Russian icons-pendants of the XI-XVI centuries. with the image of the Mother of God

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Group II. Russian icons-pendants of the XI-XVI centuries. with the image of the Mother of God (Tables IV-VI)

Among the works of icon painting and Christian metal-plastics of Ancient Russia that have come down to us, some of the most common are works with the image of the Mother of God. The first icons with the image of the Mother of God, according to legend, were created by the holy apostle and evangelist Luke.

On them, the Mother of God is depicted with the Christ Child in her arms, dressed in a tunic and maforium (veil). The figure of the Mother of God is often depicted bust or waist-deep, sometimes she is shown standing, sometimes - sitting on the throne. Greek monograms are usually placed on the sides of the image. "ΜΡ - ΘΥ" (Mother of God).

In the years following the Baptism of Rus at the end of the 10th century, the icons-pendants with the image of the Mother of God, like the icons with the image of Christ, apparently copied the Byzantine samples. In the XII century. pendant icons appeared, reproducing in a reduced form the actual Russian shrines. Certain iconographic types of the Mother of God images become, as it were, assigned to certain centers, most often in the capital. In particular, on the monuments of the pre-Mongol period, rectangular pendant icons with the image of the Mother of God of Tenderness of the Korsun or Petrovskaya type are often found (Table V, 68–74). At various times they were found in Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma and Yaroslavl regions, in burial mounds near Moscow, on the White Lake, in Zhitomir and Lvov regions of Ukraine and in other places. They all come from two different casting molds or are replicas of products that emerged from these molds. M. V. Sedova considers these icons to be the works of foundry workers of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus (Sedova MV, 1974, pp. 192–194), although there are finds of similar icons throughout the historical territory of Kievan Rus.

The images of the Mother of God on the pendant icons that make up group II belong to the following main iconographic subgroups (Fig. 2): II. A. With a full-length image of the Mother of God Oranta Vlahernitissa; II. B. With a bust image of Our Lady of Oranta; II. B. With the image of Our Lady of the Sign; II. G. With the image of Our Lady of Hodegetria; II. D. With the image of the Mother of God Tenderness; II. E. With the image of Our Lady of Agiosoritissa; II. J. With the image of the Mother of God on the Throne.

Subgroup II. A. Life-size icons of Our Lady of Oranta Vlahernitisa

One of the most ancient iconographic types of the Mother of God is the Mother of God Oranta (from Latin orans - praying). The Mother of God Oranta is depicted without the Child, in full growth, with her hands raised in prayer. There are other names for this iconographic type: Our Lady of Blachernitissa - according to the image on the altar wall of the Blachernae temple in Constantinople; Mother of God Unbreakable Wall - according to legend, the famous Blakherna Church was once destroyed, but one of its walls with a full-length image of the Mother of God of Oranta survived. One of the first Russian images of the Mother of God Oranta Vlakhernitissa is found on the mosaics of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev (Fig. 5, 1), dating back to the 40s of the 11th century. (Lazarev V. N., 1973).

The Catalog contains five copies of the appendix icons belonging to this subgroup (Table IV, 37–41). All of them have a rectangular shape (type 3), found in the historical territory of Kievan Rus and date back to pre-Mongol times. According to Yu. E. Zharnov (2000, p.191), the prototypes of their composition were the images of the Mother of God on the assembly seals of the Russian church hierarchs of the late 12th - first third of the 13th century, although it is quite possible to directly borrow the plot directly from monuments of monumental or tempera painting.

Subgroup II. B. Icons with a bust image of Our Lady of Oranta

In medieval plastic arts, chest images of the Mother of God of Oranta are also known from the chest (Fig. 5, 2). The Catalog contains three copies of the appendix icons belonging to this subgroup (Table IV, 42–44). All of them have a round shape and date back to the 12th - first half of the 13th century.

Subgroup II. B. Icons depicting Our Lady of the Sign

The iconographic type of Our Lady of the Sign is a bust or waist version of Our Lady of the Great Panagia (a variation of the icon of Our Lady of Oranta Vlakhernitissa), characterized by the presence on the breast of the Virgin of the image of the blessing Christ Child in a round medallion (Fig. 5, 3). In the XI-XII centuries. This iconographic type was widespread in both Byzantine and Old Russian art, but its very name is of Russian origin and, possibly, is associated with the text of the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah: (Isaiah 7:14).

Of the tempera icons with this iconography in Russia, the portable icon of the first half of the 12th century is especially famous. “Our Lady of the Sign of Novgorod” (celebrated on November 27 / December 10), which in 1169/1170 provided miraculous assistance to the Novgorodians during the siege of the city by Suzdal troops. Another explanation of the name of this iconographic type is connected with the miraculous sign given by the icon to Novgorodians during the siege. In any case, it is the Novgorod icon and its repetitions that are referred to as the “Sign of the Most Pure” in Novgorod sources starting from the 15th century.

The icons-pendants of this subgroup, presented in the Catalog (Table IV, 45–56), contain the bust and half-length images of the Mother of God with prayerfully raised hands and the image of the Infant Christ on her chest. The icons are round, oval and rectangular in shape and belong to the period from the XII-XIII centuries. until the first half of the 15th century. The overwhelming majority of the published icons were found in the historical territory of Kievan Rus.

Subgroup II. D. Icons depicting Our Lady of Hodegetria

The Mother of God Hodegetria (Greek. Pointing the Way, Guide) is one of the most common types of images of the Mother of God with the Child. The Divine Infant sits on the hand of the Mother of God, with the other hand the Mother of God points to the Son, thereby directing the attention of those who are standing and praying. The Divine Infant blesses with his right hand, and holds a scroll in his left hand (less often a book). The Mother of God, as a rule, is presented in a half-length image, but abbreviated shoulder options or full-length images are also known.

