Calendar 2012 The Russian Icon

Calendar 2012 The Russian Icon
by Bronze Horseman

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Review & Description

The use and making of icons entered Kievan Rus' following its conversion to Orthodox Christianity in 988 AD. As a general rule, these icons strictly followed models and formulas hallowed by Byzantine art, led from the capital in Constantinople. As time passed, the Russians widened the vocabulary of types and styles far beyond anything found elsewhere in the Orthodox world. The personal, innovative and creative traditions of Western European religious art were largely lacking in Russia before the 17th century, when Russian icon painting became strongly influenced by religious paintings and engravings from both Protestant and Catholic Europe. In the mid-17th century changes in liturgy and practice instituted by Patriarch Nikon resulted in a split in the Russian Orthodox Church. The traditionalists, the persecuted "Old Ritualists" or "Old Believers", continued the traditional stylization of icons, while the State Church modified its practice. From that time icons began to be painted not only in the traditional stylized and non-realistic mode, but also in a mixture of Russian stylization and Western European realism, and in a Western European manner very much like that of Catholic religious art of the time. These types of icons, while found the Russian Orthodox churches, are also sometimes found in various sui juris rites of the Catholic Church. Russian icons are typically paintings on wood, often small, though some in churches and monasteries may be much larger. Many religious homes in Russia have icons hanging on the wall in the krasny ugol, the "red" or "beautiful" corner. There is a rich history and elaborate religious symbolism associated with icons. In Russian churches, the nave is typically separated from the sanctuary by an iconostasis (Russian ikonostas), or icon-screen, a wall of icons with double doors in the centre. Icons considered miraculous were said to "appear."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2974 in Office Product
• Brand: Bronze Horseman

Features

• Size 300x300mm (11.5x11.5 inch)
• 12 pages
• Made in Russia