The exhibition is held within the project "Collectors.

In Radischevskaya Museum (Saratov) project « Collectors. Private collectors in Russia XVIII - XX century » the exhibition" Schepnaya icon, and copper cast plastic ».

exhibition project continues a program of activities in 2010, timed to 125 anniversary of the museum .

• Our Lady of Vladimir
  Unknown master
  Russia. The end of XIX century

in life of the Orthodox Christian icon is an integral part of religious tradition. Without it is impossible to imagine an Orthodox church and worship, house of the believer and his everyday life. A man is born or dies, goes on a long journey or starting any work - his whole life is accompanied by the sacred image - an icon.

fate iconographic tradition in the XX century was not easy: three-quarters of a century passed under the sign of the State's struggle with the Church and its culture. But at this time the icon has been opened as a work of art. Currently, the object of study became the iconic tradition, the environment of "images" of their artistic features. One of the interesting phenomena in the late iconography for the researcher are schepnye icons.

Schepnaya icon is very modest, but immediately, at first sight is attracting attention. It has a distinctive and humane in mood and excellent, sometimes just for the ease of a virtuoso master of the brush brushwork. It embodies simplicity heartfelt belief, naive kindness and trepidation experiences of its creator. For the foundation of the schepnyh "icons took on a thin board. Often, it is a piece of bast, why there is another name for such icons - bast. In this case the shape of a curved icons (volume of a tree trunk), the foundation was treated only with the front side. On a light soil fulfilled mostly just a personal letter.

There is an assumption that these icons were painted by pupils, apprentices, working in icon-painting workshops. Harness the art of writing icons was easier on the random wood chips, as an icon board was preparing a long and carefully and was very dear.

In such icons of the customer was quite enough "to know saint. Perhaps, therefore, iconography schepnoy icons simplified. Icons, for centuries, developing within the canon, has developed a specific set of patterns, techniques, forms, that is, some graphic language. And the master, not even very clever, being available to the appropriate number of forms, could dispose of them, to draw any shape. In addition to simplifying the iconography, simplified and drawing figures. But in this case the canonical scheme adopted for the foundation remains, that allows you to see the saint. Sometimes the image resembles a painted outline drawing. Artist of the column of dark ink, black or brown, running his picture, then cover the desired colors, then the relief loop once again cast his image Slight sankirnye shadows superimposed on the exposed parts of the body, give them certain amounts. Inventory folds clothes carried a lighter color. Detailed work clothes there. Backgrounds are often streaked, striped - for example, manure olive, and above it a broad band of light ocher, above silver or gold-drying oil.

Schepnye icons wrote as podokladnitsy and as fully prescribed subjects. Podokladnitsy closed foil salary and invested in Kyoto, but as existed prescribed completely icons, is still unknown. Is likely that they, too, invested in Kyoto, as evidenced by their good safety.

Often salary was attached to an icon numerous nails, besides directly on the board glued paper or deposited thick glue on perimeter of the field and secured tightly to the salary of an icon. Then the icon was inserted in Kyoto and the gaps between the foil and the walls of the shrine plastered with gypsum (alabaster) putty. Sami ikon often too were "blind", without doors. Glass inserted into the slots on the front side and solidified a thin plaque on a nail, or simply to hammer nails or by being the same cement. For the icons, thus, create a specific microclimate, which allowed painting preserved in its original form for a long time. That is what has allowed icon to survive until the present day.

most often on schepnoy icon depicting the Saviour, Nicole and The Virgin and Child - these stories constitute an absolute majority. But in general, as the collection, the chips have written any stories without limitation: the Resurrection. Descent into Hell. Burning Bush, a four, Devyatichastnaya, Trinity and others.

Icon on wood chips in the XIX century diverged from Russia in large quantities. It is known that a family Bogomaza could do a week to six of these icons. To speed up the sale of its trying to produce as cheaply as possible. Bold Ofen with commonplace supplies reach the most inaccessible monasteries of Old Believers in Siberia and to the most remote camps were newly baptized "aliens". So far, in many remote parts of Russia on the provincial fairs can be found schepnye icons decorated with colors of foil.

Copper hinged

«have here no abiding city, but seek the one to come" (Hebrews 13.14) - these words of the Apostle Paul define a special status as a Christian man, always in the way of the rolling of the temporary earthly homeland to the heavenly Jerusalem.

• St George and the Dragon
  Casting enamel. XIX Century

Archetype wanderings deeply rooted in the church culture. Lithium, religious processions, pilgrimages to shrines glory shall occupy a significant place in the life of the Orthodox, constantly reminding him that the Christian's life - the movement from sin to holiness, spiritual transformation, which is impossible without the patient carrying the cross. Spiritual poem about the departure of his father's house Alexis, a man of God, the Ordeal of the Blessed Virgin, of Barlaam and Joasaph were a separate genre of folk literature, express the idea of the inevitability of wandering. Way from home, the wanderer is always alone. It requires protection of higher powers. It is necessary to have a crucifix, scapular, waypoint icon, which must not be just bought or taken from the house, but received a blessing from their parents, close friends.

