RUSSIAN ICONS

While the latter preserved many aspects of the Orthodox Church ritual as practiced since the Middle Ages, they were persecuted and exiled to the most remote parts of Russia. At the end of the century, the small decorative borders of gold or silver that surrounded icons took on a greater importance, and what are known as oklads (panels of gold or silver) began to appear on icons more frequently. By the early 1800s this practice was commonplace.

Icon painting was reformed under the reign of Peter I (the Great) who was a devotee of European civilization and the arts. It was his goal that icons, which had their roots in Byzantium, should follow the evolution of painting in Europe where artists had mastered perspective and could render the human form realistically. In the same period a secular artist became head of icon production at the Armory Workshops (which had jurisdiction over icon painters), and a law of 1710 required artists to sign their works. Furthermore, all icons were to be stripped of their applied trappings--jewels and gold elements that commonly were added to the figures. Today, late icons, which have generally been considered inferior to those created during the golden age, are being reevaluated by art historians, as is evident in an exhibition entitled Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs. The show is on view at Hillwood Museum and Gardens in Washington, D. C., from June 1 to December 31.

In the nineteenth century the academic style held sway, and not only were numerous icons produced, but older examples were entirely repainted and oklads became even more ornate. Frequently oklads covered all but the face, hands, and feet of the holy figure depicted in either an old or a new icon, and they were symbols of the status of the patron or owner of the work. In the early twentieth century, during the reign of the last Romanovs, Nicholas II and Alexandra, there was a resurgence in the production of icons. With the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the promotion of atheism, the trappings of the church were destroyed or confiscated and icons vanished in enormous numbers. While some were sold for the value of their silver or gold, others were sold as firewood. At the same time a group of supporters were dedicated to saving as many icons as they could. The Soviet State Central Restoration Workshops, whose purpose was to restore these works of art, was established in Moscow.

In an effort to raise funds to aid the Soviet government in the late 1920s and early 1930s, icons (particularly those made during the late period) were sold to Western tourists and other visitors. In the early 1930s Armand Hammer organized a selling exhibition of all kinds of Russian fine and decorative arts, which toured American department stores in thirty-three cities. Foreign diplomats serving in Russia enjoyed even greater access and began to acquire these works of art. Three of the most active collectors were Marjorie Merriweather Post, Madame Augusto Rosso, and Laurence A. Steinhardt. Post was married to Joseph E. Davies who served in Moscow as the United States ambassador to the Soviet Union in the late 1930s. Rosso, the American-born wife of the Italian ambassador to the Soviet Union, befriended Post and bequeathed her collection of thirty-one icons to Hillwood, Post's Washington, D. C., residence that is now a house museum. Steinhardt succeeded Davies as ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1939. A portion of his large icon collection is on long-term loan to Hillwood. The exhibition includes works from all three of these important groups of later icons.

The catalogue of the exhibition is written by Wendy R. Salmond and may be obtained from the Hillwood Museum and Gardens by telephoning 202-686-8510.

COPYRIGHT Brant Publications, Inc. COPYRIGHT Gale Group

Every Russian icon picture is around A4 size and the pictures are of top quality.

Most of the Russian icons shown here are  from the 14 th to 17th century hidden in monastery cellars and rarely ever seen by anyone, for only US$ 24,- you can have this unique e-book in excellent quality.

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Jedes Ikonenbild ist etwa A4 und in sehr guter Qualität.

Die meisten hier gezeigten Ikonen sind aus dem 14 -17 Jahrhundert. Nur ein paar Mönche haben sie jemals zu sehen bekommen. Diese Kostbarkeiten lagern in den tiefen Gewölben einiger berhmter Klöster Russlands und wurden eher durch Zufall in den Wirren der 90 iger Jahren fotografiert.

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