XVII century: new aesthetics and new iconography. Old Russian icon painting and portrait art of the 17th century

Luke, Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev, Alypiy Pechersky.

When was the first icon painted? Who was the first icon painter? What was the first icon? What material was it made of? There is no exact answer to all these questions, and most likely there never will be. There are only hypotheses that have come down to us from time immemorial, but they do not prove anything at all. It so happened that history considers the first creator of the icon to be Apostle Luke, who created the image of the Mother of God during the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

The word icon comes from ancient Hellas, it means the image of the one depicted on it. An icon is an image of a saint to whom a believer’s prayer is addressed, because the main purpose of an icon is to remind of prayer, to help accomplish it with soul and body, and to be a guide between the person praying and the image of the Saint. The spiritual eyes of a believer are so undeveloped that he can only contemplate the Heavenly world and those living in it with his physical eyes. Only after having traveled the spiritual path sufficiently can visions of the heavenly powers be revealed to his gaze. And in history there are many facts when the Saints themselves appeared to ascetics as if in reality.

Prayer is a frank conversation with the Lord, which always helps, but this help can come either immediately or after many years. But always and everywhere, prayer before the image on the icon helps the believer to understand finding the truth in the state of grace that he experiences during and after prayer. After sincere prayers, insight comes, and peace and harmony comes into a person’s life.

IN modern society Many consider icons to be luxury items; they are collected and exhibited for public viewing. But an icon is not just a beautiful and valuable thing. For a true Christian, it is a reflection of his inner world - the world of the soul. That is why, in everyday worries or in rage, one glance at the icon is enough to remember the Lord.

From the time of the emergence of Christianity to the present day, many believers have tried to create icons. For some, it worked out better, for others not so much, but all the time, humanity admires the beauty of various icons, their miraculous and healing power. In the history of mankind, in different time and in different centuries, masters of icon painting lived and worked, creating unique icons, spiritual images that are pearls of spiritual and historical heritage. This article talks about some famous icon painters from different countries world, about their enormous contribution to the history of icon painting, and accordingly to the spiritual heritage of people.

Evangelist and icon painter Luke (1st century)

Luke - according to legend, is the first to paint an icon. According to legend, it was an icon of the Mother of God, after which the icon painter created an icon of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The future evangelist and icon painter was born into a noble family of Greek pagans. Holy Scripture reports that Luke lived to a ripe old age. During the earthly life of Jesus Christ, he was in his close circle, was an eyewitness to the Lord’s death on the cross, and when Christ appeared to him on the way to the village of Emmaus, he was one of the first to witness the Holy Resurrection of the Lord. Luke's earthly life was full of travel, he walked a lot around the world, and everywhere he conveyed to people the word of God and the commandments of Christ. With the blessing of the Lord, he wrote the book “The Acts of the Holy Apostles.” It is believed that the icons of the Mother of God “Vladimir”, “Smolensk” and “Tikhvin” that have survived to this day belong to the brush of St. Luke, but on this moment there is no evidence of this, but only speculation and hypotheses, because in ancient times signs and signatures confirming authorship were not applied to icons. But regarding the “Vladimir” icon, there are other opinions of famous theologians and icon painting specialists. Firstly, the fact that this icon is the creation of the Evangelist Luke is stated in the Holy Scriptures, and secondly, on many ancient icons the Evangelist Luke is depicted painting the image of the Mother of God, which, according to experts, is very similar to the image of the Virgin Mary on the icon "Vladimir". This spiritual image is extraordinary, natural and unique, and also has miraculous properties. That is why the contribution to the work of icon painting of St. Luke cannot be expressed in words. His work is also priceless because it was the Apostle Luke who was the first to capture and preserve for all centuries the image of the Mother of God, so that descendants would pray to the spiritual image and receive help. The Holy Evangelist Luke is the patron saint of icon painters, so it was appropriate for him to begin creating a new icon.

Alypiy of Pechersk (date of birth - unknown, date of presentation to the Lord - 1114)

At the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, the Monk Alypius of Pechersk lived and created his wonderful icons. He received his name from the name of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, where from a young age he led a monastic life in strict fasting and prayer. Reverend Alypius is rightly considered the first icon painter in Kievan Rus; his creative talent gave impetus to the development of icon painting in Orthodoxy. Alypiy studied the craft of icon painting from masters from distant Greece, who at that time were painting the Pechersk Lavra. One day, the monk Alypius had a vision, so, during the painting of the Lavra, which he observed, the image of the Mother of God was clearly displayed on the altar of the temple. Alypius accepted this wondrous miracle as a sign for icon painting.