Russian man often notified to be a traveler. Soldier, a wanderer, a refugee, prisoner, the prisoner often pray outside the church. Of course, such a prayer is no less church services.

However, a Russian man without a church badly. So, along with travel icons, small scapular that could have been taken for a ride, starting with ancient times there are folding, which, even if they consist of only two cusps, we can assume travel iconostases.

These "icon iconostasis, made in cast copper, were particularly widespread in the environment of the Old Believers. Unable to arrange a stationary temple, Old Believers over whole centuries the liturgy in secret chapels, opening the iconostasis hiking, or just revealing the brass folding.

is noteworthy that the most common such folding received Pomerania and Other bespopovskih consent. Bespopovtsy did not need the iconostasis from the functional point of view, because without priests and without making the Eucharist, do without the altars. But the feeling of togetherness, which gave the brass-hinged iconostasis, was for them a necessary condition of prayer.

first folding-icon-steel folding composition depicting the main part of the iconostasis, the local icons of the Savior and the Mother of God that in the stationary iconostasis placed on either side of the King's Gate. Northern origin of this folding is obvious: the Blessed Virgin was brought to the ancient shrine of Novgorod - an icon of the Sign, the image of the Savior replaced Old Testament Trinity. The exhibition presents two Bivalve iconostasis, made in mednitsah Vyg Russia's largest settlement of Old Believers, bespopovtsy, founded in the late XVII century.

At Vyge was cast and another hinged presented in the exposition with the image of Feast of the Assumption, Ascension and Epiphany, featuring an unusual enamel finish speed of all three cusps.

very common in the Old Believers are folding with intermediaries Deesis below which are placed lap four images of saints: Saint Zosimus, Saint Nicholas, Bishop Leontius, Saint Savvaty.

The exhibition presents the most common tricuspid iconostasises XVII - XIX centuries. Abstracting from the details, we can say that they are divided into two types. The older - with oglaviem in the form of the Winter Palace, separated by muntins patterned jumper and doors in the form of three pairs of saints on each.

second type - with the pommel in the form of an image of the Trinity and the Old Testament of the Winter Palace above him in the frame of the two wings of cherubs, and the image of four holidays: Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem, the Presentation (left wing), Resurrection and Ascension of Christ (right valve).

Track icon for the Old Believers became imperative. Preserving the precious icons donikonovskogo time, adherents of "Ancient Piety" in need of "everyday" icons that can be transported over great distances with all economic goods and chattels, without fear that the icon in deformation and crack, and the painting will be damaged. It is in these circumstances is reborn known since pre-Mongolian times cast brass icons. XVIII century is the time of this flowering of Old Believers copper casting. This time, the enrichment of the old iconographic themes, the emergence of new multi-figured compositions, inventions Vygovsky monastery "big wing" - previously unseen three-fold, which, along with twelve major holidays represented New Testament Trinity, Crucifixion, Praise the Virgin, gaining the most revered miracle-working icons. Adorned with numerous enamel, sometimes gilded, these large cross-sections become a real travel iconostasis, which together with the prayers of pilgrims absorbed the history of great families of Old Believers, a whole consents, wandering the vast expanses of the Austro-Hungarian border to eastern Siberia.

Large cross-sections were cast is probably the biggest draw - the track would have an iconostasis, each family of Old Believers. However, to our time in full, three-part came a few of them. Godless rulers destroyed even centuries-tested way of Old Believers on the strength of family life. The family was devastated, the children went to the side, and when he died last keeper of the family of the iconostasis, hinged take apart, each of which went to the new family. And to this day many families, Saratov region, are barely aware of its roots, the Old Believers, are kept darkened, almost trite to complete indistinguishability of images, some festive leaf folding. Old Believers copper casting, as well as Old Believers' art in general, not completely inhibited the ecclesiastical art of the middle of XVII century. New artistic discoveries and affect this area. Especially strong was the influence of the Baroque, which created a new iconographic types, such as "Interview Three Saints", in which the mannered poses of the great teachers of the Church were far from the classical simplicity of the ancient samples.

theological thought artists creating new designs of copper casting, was very tense. Put into practice and became icons of travel images with a very difficult theological content. Thus, one of the most common in copper casting iconographic types is the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, called "Good Christ's silence. Theological content of the image is very deep. Of course, "Good Silence" - a truncated recension Sophia Novgorod. It - Angel, as relates to the Divine Being. She winged and clothed in the royal dalmatic, which is also a sign of correlation with God.

Belt Sofia has a star-shaped figure of a halo - an attribute of God the Father and the inscription IC. CH. Winged symbolically links the image with the act of creation of the world.

Archpriest Mikhail Vorobyov

The exhibition runs until August 10, 2010 .

Source: radmuseumart.ru

PS The project" Collectors. Private collectors in Russia XVIII - XX Century "exhibition opening:

« European Figure XVI - XIX centuries » ;

Painting, decorative art, sculpture .