Lot number 1692 - Auction 161
SEHR SELTENE UND GROSSFORMATIGE VITA-IKONE MIT DEM PROPHETEN ELIAS, SEINEM LEBEN UND SEINER FEURIGEN HIMMELFAHRT

A VERY RARE AND LARGE VITA ICON SHOWING THE PROPHET ELIJAH, SCENES FROM HIS LIFE AND HIS FIERY ASCENT TO HEAVEN Russian, 16th century Tempera on wood panel with kovcheg. The haloes gilded. At the centre, the Prophet Elijah is seated in a cave in the wilderness, where he is fed by a raven. The central image is surrounded by ten scenes from his life, beginning with the birth of Elijah, where angels swaddle him and nourish him with divine fire, and culminating in his fiery ascent to heaven within a flaming red mandorla. Painted in a contrasting red and green palette. The background and border have been stripped down to the levkas. Partially restored. 46.5 x 35.9 cm.