According to church tradition, icon painting was easy for the monk Alipius; the icons were created as if by themselves, but in order for them to be unique, Alipius spent a long time and diligently painting them. He created several icons of the Lord and Mother of God. The unique icon “Presta Tsarina” also belongs to the work of Alypius; it is currently located in the Assumption Church of the Moscow Kremlin, which already says a lot. What makes the work of St. Alypius of Pechersk unique and priceless? As it turned out, the icons that the saint created throughout his life have a miraculous and healing power. They do not age, the material from which they are made does not deteriorate, and besides, the images on the icons always remain distinct. During the time of the Bolsheviks, when churches were destroyed and burned, the icons created by Alypiy of Pechersk always remained unharmed. Many theologians believe that the icons have such uniqueness and miraculous power because when the Monk Alypius worked on them, he always read a prayer, which certainly speaks of the holiness of the master icon painter and his creations. Alypius of Pechersk’s contribution to the history of icon painting is unique; his icons are found in many churches and monasteries throughout the world. Upon the repose of the Lord, he was canonized as a Saint, and after two centuries, an unknown master created the icon “St. Alypius the Iconographer of Pechersk,” where the monk is depicted with a brush in his hands and an icon, confirming that he was and forever remained a skilled icon painter.

Theophanes the Greek (about 1340-1410)

One of the most famous and talented icon painters of the 14th century is certainly Theophanes the Greek. Born around 1340 in the Byzantine Empire. He traveled a lot and for a long time around the world, visited Constantinople, Caffa, Galata, Chalcedon, where he painted temples, and, as theologians say, monastic monasteries. It is believed that at this time Theophanes the Greek painted more than 40 churches, although there is no evidence of this; all the frescoes and paintings created by the great master, unfortunately, have not survived. Fame, glory and gratitude from his descendants came to the icon painter Feofan after his arrival in Russia. In 1370, he arrived in Novgorod, where he immediately began work in the Church of the Transfiguration. At this time, Theophanes the Greek did a huge job of painting the temple, which has survived to this day. The best survivors are the chest-length image of the Savior Pantocrator in the central dome, as well as the frescoes on the northwestern side of the temple. Anyone can see this unique painting and appreciate the artist’s talent. In addition, in Russia you can see the paintings of Theophanes the Greek in the churches of Moscow and other cities, where he depicted many Saints who are mentioned in Scripture.

Yet the main and unique work of Theophanes the Greek is rightfully considered to be the icons that he created throughout his life. The “Donskaya” icons of the Mother of God, “The Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor”, to this day give joy to visitors to the Tretyakov Gallery, as they have been preserved there for many years. Feofan the Greek - made a huge contribution to the development of icon painting, both in Russia and in other countries, because his icons are fascinating, they are beautifully designed and are distinguished by warmth. The icons painted by Feofan are unique, as they were created in a special style, known only to the master who created them. The brushes of Theophanes the Greek are credited with creating the double-sided icon “Our Lady of the Don,” where the other side depicts the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The painting of the Church of the Archangel Michael in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky also belongs to the great Byzantine icon painter. Already in old age, took an active part in the painting of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Here he worked together with the great Russian artist - icon painter Andrei Rublev and a certain elder Prokhor, who, unfortunately, was known to few people as an icon painter. It is unknown where and when Theophanes the Greek died, presumably his soul went to the Lord - around 1410.

Andrei Rublev (about 1360 - 1430)

The life and work of the great Russian artist is a whole era, maybe even an era in the history of Russian icon painting, when morality and faith in high ideals were revived. Perhaps none of the Russian icon painters did as much as Andrei Rublev did in icon painting. His works show the greatness and depth of Russian icon painting, and also prove the revival of faith in man and the ability to self-sacrifice. Unfortunately, the real name of the icon painter is unknown; he was named Andrei Rublev after his tonsure, when the great future master became a monk. Most likely, the Lord spiritually blessed him to paint icons, because it was with his monastic name that he, Andrei Rublev, became known to the whole world. The icons of this master are extraordinary, they contain beauty and grandeur, expressiveness and splendor, brightness and mystery, grace and elegance, and, of course, healing and miraculous power, deep grace.

It makes no sense to list all the icons created by the master; everyone knows them, but it is worth noting the icons of the Nativity of Christ, the Meeting, the Raising of Lazarus and the Old Testament Trinity. These icons are extraordinary. They have sparkle, irresistible aesthetics and artistic charm. But Andrei Rublev is famous not only for icon painting. Together with the Byzantine master Theophan the Greek, the Russian icon painter painted temples and monastic monasteries. The frescoes created by the hands of Andrei Rublev are unique and differ from the frescoes of many other masters in the extraordinary and unique way they are applied. IN early XIX century, in the Zvenigorod Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, during restoration, three icons were found quite by accident - “Savior”; "Archangel Michael" and "Apostle Paul". After much research, experts came to the conclusion that they were written by Andrei Rublev. The style of writing and the harmony of colors became irrefutable proof of this. Quite accidentally, but deservedly, three more were added to the huge list of icons created by Andrei Rublev. Thank God, the icons painted by the monk icon painter Andrei Rublev have survived to this day, and delight us with their charm, harmony and their miraculous power, and this is not surprising, because according to church belief, angels helped Andrei Rublev create icons.

Creating an icon is not an easy task, and not everyone can do it. The great masters of icon painting created works that could touch the soul of everyone. The power of these masters is the power and grace of the Lord revealed in our world. To become a conductor of the Will and grace of the Lord, you need to be pure in thoughts and feelings. Spiritual exploits, deep constant internal struggle, humility, observance of the commandments and rules of the Church - these are the pillars on which a person’s righteousness is based. This righteousness allows us to convey His heavenly image and light in icons, without distorting or introducing something alien into them, without darkening or overshadowing it.