According to legend, the very first icon of Our Lady of Hodegetria (Blachernae Icon), painted by the Evangelist Luke, was brought to Byzantium from the Holy Land around the middle of the 5th century. and placed in the Blachernae temple in Constantinople (according to other sources - in the temple of the Odigon monastery, from which, according to one version, the name comes from). The icon became the guardian of Constantinople.

One of the most famous Russian versions of Hodegetria is the Mother of God Hodegetria of Smolenskaya (celebrated on July 28 / August 10). According to legend, the oldest icon of Hodegetria was brought to Russia from Byzantium in the 11th century. and already in the XII century. was in the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Smolensk. The Infant Christ is depicted on it sitting on the left hand of the Mother of God, facing the worshipers and looks more like an adult ruler, a ruler than a small child (Fig. 5, 4). This impression is enhanced by a high forehead and a regal gesture with which Christ blesses the one standing in front of the icon. In his left hand, the Divine Infant holds a scroll of Holy Scripture.

After the annexation of Smolensk to the Moscow state in the first quarter of the 16th century. icons of the Smolensk Hodigitria type become widespread under the name "Our Lady of Smolensk". This name carries over to more ancient images. The type of Hodegetria also includes such widely revered icons of the Mother of God as Tikhvin, Kazan, Georgian, Iverskaya, Pimenovskaya, Czestochowa, etc.

The pendant icons of this subgroup, presented in the Catalog (Table V, 57–63), have round and rectangular shapes, refer to pre-Mongol times and are found mainly in the historical territory of Kievan Rus.

Subgroups II. D1, II. D3. Icons depicting the Mother of God Tenderness

A variant of the iconography of the Mother of God with the Child, called Eleusa (Merciful, Tenderness), originated in Byzantine art of the 10th – 12th centuries. The iconographic scheme includes two figures - the Mother of God and the Infant Christ, clinging to each other with their faces. The Mother's head is inclined towards the Son, who hugs the Mother with his hand around the neck.

In Russia, one of the most famous and revered icons with iconography of Tenderness is the Byzantine icon, at the beginning of the 12th century. sent to Kiev by the Patriarch of Constantinople and in 1155 transferred by Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky to the Assumption Cathedral of the city of Vladimir (Fig. 5, 5). The icon is known under the name of Our Lady of Vladimir (celebration on May 21 / June 3; June 23 / July 6; August 26 / September 8). In 1395 the icon ended up in Moscow, where for several centuries it was in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (now in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery). Lists of the Vladimir Icon were widely distributed in Russia and served as the basis for other versions (Mother of God of Belozerskaya, Mother of God Fedorovskaya, etc.).

The pendant icons of this subgroup, presented in the Catalog (Table V, 64–74; VI, 75–78), are round), rectangular and iconic, refer to the XII – XIII centuries. and were found in the historical territories of both Kiev and Vladimir-Suzdal Rus.

Subgroup II. E. Icons depicting Our Lady of Agiosoritissa

The iconographic type of the Mother of God Agiosoritissa (Intercessor) comes from the icon of the 6th-7th centuries, which was located in the chapel of the Chalcoprate temple in Constantinople, where the belt of the Mother of God was also kept. The Mother of God is depicted full-length, turning to the right (less often to the left), in a prayer position, with her hands raised in front of her chest (Fig. 5, 6), as in the image of the Mother of God in the Deesis composition. Known iconographic version, where the Mother of God is presented with an unfolded scroll with the text of the prayer. To him, in particular, belongs the ancient Russian icon of the Mother of God of Bogolyubskaya (XII century). On pectoral crosses, the image of Agiosoritissa is most often full-length, on other works of small plasticity, half-length images of the Mother of God Agiosoritissa are usually found. The only icon-pendant of this subgroup, presented in the Catalog (Table VI, 79) and found in the Bryansk region, has a round shape and dates from the second half of the XII - the first decades of the XIII century.

Subgroup II. G. Icons depicting the Mother of God on the Throne

Images of the Mother of God seated on the Throne (throne) and holding the Infant God on her knees are among the icons of the Theotokos, whose iconographic schemes are based on the principle of illustrating one or another epithet with which the Mother of God is called in akathist and other hymnographic works. The main meaning of the iconographic type is the glorification of the Mother of God as the Queen of Heaven, since the Throne symbolizes the Royal Glory. It was in this form that this image arose in Byzantine iconography and spread to Russia (Fig. 5, 7).

The icons of this subgroup, presented in the Catalog (Table VI, 80–82), were found in the Ryazan and Kursk regions of Russia and the Volyn region of Ukraine, have rectangular and iconic shapes and date from the 12th - first half of the 13th century.

More recently, pendant amulets in the form of a figurine of the Mother of God on the Throne have also become known (Fig. 15, 1, 2). Their finds are rare, and all of them were made in the historical territory of Kievan Rus. They are not included in this edition.

From the editor.

Images of the Mother of God on Russian pendant icons of the 11th – 16th centuries. have many common features of iconography with the images of the Mother of God on Russian pectoral crosses of the same period, which can be found in the previous materials of this series:

- Russian icons-pendants of the XI-XVI centuries.with the image of Christ - Glass icons-litics on the territory of the USSR and Russia - Rare pectoral crosses of the 15th - 16th centuries. with the image of Jesus Christ and selected saints - Neck-shaped keeled crosses of the 15th - 16th centuries with the image of the Mother of God, Jesus Christ and selected saints - Old Russian neck crosses of the 11th-13th centuries