Lot 110
Eastern Europe, Russia, ca. late 18th to early 19th century CE. Finely painted in egg tempera and gesso on wood, an icon depicting St. Pantaleon, a physician and woodworker (275 - 305 CE), holding his medical box and a tool, standing on the left beside Saint Capitolina of Cappadocia, who was martyred under the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian (died 304 CE), holding a Cross and a scroll. Both saints are labeled in Cyrillic above, and stand before a lovely landscape skillfully delineated in aerial perspective in which the distant buildings and trees are fainter and the saints heads and torsos are surrounded by sky blue. Size: 11.75" L x 9.5" W (29.8 cm x 24.1 cm)
Saint Pantaleon, the son of a wealthy pagan named Eustorgius of Nicomedia, learned about Christianity from his mother, Saint Eubola. After her death, Pantaleon grew less interested in Christianity and studied medicine under the physician Euphrosinos. Thanks to the patronage of Euphrosinos, it is believed that he became the physician to the Emperor Maximilian or Galerius. In time, he came to appreciated Christianity again. Saint Hermolaus, a bishop at the church of Nicomedia, convinced him that faith was more important than medicine and that Christ was the best physician. Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote of this, "He studied medicine with such success, that the Emperor Maximian appointed him his physician. One day as our saint was discoursing with a holy priest named Hermolaus, the latter, after praising the study of medicine, concluded thus: "But, my friend, of what use are all thy acquirements in this art, since thou art ignorant of the science of salvation?" (Liguori, Alphonsus (1888). "SS. Hermolaus, Priest; and Pantaleon, Physician". Victories of the Martyrs. London: Benziger Brothers. Pp. 308-311.)
This icon most likely was kept in someones home. According to Jeanne Marie Warzeski, scholar and curator of the North Carolina Museum of History's "Windows into Heaven" exhibition, "In the early Byzantine Empire, the home became the primary base for the development of icon veneration. Throughout the ensuing centuries, icons continued to receive honor in homes and churches. To this day, many Orthodox Christians create for prayer and meditation in their home a krasny ugol, or beautiful corner, where family icons are placed. Guests entering a house customarily honor the icons in the corner by crossing themselves before the objects. An oil lamp is set near the icons and is lit daily, according to Orthodox tradition."
Icons (icon means "image" in Greek) are sacred objects within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. Found in homes as well as churches, these painted images depict holy persons and saints as well as illustrate scenes from the Scriptures. Icons are not worshiped, but are instead venerated for their ability to focus the power of an individual's prayer to God. As a focus for prayers and meditation for believers, icons serve as windows into heaven.
Provenance: private Ventura County, California, USA collection
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#129407
- Condition: Worn at the corners with minor losses. A knot in the wood (lower center). Expected surface wear with some scuffs/abrasions as shown. A few drops of green paint on the left side of the composition. Nice craquelure to the surface.
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