There is a famous case when Mother Matrona asked a certain icon painter to paint the icon “Recovery of the Dead.” He started it, and a lot of time passed before it was finally done. The icon painter was at times in despair and said that he could not complete it. However, according to Matrona’s instructions, he went to repent, and when it didn’t work out again, he went to repent again until he was completely cleansed. Only after this did his work bring results.

The works of modern icon painters are no less amazing and unique; they are known in all countries of the world. And despite the fact that other countries have different beliefs, the works of our icon painters are valued as works of artistic art, as standards of completeness, harmony, penetrating depth of knowledge, as the ability to convey the “indescribable” in their works.

Let's get into the swing of things a little. Despite the fact that Christianity became widespread in Europe, it was the Russian school of icon painting that had its own significant differences in the sense of subtle spirituality of writing and extraordinary originality. Today modern people often far from bygone religious traditions. But just recently, in every Russian hut or house there was a red corner, where holy images always hung, passed on for blessing or received as a gift.

Back then these were inexpensive icons. Therefore, the old one, already blackened by time, was usually given to some monastery icon shop and in return they received a new one, having paid only a small amount. After all, the sale of icons as such did not exist until the 17th century.

Priceless images

The most interesting thing is that icons from the mid-13th century (before the Mongol period) are practically priceless today, and there are only a few dozen of them. Icons from the 15th and 16th centuries, belonging to the icon-painting schools of Rublev and Dionysius, have also reached us in small quantities. And they can only be seen in museums and, if you're lucky, in rare private collections.

For those interested in 17th century icons, it should be noted that previously the master’s signature was not placed on the icon. However, already in the second half of this century, the state treasury, in order to replenish itself, introduced a tax on products of “bogomaz”. They were forced to sign each icon they made, and then it was entered into the accounting register. Almost every antique Orthodox icon has its own amazing story. A real icon should not violate strict monastic traditions.

At the beginning of the 17th century, after the end of the Great Troubles, the first king (after the Rurik dynasty), Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, was enthroned. At this time, the Stroganov school of icon painting with its prominent representative Procopius Chirin was working for the Tsar. The Stroganov school emerged at the end of the 16th century and got its name from the wealthy merchants and patrons of the arts, the Stroganovs. The best masters at that time were Moscow icon painters who worked in the royal workshops.

For the first time, the Stroganov school discovered the beauty and poetry of the landscape. Panoramas with meadows and hills, animals and forests, herbs and flowers appeared on many icons.

During the Time of Troubles, the Stroganov school did not give color to the icons, and at the same time, there was no idleness in them, but a characteristic gloominess of the color scheme. The development of connections with other states was immediately reflected in icon painting, which gradually acquired a secular character, canons were lost, and the subject matter of images expanded.

Experience exchange

Since 1620, the Icon Chamber created a decree (implemented until 1638), which provided for the restoration of splendor in churches damaged during the Time of Troubles.

Since 1642, it was necessary to restore the almost lost painting of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. 150 best craftsmen from different countries took part in the work on this project. Russian cities. They were led by Ivan Paisein, Sidor Pospeev and other royal “isographers”. Such joint work stimulated the exchange of experience and led to the replenishment of the almost lost skills of artel labor. From the so-called “School of the Assumption Cathedral” came such famous artists of the 17th century as Yaroslavl resident Sevastyan Dmitriev, Stepan Ryazanets, Yakov Kazanets, Kostroma residents Joakim Ageev and Vasily Ilyin. There are historians' opinions that they all later came under the leadership of the Armory, which became the center of the country's artistic arts.

Innovation

This leads to the spread of such an artistic movement as the “Armory style”. It is characterized by the desire to display the volume and depth of space, the rendering of architectural and landscape backgrounds, and the depiction of furnishings and details of clothing.

In ancient icons of the 17th century received wide application a greenish-blue background, which very successfully conveyed the air environment from light at the top to dark to the soil line.

IN color scheme The main color became red in its various shades and saturations. Expensive imported paints (translucent varnish-paints based on sandalwood, cochineal and mahogany) were used in the icons of royal masters for brightness and purity.

Great masters of icon painting

Despite all sorts of borrowings from Western European art, Moscow icon painting of the second half of the 17th century still remained in the rut of traditional icon painting. Gold and silver performed the function of Divine light.

Despite a noticeable commonality of style, the icon painters of the Armory Chamber were divided into two camps: some preferred monumentality and increased significance of images (Georgy Zinoviev, Simon Ushakov, Tikhon Filatyev), while others adhered to the “Stroganov” direction with miniature, aestheticized writing with many details (Sergey Rozhkov, Nikita Pavlovets, Semyon Spiridonov Kholmogorets).

Changes in the pictorial system of icon painting in the 17th century were most likely associated with the collapse of the medieval tribal foundations of society. There was a priority of the individual principle, which led to the fact that they began to look for individual traits in Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints. This desire was a desire to make the holy faces as “life-like” as possible. An essential component of religious feeling was empathy for the torment of the saints, the suffering of Christ on the Cross. Passionate icons became widespread. On the iconostases one could see a whole row dedicated to the sorrowful events of Christ the Savior. These new requirements for church icon painting were substantiated by Joseph Vladimirov in his letter to Simon Ushakov.

