian masters and commissioned by Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest. Fragments of early painting have survived in two other cathedrals in the area – the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir (12th cent.) and the Nativity Cathedral in Suzdal (1233).

One of the oldest and most revered icons of the Vladimir lands dating back to the pre-Mongol period is Our Lady of Bogolyubovo (12^th century), now in the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir. It was commissioned by Andrew the God-loving after the Virgin appeared to him in a vision. The icon has only survived in part, but the fragments show that it rivalled the famous icon of Our Lady of Vladimir in expressiveness, beauty and intensity colour.

After the Mongol Invasion artistic life practically ceased and did not begin to revive until the end of the 13th century. The few works that have survived from the 13^th century are mainly to be found in the central museums. Almost all the towns in the Golden Ring area had their own special icon of the Virgin Mary. The icon of the Fyodorovskaya Virgin said to have appeared miraculously in 1239 near Kostroma is the most revered sacred image in the Kostroma area. When Michael Romanov was elected tsar, the icon became famous throughout Russia. It is now in the Epiphany Monastery in Kostroma. There are several early icons of the Virgin Mary from Yaroslavl, including two of Our Lady of the Tolga from the Tolga

Convent. One of them is 13th century and can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery. The other dates back to 1314 and is in the Yaroslavl Art Museum. The 1314 icon was famed for its miracle-working powers and was copied by icon-painters for many centuries.

The15th century witnessed a real flowering of art in Northeast Russia. Moscow became the leading artistic centre. The greatest Russian icon-painter Andrei Rublev worked and was buried in the city.

Andrei Rublev and his fellow painter Daniil Cherny painted the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir in 1408. The frescoes have survived with considerable losses and are partially disfigured. The main section of the extant composition shows the Last Judgement and is under the choir gallery on the west side of the cathedral.

One of the oldest Russian iconostases created by Rublev and Daniil Cherny in 1425-1427 is in the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Monastery of St Sergius. The cathedral's present iconostatis consists of several tiers, of which the deisis, festival and prophets tiers and also the Royal Doors in the local tier date back to the time of Rublev. This splendid ensemble delights us by the inspired harmony of the image and perfect artistic treatment.

ICONS

The word "icon" is Greek in origin and means "portrait" or "image". Icons are representations of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints painted on wood and appeared in the early Christian period. The icon image of the saint is free of anything impure or accidental and has a special beauty. The icon is merely a projection of the divine essence on the surface of the panel, which explains why the representation is so conventional. Their function is to convey an idea, not an external appearance or a psychological state. The profoundly elaborated artistic language that developed over the centuries was intended to convey the nobility of the sacred personages in the icon, their proximity to a different reality. The faces on the icons are full of light, yet there is no source of that light. The steady shimmer of the gold background, haloes and highlights that convey the radiance of the divine light is combined with a system of applying highlights that creates the relief and the illusion that the face itself is emitting light. The first and fundamental icon of Christ is the Mandilion. Legend has it that Christ's face was miraculously imprinted on a cloth with which he wiped it. This famous miracle-working icon is mentioned by ancient historians and writers from the 5th century. The first icons of the Virgin Mary are thought to have been painted by the Apostle Luke. Dozens of icons of the Virgin Mary were attributed to him in mediaeval Russia.

Following the iconographic canon, artists painted images that were always recognisable. In strictly observing the canon (a compilation of rules and devices), they were not making copies in the modern sense of the word. An artist was able to add his own touches to the icon, in the facial expression or the colouristic and rhythmic structure. Each image bore the features of the moral strivings of its day and the national aesthetic ideal.