Lot number 2451 - Auction 156
SEHR FEINE PATRONATSIKONE MIT SIEBEN FAMILIEN-HEILIGEN: ALEXANDER NEWSKI, KSENIA, JOHANNES, PETER VOM ATHOS, PARASKEWA, ANASTASIA UND EUDOKIA

A VERY FINE ICON DEPICTING SEVEN FAMILY SAINTS: ALEXANDER NEVSKY, XENIA, JOHN, PETER OF ATHOS, PARASKEVA, ANASTASIA AND EUDOKIA Russian, St. Petersburg, early 20th century Oil on wood panel with kovcheg. Gilded border, ornamentally punched and engraved in the manner of contemporary cloisonné enamel oklads. MInor areas of retouching. 30.9 x 26.6 cm. Around 1900, St Petersburg witnessed a rediscovery of the icon as both an artistic and national cultural heritage. Moving away from the academic style, which depicted saints according to classical ideals, artists sought a new visual language inspired by Old Russian and Byzantine models. Important impulses came from Mikhail Nesterov and Viktor Vasnetsov, who combined spiritual depth with the aesthetics of Art Nouveau. The present icon is a characteristic example of this development. The eyes of the saints are rendered in an unusually individual and almost physiological manner-no longer purely symbolic, but imbued with striking human expressiveness. This rare, almost portrait-like psychological depth transcends traditional canonical boundaries and makes the work a remarkable rarity.