Distribution of folk iconography

In the second half of the 17th century, the need for icons increased. The Russian economy gradually developed. This made it possible to build new churches in cities and villages, and enabled peasants to exchange holy images for their household products. From that moment on, icon painting acquired the character of a folk craft in Suzdal villages. And, judging by the surviving icons of that time, it can be noted that there were practically no details in the compositions, and everything was reduced almost to a pictographic diagram. Suzdal icons, from the point of view of icon painting technique, were a simplified version, however, undoubtedly, they had their own special merits and artistic expressiveness.

The royal icon painter Joseph Vladimirov testified that in the 17th century there were icons of this kind not only in houses, but also in churches. As a professional in his field, he strongly criticized images that were not skillfully written.

Disagreements

This caused concern among secular and ecclesiastical authorities; they tried to rectify the situation with prohibitive measures.

Following this comes a letter dated 1668, signed by Patriarchs Paisius of Alexandria, Macarius of Antioch and Joseph of Moscow. Referring to St. Gregory the Theologian, they decided to divide icon painters into 6 ranks, from skilled icon painters to apprentices. And only qualified icon painters were allowed to paint icons.

The royal decree of Alexei Mikhailovich of 1669 stated that it was necessary to know “size in persons and compositions.” Non-professional artists distorted icons with features of faces and proportions of figures.

But still, the main drawback of folk icons of the 17th century is considered to be not so much their lack of skill as the letters in the Old Believer sign of the cross (two-fingered), the bishop’s blessing and the spelling of the name of the Savior Jesus with one letter “and”.

Icons of the 17th century. Photo

One of the famous images is St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This ancient icon was painted from a famous carved sculpture, which depicted the saint with a sword in his hands. In 1993-1995, the image was restored and the lower layers of paint were revealed. Today, the 17th century icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is kept in Mozhaisk in the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

Another icon, “The Savior Not Made by Hands,” was painted in 1658 by Simon Ushakov, who immediately began to be criticized for his uncharacteristic image of Christ. However, later this image became one of the most popular in Russia. Now this icon is kept in the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery.

Icons of the Mother of God from the 17th century

This is the most bright image in the history of icon painting. The most famous example belonging to the icons of the 16th-17th centuries is the Pochaev Icon of the Virgin Mary. It was first mentioned in the chronicles of 1559, when the noble landowner Goyskaya Anna gave this miraculous image to the monks of the Assumption Pochaev Lavra, which on July 20-23, 1675 saved the holy place from the Turkish invasion. This icon is still in the Pochaev Monastery in Ukraine.

The Kazan icon of the 17th century is the most revered by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ermolai, who at that time was a minister of Gostinodvorskaya, wrote that after a fire in Kazan in 1579, which burned most of the city, the Mother of God herself appeared in a dream to the ten-year-old girl Matrona and ordered her to dig up an icon from the ashes.

In the indicated place, Matrona actually found the icon. This happened on July 8, 1579. Now every year this day is celebrated as a church-wide holiday of the Russian Church. Subsequently, the Mother of God Monastery was built on this site, and its first nun was Matrona, who took the monastic name of Mavra.

It was under the auspices of the Kazan Icon that Pozharsky was able to expel the Poles from Moscow. Of the three miraculous lists, only one has been preserved in our time, and it is kept in St. Petersburg, in the Kazan Cathedral.

Remember the idea, traditional for Russian Orthodoxy, that the hand of the icon painter is moved by God? Today we will tell you about seven masters whose work has elevated Russian icon painting to the category of the greatest achievements of both national and world culture.

Theophanes the Greek (about 1340 - about 1410)

In miniature: Don Icon Mother of God brushes by Theophanes the Greek. One of the greatest icon painters of his time, Theophanes the Greek was born in Byzantium in 1340 and over the course of many years honed his unique expressive style, painting the temples of Constantinople, Chalcedon, Genoese Galata and Kafa. However, not a single one of the frescoes from that period has survived to this day, and the master’s worldwide fame lies in the paintings made in Rus'.

He arrived in Novgorod (in 1370) as an already accomplished icon painter. Theophan's first work in Novgorod was the painting of the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyin Street - the only surviving monumental work of Theophan the Greek. Time has spared the frescoes with the famous chest-length image of the Savior Pantocrator with the Gospel, with the figures of Adam, Abel, Noah, Seth and Melchizedek, as well as images of the prophets Elijah and John.

Twelve years later, Feofan the Greek moved to Moscow, where he supervised the work of masters in painting the temples of the Moscow Kremlin. Not everyone knows: the original frescoes of Theophanes the Greek and his students have not survived, but individual fragments of their composition were reproduced again and again on the walls of the Kremlin cathedrals. The fact that the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, together with Theophan the Greek, was also painted by Elder Prokhor of Gorodets and Andrei Rublev deserves special mention.

