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RUSSIAN ICONS SPRING ART BOOKS RUSSIAN ICONS by Tamara Talbot Rice SPRING BOOKS • LONDON I must express my sincere thanks to Mr George R. Hann and to Mr S. G. Gasilov for providing the bulk of the illustrations for this book. But for their help the necessary colour plates could not have been obtained, and it would have proved impossible of Russian medieval painting assembled in Academy 47. The to acquaint this volume. Western I am of Fine Arts for the use of their photographs for Plates Virgin of Vladimir (Plate 1) is art-lovers with the fine 2— 6, 9 — 2nd impression (revised) 1964 7^ Published by SPRING BOOKS (g) Paul • Fulham Broadway • London Hamlyn Limited 1963 Printed in Czechoslovakia by Svoboda, Prague T 1446 USSR 15, 24, 25, 40, reproduced by courtesy of the Tretyakov Gallery. First published 1963 Westbook House examples especially grateful to the and Contents Page Introduction The Technique of Icon Painting 22 An 23 23 24 A 26 Notes on the Plates The 7 41-88 Plates 2 The The 3 St 4 Deesis St Boris and St Gleb The archangel Gabriel The apostles Peter and Paul with the Christ Emmanuel St Nicholas the Miracle Worker with saints The Nativity, ascribed to 1 5 6 7 8 9 Virgin of Vladimir archangel Gabriel George The Virgin 25 of Vladimir, The Annunciation, by Andrei Rublev 12 13 14 15 The central angel from the Old Testament Trinity St John, largely the work of Andrei Rublev An angel from an Old Testament Trinity A central section of a bio- graphical icon of the arch- angel Michael 26 27 28 St George and the dragon St Demetrius A icon of St biographical Basil 29 30 and St Nicholas Macarius of Alexandria and St Macarius of Egypt 31 The 32 33 St Joseph biographical icon 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 St Basil St Transfiguration St Nicholas the Wonder Deesis cycle Ascension Dormition Annunciation Ascension Small iconostasis The Old Testament 42 The Annunciation The Three Marys sepulchre The Raising of Lazarus of St George 43 St Paraskevi 17 Christ enthroned 18 20 The Virgin of Tenderness The Virgin of Vladimir The Holy Wisdom 44 45 46 21 Quadripartite icon illustrating scenes from the Passion The The The The The Trinity 41 16 19 The Worker attributed to Andrei Rublev 1 icon of St biographical Nicholas Andrei Rublev 10 incident from the martyrdom of St George Four saints The at Virgin and Child St Leontius Triptych showing the Virgin Child with scriptural and scenes 47 48 the The Vision of Eulogius The Gethsemane Introduction The element variations past. of precision inhe