“Pictures of ancient icons... "

Russian Icon" No 1, SPB 1914, Bibliography

Pictures of ancient icons and old-fashioned temples of the Rogozhsk cemetery in Moscow. M.1913.

Rogozhskoe cemetery, founded in 1771, being the religious center of the Old Believers, is at the same time a very significant treasury of ancient Russian art. Built in the reign of Empress Catherine P churches In the name of St. Nicholas, the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God and the Nativity of Christ became natural centers where accumulated  (Through a series of donations by famous Old Believers, for example.) Rakhmanov, K.T. Soldatenkova, F.E. Morozova, I.A. Pugovkina, I.L. Silina, etc.)  a precious collection of icons outstanding in their artistic and historical significance.

This edition reproduces the most valuable monuments of antiquity stored in the temples of the Rogozhsky cemetery. Unfortunately, reproductions  (71 large-format sheets) are far from perfect. First of all, the choice of paper is unsuccessful; the combination of plaster whiteness with an equally dead tone of impressions is far from even a hint of the icon’s colors. Some icons are reproduced from photographs of unquestionably unsuccessful, which gave the impressions cloudy and blurred, for example, sheets 28, 35, 48 and some others. “Old Years” (July – September 1913) managed to reproduce the icons – we will point out, though, that they were not.  “The Most Holy Trinity” (Sobr. S. P. Ryabushinsky in Moscow), almost identical with the one reproduced in the edition under consideration on sheet 39.  “Lord of Sabaoth” is smaller, but at the same time more distinct and more artistic.

Insufficient thoroughness is, of course, a big disadvantage of the publication, for the first modern need is in the publication, in the pictures of the most accurate and perfect, outstanding icons. In this case, the special care of reproductions is also important because all the value of the publication rests solely on them.Five pages of text explaining the pictures, in most cases, are limited to repeating the name of the icon, pointing to the century, a brief note about the location of the icon in the temples and the degree of its preservation. I would like, of course, the accompanying article to be more detailed, especially in the direction of the pedigree of icons, i.e.When, from whom, and from where it was obtained, such information can sometimes help to determine more accurately the year of the painting of the icon, and finally, in the notes we examine, the arguments on which the age of the icon was determined are completely absent, and yet such practical instructions would be extremely valuable. You have to think that this kind of information does not belong to the field.  "professional secrets"  Our icon-gatherers?

The icons are published in chronological order and give an integral picture of the evolutions of icon painting (but once again we repeat how sorry it is that such an attentive choice was not accompanied by the same careful selection of images!) The meeting opens with an extremely characteristic  "Savior in Chief"   Good Greek letters HS - X1U centuries. Comparison of this icon with the one reproduced on the sheet  PP  “The Savior” – the most magnificent example of the Novgorod letter of the KhU century – best of all verbal disputes convinces us of the erroneousness of the opinion, unfortunately, a very common one, about  "unfreedom."  ours  Icon painters. Soft face glowing,  The “singing” of the lines of the whole composition is so unlike the ascetic rigidity of Greek writing! “Oligitria” of Novgorod letters of the beginning of the XU century (sheet 7), according to the author of explanatory notes, “if not the letters of Andrei Rublev himself, then his students”, which point to  "distinctive artistic drawing and soft tone of colors." Of course, such a definition is too general and subjective for us to accept the icon as the defining artistic personality of Rublev, so often praised and together still so mysterious.

We will point out further two icons of the Novgorod letter of the KhU century: “Crucifixion of the Lord” and  The simplicity and at the same time refinement of the drawing tell us about the best period of Novgorod. But that’s not what led us to celebrate these icons. They very clearly reveal the attempts of the artist to convey suffering in the face of Christ and on the faces of the Mother of God, Mary, John – sorrow and compassion.We draw the attention of some of our researchers to this fact, who want to see in our antiquity only an epic and deny in it the beginnings of psychologism and drama.

The collection contains several dated and signed icons of the HUP century. We note them as very important for modern aspirations to the definition and cognition of individual artistic personalities of ancient Russian painting. Procopia Chirin – “The Savior on the Throne” (sheet 36) and  The Queen of Heaven on the Throne (File 37). other  "Queen of Heaven"  (sheet 38) is named only in the Stroganov letter, but it is too close to the previous one to be attributed to anyone else.

“Deesus with Chin” (sheets 39, 40 and 41) is almost the same as that available in the collection of S.P. Ryabushinsky in Moscow.  and attributed, I think. Quite rightly, P.P. Muratov to Nikifor Savin. Nikifor Savin belongs to and  “The Burial of John the Theologian” (sheet 72), an icon that D.A. Rovinsky pointed to as one of the most remarkable when it had not yet been donated by K.T. Soldatenkov to the Rogozhsky Cemetery.

Then there are two shelves from the body depicting the chosen saints of letters from the first Stroganov icon painters Emelian (sheet 45). Note also dated and signed icon (1659)  "Saint Nicholas"  Nikita Pavlovets, written before Pavlovets entered the Armory, where he, having fallen under the influence of Simon Ushakov, had already written  frieze  "Let all flesh be silent" and  "Tripostal Deity", referred to the second half of the HUP century. Isn't it the late Nicephorus Savin? We conclude our analysis with the mark of two exquisite icons of the end of the KhUP century: “John the Forerunner” (sheet 62) and  St. Boris and Gleb (sheet 63). Especially lovely is the first one.  "Persian" gentle landscape of the background.