In addition to icon painting, Theophanes the Greek created miniatures for books and designed the Gospels - for example, the great Byzantine master wrote the ornamental decorations of the famous Gospel of the Moscow boyar Fyodor Koshka.

Interesting fact: Theophanes the Greek is credited with the authorship of icons from the iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. This is the first iconostasis in Russia with figures of saints depicted in full height. Also, the Don Icon of the Mother of God and the Icon of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the Mountain, stored in the Tretyakov Gallery, belong to the brush of the Greek e Favor.

Andrei Rublev (about 1360 - 1428)

In miniature: Icon “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev. Andrei Rublev can be called the most famous and - if such a definition is possible in a conversation about a canonized monk-artist - popular Russian icon painter, whose work for hundreds of years has been a symbol of the true greatness of Russian art and absolute devotion to his chosen path in life.

It is still unknown where Rublev was born, or even the name given to him at birth - he was named Andrei already when he was tonsured a monk - however, the paucity of factual information about the master, in a certain sense, even adds expressiveness and brightness to his image.

The earliest of famous works Rublev is considered to have jointly painted the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in 1405 with Theophanes the Greek and Prokhor from Gorodets. After completing this work, Rublev painted the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod, and later, together with Daniil Cherny, the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.

Rublev's unsurpassed masterpiece is traditionally considered the icon of the Holy Trinity, painted in the first quarter of the 15th century - one of the most multifaceted icons ever created by Russian icon painters, which is based on the plot of the appearance of God to the righteous Abraham in the form of three young angels.

Interesting fact: narrating the painting of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the Trinity Chronicle mentions the name of the “monk Rublev” as the last in the series, Theophanes the Greek-Prokhor from Gorodets-Rublev, which, according to the chronicle tradition, means that he was the youngest in the artel. At the same time, the very fact of working together with Feofan the Greek makes it clear that by that time Rublev was already an accomplished master.

Daniil Black (about 1350 - 1428)

In miniature: Fresco “Abraham’s Bosom” by Daniil Cherny. Many books and articles about Russian icon painting also often remember the monk Daniel only in the context of his collaboration with the author of the great “Trinity”, however, in fact, his services to Russian culture are by no means exhausted by this.

Daniil Cherny was not only Rublev’s senior comrade and mentor (according to the famous “Spiritual Letter” of Joseph Volotsky), but also an absolutely self-sufficient and experienced artist, distinguished from many of his contemporaries not only by his truly unique gift as a painter, but also by his ability to work with composition, color and the nature of the drawing.

Among the original works of Daniil Cherny there are both frescoes and icons, the most famous of which are “Abraham’s Bosom” and “John the Baptist” (Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir), as well as “Our Lady” and “Apostle Paul” (Trinity-Sergius Lavra)

Interesting fact: The joint works of Daniil Cherny with Andrei Rublev presented historians with the difficult problem of separating their works, an interesting solution to which was proposed by the art critic Igor Grabar. Icons and frescoes by Daniil Cherny must be recognized as those whose features show signs of the previous school of writing of the 14th century. The impeccable logic of this decision is as follows: in comparison with Rublev, Daniil Cherny can be considered an artist of the older generation, therefore, all the signs of “old” icon painting are the work of his hands.

Dionysius (about 1440 - 1502)

On the thumbnail: Icon “Descent into Hell” by Dionysius. The name of Dionysius personifies, perhaps, the best and greatest achievements of Moscow icon painting of the 15th-16th centuries. Historians and art historians consider him a kind of successor to the traditions of Andrei Rublev, who takes his place of honor among the greatest Russian icon painters.

The earliest known work of Dionysius is the miraculously preserved painting of the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the Pafnutievo-Borovsky Monastery near Kaluga (15th century). More than a hundred years later, in 1586, the old cathedral was dismantled to build a new one. Stone blocks with frescoes of Dionysius and Mitrofan were used in its foundation, where they were successfully discovered many years later. Today these frescoes are kept in the Moscow Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art and the Borovsk branch of the Kaluga Museum of Local Lore.

In 1479, Dionysius painted an iconostasis for the wooden Church of the Assumption in the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery, and 3 years later - the image of the Mother of God Hodegetria on a charred Greek icon from the Ascension Monastery destroyed in 1929 in the Moscow Kremlin.

The work of Dionysius in northern Russia deserves special mention: around 1481 he painted icons for the Spaso-Kamenny and Pavlovo-Obnorsky monasteries near Vologda, and in 1502, together with his sons Vladimir and Theodosius, he painted frescoes for the Ferapontov Monastery on Beloozero.

Interesting fact: Dionysius’ writing style can be judged by the superbly preserved frescoes of that same Ferapontov monastery on Beloozero. These frescoes have never been rewritten or undergone major restoration, thus remaining as close as possible to their original appearance and color scheme .

Gury Nikitin (1620 - 1691)

On the thumbnail: Icon “Martyrs Cyric and Julitta” by Gury Nikitin) Frescoes Kostroma icon painter Guriy Nikitin is not only an example of the splendor and symbolism of Russian icon painting, but a truly unique combination of decorativeism and monumentality within one work for his time. The fact is that it was precisely during the period of Nikitin’s creative maturity - and this is approximately the 60s of the 17th century - that the rise of Russian monumental and decorative art occurred - and these trends do not bypass the young master.

