Lot 22
Russia, ca. 19th century CE. A lovely icon painted in egg tempera and gold leaf depicting the Virgin enthroned with Christ Emmanuel, he who sacrifices and is being sacrificed, the image of the Eucharist, on her lap, with upraised arms in an orans gesture. At their sides are two archangels dressed in soft pastel colored robes. The Virgin Mary places her hands on the shoulders of Anthony and Theodosius who kneel before her. The composition is surrounded by a wonderful enamel and gold leaf floral border. Size: 17.5" W x 21" H (44.4 cm x 53.3 cm)
In this depiction of the Mother of God of the Kiev Caves, the jewel tone hues of the Virgin's, Anthony's, and Theodosius robes contrast beautifully with the muted hues of the archangels vestments, thus creating the optical illusion that these figures are closer to us. Notice also that the golden haloes (each with carefully delineated enameled white 'pearl' and multicolored floral/geometric details) of the Virgin, archangels, and Christ Emmanuel set these holy figures apart from Anthony and Theodosius who don transparent gold-outlined haloes.
The saintly monk Anthony founded the Caves Monastery in the 11th century in Kiev. Anthony is also credited with bringing Byzantine monasticism to Rus for the first time. The monk Alimpii (Olympius) painted the prototype of the Percherskaia in the early 11th century. The iconography derives from the Virgin Orans. The founding of the Caves Monastery in Kiev, the Russian Bethlehem, and its Church of the Dormition is attributed to the Virgin of the Blachernae (Constantinople), who is believed to have inspired four Greek architects to go to Anthony and Theodosius with her relics and a miraculously painted icon of her.
Exhibited in "Windows Into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art" at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina (December 20, 2003 through February 22, 2004) which presented highlights of one of the world's great artistic traditions through an extraordinary group of sixty-five 18th and 19th century Russian icons on loan from the private collection of Lilly and Francis Robicsek.
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. Some icons are encased in precious metal covers (oklads) adorned with pearls and semi-precious stones or glass-fronted wooden cases (kiots). Icons are not worshiped, but are instead venerated for their ability to focus the power of an individual's prayer to God. As such they are truly "windows into heaven."
The "Windows Into Heaven" exhibition profiled a magnificent chapter of Russian artistry, the embrace of the Russian Orthodox faith of religious icons during the Romanov centuries. The Russian religious faith was an offshoot of Byzantine Christianity, which in 1054 parted ways from Roman Catholicism. Icons were and continue to be religious images created for veneration. As a focus for prayers and meditation for believers, icons serve as "windows into heaven."
Provenance: Ex-Francis & Lilly Robicsek Collection, Charlotte, NC, part of the Museum Exhibition, Windows into Heaven - Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art, North Carolina Museum of History
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#119512
- Condition: Minor surface losses to paint, gold leaf, and enamel of icon as shown. Verso with intact crossbars, a few old pierced marks, and suspension wire and loops. Mint Museum label on verso as well.
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