The exhibition of religious paintings of Greece in the Pushkin Museum Pushkin
ARTinvestment.RU   13 июля 2010

Today, 13 July, the Department of personal collections GMII im.

Today, July 13, in the Department of personal collections GMII im. Pushkin exhibition opens "Sinaksis: a collection of religious paintings of Greece on the tree and writing: the 1450-2000 years." Unique retrospective of Christian art XV - XX centuries continued long-term cooperation GMII im. Pushkin's museums, as well as representatives of private collections in Greece. The spiritual and artistic heritage of this country particularly significant for Russia. Russia was the "spiritual daughter" of the Byzantine Empire, formed under its influence, its national culture.

word "sinaksis" (from the Greek σιναξις), issued at the exhibition's title, literally means vnebogosluzhebnoe assembly (Cathedral ) believers for spiritual self-improvement, dedicated psalm, reading the Scriptures. Historical Fine Art served as a means of spiritual perfection, embodying a clear visual images as reflections of the Fathers of the Church and laity, ordinary believers. The term "sinaksis" is also appropriate to treat as five centuries of Greek-Russian joint way in the culture and the arts.

The exhibition includes a collection of icons Emiliosa Velimezisa stored in the Benaki Museum in Athens and Public Foundation "Alexandros S. Onas; collection Tracings, drawings and other works of religious art known Greek artists from 1450 to the present day from the collections of the Christos and Emiliosa F. Alexandros Margaritis and Ger. Makris, three rare icons from the collection of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin, as well as the icon of the XV century from the collection of the Central Museum of Ancient Culture and Art Andrei Rublev "Christ Pantocrator" (the only Cretan icon from the collection of Georgios Costaki). In total, the exposition will be presented more than 130 works.

Most of icons belong to the artists Cretan iconographic school, which occupies a special place in the history of world culture. The main center of icon painting in Crete in the post-Byzantine period was Candia (modern Heraklion). The painters of Constantinople (after his fall), began to move to Crete from the end of the XIV century and formed a colony there. Extensive trade relations of the island provide artists Candia extensive range of customers: the Orthodox and Catholic monasteries and communities in the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean and in Italy, some of the family in Italy, Crete and the Peloponnese. The treaties have always pointed style of painting icons of the future: in maniera greca or in maniera latina, thus indicating, respectively, Byzantine or Western style pictures.

in the structure of the exhibition highlighted the three sections, which are located, respectively, in three halls. Each section shows the traditional images of saints, the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ.

In the first hall of the sequence of icons of saints opens "The Holy Great Martyr Demetrius. The following are icons of the Nativity of John the Baptist "and" The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, as well as two icons of the same iconographic sample, but with a difference of two centuries. They represented the holy hermit, an ascetic in the growth of the wings, he said to Christ, holding a scroll, while his head with a halo lies on a sumptuous tray and serves as a sign of his impending martyrdom. Icon of St. Paraskeva, surrounded by twelve scenes lives of its martyrdom continues the image of St. Alexander, also with scenes of his martyrdom, and St. Spyridon on the throne. Presents icons of St. Catherine, where she is portrayed as a bride in the decoration for the spiritual betrothal. Holy surrounded by books, the celestial sphere and geometric tools as evidence of learning. Next to it - the wheel, her instrument of torture, in the right hand of Catherine holds a palm branch. For the icons of St. Catherine are various variations of the image of St. Nicholas with scenes of a miracle done by him at sea. Exhibited, and many other unique works on the topic of saints.

The exhibition also presented tridtsatiikonny iconostasis. It is organized along two axes - vertical and horizontal, forming a cross. At the top of the vertical axis - the icon of St. Sophia and her three daughters - Faith, Hope, Love - an allegory of the phenomenon of Sofia in its three incarnations. On the vertical axis - on the crossbeam of the cross and under the icon of St. Sophia - "Meeting", "Baptism" and "The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, under them - three plots: the growth of Christ in the center of the scene with the image in the growth of the apostles, as if staying in the moment blessings, below - "The Last Supper", is even lower - "Pieta". The horizontal axis in two rows of icons are distributed Holy Chiriac, St. Anastasia, St. Barbara, Santa Maura, St. Eftalii, St. Marina, St. Catherine, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Euphemia, St. Irene, St. Paraskeva, St. Fanuriya, St. Nicholas, St. Dionysius Areopagite, Saint Gerasimos, Saint Panteleimon, St. John the Baptist, St. Luke, St. Demetrios, St. James, St. Emily, St. Eleftheria, St. Alexander, - all in the flesh, in the images of kings, soldiers and poor. All the icons - images of ageless boys, maids, admired, suppressed passions, living everywhere and nowhere.

The second hall is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the most sacred image of orthodoxy, the most holy of all the Saints, Preblagodatnoy Queen of the world. She and "weeping", and "Tenderness", "life-giving source", "Solntseprekrasnaya", "Marine", "healer", "Lady of Angels," "Ease My Sorrows," "Mirotochaschaya", "Voditelnitsa strangers", " Akafistnaya "," Tenderness "- with Virgin many beautiful names. Viewers will see a figurative narrative of the most important stages of the Life of the Virgin Mary: "Nativity of the Virgin in the folk style, the options" Entry into the Temple "with contemporary images of iconographic types of the Annunciation, the more traditional" Annunciation ", two versions of" Christmas "as well as six variants "Assumption of the Virgin" and other priceless works.

In the third hall display icons depicting Jesus Christ. In particular, the iconostasis: "Jesus Christ with the three apostles: Jacob, Luke and Simon." Two of the Apostle to the throne, their iconography is very different: one depicted on the throne with a crown and halo at the same time, while the other - in a western style, Black - at the time of descent of the Holy Spirit.

Viewers will see four options for the iconography of "Christ Pantocrator" and "Jesus Christ King of Kings and the Great Bishop" - all full-face. These individual images Almighty prepare the audience to accept further orthodox eloquent and great stories: "Christmas," "The Crucifixion", "Descent from the Cross," "Pieta," "The Passion of the Christ" and "Ascension with Angels. Pearl category "Lamentation" (1566) ("The Passion of Christ - Pieta with Angels"), was painted by Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco). The artist used the track, typical of Western European painting, placing it inside a carved gilt frame with poluarochnym pediment. In this work, performed on a gold background in engineering Cretan icons, even before Theotokopoulos left his native island in 1567, the first dynamically expressed the unique features of his unique style. Sophisticated palette of solid colors with a greenish-blue reflections written by the dead body of Christ, depicted with giving way under his feet - both standing and falling. The dominant figures of angels with fluttering spiritualized individuals, draped in rich garments, anticipate the work of the mature El Greco Spanish period.

fact that the icon is fraught with multiple meanings, obviously. Museum exhibit of icons creates some new conditions of communication that make the icons of the sacred objects of worship and religious worship in the visual texts, works of art having an independent value.

This exhibition in the Pushkin Museum to them. Pushkin is a significant event, making important contributions to cultural exchanges between Greece and Russia and the strengthening of ties between the two countries. At the same time she expressed objectives of the two museum institutions taking part in it and were convinced that the history, art and culture expand ways of communication and understanding.

Curators of the Pushkin Museum of . Pushkin: AA Savinov, AG Stepin.

Source: museum.ru /gmii