In 1666, a difficult year for the Russian church, Guriy Nikitin took part in the renewed work on painting the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin - Nikitin’s brushes included images of martyred soldiers on pillars, as well as individual parts of the monumental composition “The Last Judgment”. After 2 years, Nikitin painted 4 icons for the Moscow Church of St. Gregory of Neocessary.

However, perhaps the main “professional achievement” of Gury Nikitin was the mural painting in the Yaroslavl Church of Elijah the Prophet and the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery. During these years, he already led a group of icon painters, performing the most the hard part work - he single-handedly drew the outlines of all the frescoes, which were then completed by the students.

Interesting fact: if you believe the Watch Book of 1664, it turns out that Nikitin is not the surname, but the patronymic of the famous icon painter. Full name masters - Gury Nikitin (Ni Kitovich) Kineshemtsev.

Simon Ushakov (1626 - 1686)

In miniature: Icon of the Virgin Mary “Tenderness” by Simon Ushakov. Favorite of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the favorite and only icon painter of the top officials of the state, an unsurpassed master of drawing and color, Simon Ushakov, in a certain sense, marked with his creativity the beginning of the process of “secularization” church art. Fulfilling orders from the Tsar and Patriarch, the Tsar’s children, boyars and other important persons, Ushakov painted more than 50 icons, marking the beginning of a new, “Ushakov” period of Russian icon painting.

Many researchers agree that Ushakov had no equal in painting images - and it is precisely by the way he painted them that it is easiest to track what changes - which logically coincided with the church reform of Patriarch Nikon - occurred in Russian icon painting. In Ushakov, the face of the Savior, traditional for Russian icon painting, acquired “new, hitherto unknown features. The Novgorod Savior was a formidable God, the new Savior is infinitely more affectionate: he is a God-man. This humanization of the Divine, his approach to us, brought warmth to the stern appearance of the ancient Christ, but at the same time deprived him of his monumentality.”

Interesting fact: Simon Ushakov was actively involved in teaching icon painting. Among others, Gury Nikitin studied with him.

Fyodor Zubov (about 1647 - 1689)

On the miniature: Icon “Elijah the Prophet in the Desert” by Fyodor Zubov. Russian researchers Icon painters agree that the main merit of Fyodor Zubov was the desire to restore spiritual significance and purity to the depicted faces of saints. In other words, Zubov tried to combine the best achievements icon painting XVII centuries with the achievements of more ancient traditions.

Like Simon Ushakov, Zubov worked at the royal court and was one of the five “compensated icon painters.” Having worked in the capital for more than 40 years, Fyodor Zubov painted a huge number of icons, among which were images of the Savior Not Made by Hands, John the Baptist, Andrew the First-Called, the Prophet Elijah, St. Nicholas and many other saints.

Interesting fact: Fyodor Zubov became a “paid icon painter” of the royal court, that is, a master who received a monthly salary and through this a certain confidence in the future, according to the principle “if there was no happiness, but misfortune would help.” The fact is that in the early 1660s, Zubov’s family was left with virtually no means of subsistence, and the icon painter was forced to write a petition to the tsar.

Dmitry Merkulov

It is believed that the hand of the icon painter is moved by God. We will tell you about seven masters whose work has elevated Russian icon painting to the category of the greatest achievements of both national and world culture.

Theophanes the Greek (about 1340 - about 1410)

In miniature: Don Icon of the Mother of God by Theophanes the Greek. One of the greatest icon painters of his time, Theophanes the Greek was born in Byzantium in 1340 and over the course of many years honed his unique expressive style, painting the temples of Constantinople, Chalcedon, Genoese Galata and Kafa. However, not a single one of the frescoes from that period has survived to this day, and the master’s worldwide fame lies in the paintings made in Rus'.

Andrei Rublev (about 1360 - 1428)

In miniature: Icon “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev.Andrei Rublev can be called the most famous and - if such a definition is possible in a conversation about a canonized monk-artist - popular Russian icon painter, whose work for hundreds of years has been a symbol of the true greatness of Russian art and absolute devotion to his chosen path in life.

The earliest known work by Rublev is considered to be the painting of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in 1405, jointly with Theophanes the Greek and Prokhor from Gorodets. After completing this work, Rublev painted the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod, and later, together with Daniil Cherny, the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.

Daniil Black (about 1350 - 1428)

In miniature: Fresco “Abraham’s Bosom” by Daniil Cherny.Many books and articles about Russian icon painting also often remember the monk Daniel only in the context of his collaboration with the author of the great “Trinity”, however, in fact, his services to Russian culture are by no means exhausted by this.

Dionysius (about 1440 - 1502)

Gury Nikitin (1620 - 1691)

However, perhaps the main “professional achievement” of Gury Nikitin was the mural painting in the Yaroslavl Church of Elijah the Prophet and the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery. During these years, he was already leading a group of icon painters, performing the most difficult part of the work - he single-handedly drew the contours of all the frescoes, which were then completed by the students.

