18th Century Russian Icons

Danielle Drake

Introduction• Russia has always been a religious country and ikons were a

religious work of art that displayed that. • Russian began using and making ikonic artwork after its conversion

to Orthodox Christianity in 988 A.D. • In the beginning of the 18th century, Russian art began to collide with

Western art and its influences. • The church was very skeptical of Western influences on art

depicting Christ and the Saints. • Peter the Great was adamant about Western influences and

ensured that the ikons reflected Western styles. • Western influences in Russian art were not new but during the 18th

century, Western influences were seen more.• Detail and technical perfection began to be displayed. The attention

to detail and color became much more complex and bold.

Icon of the Mandylion

• This icon was created between late 17th - early 18th century and it depicts Jesus with the veil behind that depict a veil imprinted with the face of Christ which was sent by the Savior to King Agbar of the city of Edessa.

• The traditional Russian icon is a religious image painted on a prepared wooden panel, cast metal and carved relief.

• Icons could be found in churches, homes, hospitals, ships, stables, roadside shrines, and even in prisons.

Virgin of Joy• Here Mary stands in the center, holding the infant Christ with suffering

humans gathered on both sides with Angels among them.

• Icons comforted a mother giving birth, were received as gifts at marriage, accompanied armies going into battle, and were part of funeral ceremonies.

• many icons were created to appear as though they were from an earlier time period.

Quadripartite Icon

• This icon depicts the Nativity, the Dormition, the Trinity and St.Nicholas flanked by St's Feodor and Evdokia.

• The production of icons resulted in the creation of workshops manned by ordinary people with skill in painting.

• In icon shops, one could purchase ready painted icons, or one could order one special.

• Big workshops could produce hundreds of icons per day, which were then shipped to

other distribution and sales points throughout Russia.• This is why there are so many icons

around today from the earlier time periods.

Mother of God of Vladimir

• While icons were produced displaying innumerable biblical scenes and saints, icons of Mary and the Infant Christ were among the most popular.

• There are many icons depicting Mary holding the infant Christ Child, which are commemorated during the church year as chudotvornaya, that is, "miracle-working."

• Some of these, like the "Mother of God of Kazan" and the "Mother of God of Vladimir“ (shown above) are very famous, but others, like the "Melter of Evil Hearts," are less well known.

Conclusion

18th century Russian icons were very important to the Russian people. The icons provided people with hope, religious strength and in some cases, it is said that icons provided people with miricles. Icons are a large part of Russian history because of the popularity and the significance of these icons. They tell a story about a country and give us an idea of what it was like to live in 18th century Russia.