Interesting fact: if you believe the Watch Book of 1664, it turns out that Nikitin is not the surname, but the patronymic of the famous icon painter. The full name of the master is Gury Nikitin (Ni Kitovich) Kineshemtsev.

Simon Ushakov (1626 - 1686)

In miniature: Icon of the Virgin Mary “Tenderness” by Simon Ushakov. Favorite of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the favorite and only icon painter of the top officials of the state, an unsurpassed master of drawing and color, Simon Ushakov, in a certain sense, marked with his work the beginning of the process of “secularization” of church art. Fulfilling orders from the Tsar and Patriarch, the Tsar’s children, boyars and other important persons, Ushakov painted more than 50 icons, marking the beginning of a new, “Ushakov” period of Russian icon painting.

Another important historical feature of Ushakov’s work is the fact that, unlike the icon painters of the past, Ushakov signs his icons. At first glance, an insignificant detail essentially signifies a serious change in the public consciousness of that time - if previously it was believed that the Lord himself leads the hand of the icon painter - and at least for this reason the master does not have the moral right to sign his work - now the situation is changing to the completely opposite and even religious art takes on secular features s. Like Simon Ushakov, Zubov worked at the royal court and was one of the five “compensated icon painters.” Having worked in the capital for more than 40 years, Fyodor Zubov painted a huge number of icons, among which were images of the Savior Not Made by Hands, John the Baptist, Andrew the First-Called, the Prophet Elijah, St. Nicholas and many other saints.

Dmitry Merkulov

Iconography of the 17th century

After the Time of Troubles, icon painters of the “Stroganov school” continued to work for the tsar - Prokopiy Chirin, the younger generation of the Savins. OK. In 1620, the Icon Order with the Icon Chamber was created at the court, which existed until 1638. Its main goal was the restoration of “church splendor” in churches damaged during the Time of Troubles. In 1642, apparently, a special order was established in charge of the painting of the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral, which was supposed to accurately restore the painting of the early. XVI century according to the drawings taken from it. The work was on a grand scale: under the leadership of Ivan Paisein, Sidor Pospeev and other royal “isographers”, approx. 150 craftsmen from different cities of Russia. Working together contributed to achieving High Quality painting, stimulated the exchange of experience, and instilled in many respects the already lost skills of artel labor. The “School of the Assumption Cathedral” was attended by such famous artists of the 17th century as Kostroma residents Joakim (Lubim) Ageev and Vasily Ilyin, Yaroslavl resident Sevastyan Dmitriev, Yakov Kazanets and Stepan Ryazanets.

Probably, upon completion of the painting, the icon painters came under the jurisdiction of the Armory Order; from that time on, the Armory Chamber became the leading artistic center of the country. Its icon painters, who worked on royal orders, were divided according to their level of qualification into salaried masters and stern icon painters of three classes. To carry out large-scale works, “city” icon painters who worked in other cities were also involved, which ensured the widespread dissemination of the “Armory Chamber style”. This style is characterized by a desire to convey volume, show the depth of space, interest in architectural and landscape backgrounds, and in the details of clothing and furnishings. By the 80s. XVII century A greenish-blue background became widespread, lighter at the top and darkening towards the line of soil, which conveyed the air environment.

The leading color in the color scheme was red in different shades and saturations. The brightness and purity of color in the icons of the royal masters was achieved through the use of expensive imported paints, primarily bakan (translucent varnish paints based on cochineal, sandalwood and mahogany). Since mid. XVII century Icon painters began to widely use as samples collections of Dutch-Flemish engravings - illustrated Bibles by Claes Janz Fischer (Piscator), Peter van der Borcht, Matthäus Merian, Peter Schut, “Notes and Reflections on the Gospel” by the Jesuit theologian Hieronymus Natalis and others. According to the Bibles van der Borcht and Piscator painted many fresco cycles in Moscow, Rostov, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, and Vologda churches. During this period, unlike the 16th century. new iconographic versions of subjects well known in the Russian tradition were borrowed (for example, “The Annunciation with a Book”, “The Resurrection of Christ” as a rising from the grave). It should be noted that such iconography appeared in Greek Orthodox art back in the 15th century. and therefore was not perceived in Rus' as contradicting Orthodox tradition. When copying, the sample engravings were subject to revision: those features of the iconography that were understood as purely Catholic (the uncovered head of the Mother of God, low-cut women's dresses) were corrected in accordance with Orthodox norms. The point of turning to foreign sources was not only to master new techniques for constructing a form. Probably, the icon painters tried to arouse increased attention of the worshipers, to force them to reflect on the image, while the old iconography, due to its familiarity, served primarily to recognize the plot.

Despite numerous borrowings from Western European art, Moscow icon painting of the 2nd half. XVII century in general, it still remains in line with traditional icon painting. The black-and-white modeling of the personal was based on the old technique of successive highlighting - melting, somewhat modified and complicated by Simon Ushakov. When modeling figures and interiors, a specific technique of gradual darkening was used, as if thickening the color at the edge of the form; this technique replaced the modeling of volume with the help of chiaroscuro, characteristic of modern painting. The concept of an illusory light source did not yet exist.

The function of gold as Divine light was preserved (the windows of the “chambers” when depicting interiors were usually made of gold or silver, even if the doorways showed a landscape). Spatial constructions included elements of both direct (linear, “Renaissance”) perspective and reverse, perceptual; therefore, the space in icons and especially in frescoes looks shallow and flattened, even if the basis is a Western European pictorial source. Color was used not naturalistically, but emotionally and expressively; it did not always correspond to the natural coloring of objects. Despite a noticeable commonality of style, the icon painters of the Armory Chamber were nevertheless divided into two directions: some gravitated towards monumentality, increased significance of images (Simon Ushakov, Georgy Zinoviev, Tikhon Filatyev), others continued the “Stroganov” tradition with its miniature, emphatically aestheticized writing, with love for many details (Nikita Pavlovets, Sergei Rozhkov, Semyon Spiridonov Kholmogorets).

Changes in the pictorial system of icon painting in the 17th century. connected, obviously, with the beginning of the collapse of the medieval tribal foundations of the society. The emerging priority of the individual principle led to the fact that they began to look for individual traits in the Son of God, the Mother of God and the saints. This prompted a desire to make the faces in the icons as “life-like” as possible. An important component of religious feeling was also empathy for the suffering of the saints, the Torment of the Savior on the Cross, which led to the widespread distribution of passionate icons (even to the appearance of additional rows of the Passion of Christ and the apostolic sufferings in the iconostasis). The new requirements for church painting were substantiated by the royal icon painter Joseph Vladimirov in a letter to Simon Ushakov.

Similar features appeared in book illustrations of the 17th century. As before, the same masters worked on both icons and miniatures or engravings: icon painters Fyodor Zubov (see Zubov), Ivan Maksimov, Sergei Rozhkov and others illustrated the Explanatory Gospel (1678, GMMC, 10185), and Simon Ushakov made drawings for engravings for the poetic Psalter and for the Tale of Barlaam and Joasaph. In the last Thursday XVII century Several luxuriously illuminated manuscripts were created in the Armory, including the Siya Gospel of 1693 (BAN. No. 8339), containing approx. 4 thousand miniatures. The refusal to visually preserve the plane of the sheet and access to an illusory space, constructed (albeit inconsistently) according to the laws of linear perspective, noticeably changed the appearance of the book. In the illustrations of the month-word of the Gospel, which precede the readings by month, a Western European (Dutch-Flemish) source is used, but the elegance of color and the emphasized decorativeness of the details leaves this manuscript entirely in line with late medieval Russian art. The ornamentation of rich custom-made manuscripts was enriched at this time with baroque plant motifs, for example. naturalistically executed cut flowers of carnation, tulip, rose, cornflower. The front manuscripts that were in circulation among the townspeople (mainly synodics and Apocalypses) looked much more modest in design; they used outline drawings with light coloring; stylistic innovations were very minor or absent altogether (miniaturists often copied old samples).

In the 2nd half. XVII century The need for icons increased sharply. The development of the country's economy made it possible not only to build churches on a massive scale in cities and estates, but also gave peasants the opportunity to purchase images in exchange for the products of their farms. Under these conditions, icon painting in Suzdal villages - Kholui, Palekh, Shuya, and later in Mstera - took on the character of a folk craft. Judging by the surviving later “common” icons, these images had the properties of folk art: the compositions were cleared as much as possible from details and details, reduced almost to a pictographic scheme, the figures turned into flat silhouettes, the folds of clothes into a meager decorative pattern, the palette was limited to a few colors with a predominance of red-brown and dirty orange (ocher with the addition of cinnabar, replacing the expensive cormorant). From a technical point of view, Suzdal icons were a significantly simplified version of icon painting, but they undoubtedly had their own artistic merits and special expressiveness.

According to Joseph Vladimirov, in the 17th century. Icons of this kind were found not only in private homes, but also in churches. They were sharply criticized by the royal icon painter, who condemned the “unskilfully painted” images primarily from a professional point of view. The wide dissemination of folk icon painting caused concern among church and secular authorities, who tried to correct the situation with prohibitive measures.

Charter of 1668, signed by Patriarchs Paisius of Alexandria, Macarius of Antioch and Joasaph of Moscow, with reference to St. Gregory the Theologian decreed that icon painters be divided into six ranks - from “graceful” banner painters to students - and allowed only “certified”, i.e., qualified, icon painters to engage in icon painting. The decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1669, which forbade the residents of Kholui to engage in icon painting, spoke of the need to know “size in faces and compositions” (Zabelin I. E. Materials for the history of Russian icon painting // VOIDR. 1850. Book 7. P. 85). On this basis, we can conclude that the features of faces and the proportions of figures in folk icons were subject to distortion, typical of non-professional artists (in the 70s of the 18th century, Vologda Archbishop Markell reported about icons where saints were depicted with wide faces, narrow eyes and short fingers). However, the main drawback of folk icons was the church authorities in the 17th–19th centuries. They saw, in all likelihood, not so much in lack of skill as in the “lack of zeal” of the letter, manifested primarily in the Old Believer (two-fingered) sign of the cross and the bishop’s blessing and in the spelling of the name “Jesus” with one letter “and”.