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RUSSIAN (NOVGOROD), SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY
Details
A MONUMENTAL ICON OF THE APOCALYPSE
RUSSIAN (NOVGOROD), SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY
The focal circle depicting Christ Pantokrator enthroned in a Deisis, two narrow white lines trailing from his mouth representing the Word of God, below a pair of angels attending the Holy Sepulchre containing the Instruments of the Passion; the sun and the moon to the upper sides of the circle, beneath the Anastasis and St. John the Theologian pointing to the vision, the twelve apostles in thrones on either side, above them angles, saints and bishops; the upper circle enclosing the Holy Trinity surrounded by vari-coloured concentric rings mirroring the Universe with symbols for the planets, the Apocalyptic personifications of the four Evangelists at the corners, flanked by holy figures feasting at the Banquet of Heaven, seated at long tables decorated with the meander; the circle in the lower left corner intersected by a cross with an Apocalyptic beast on each of its branches, the female figure in the intersection representing Earth, the personifications of the four seasons in the corners of the cross-sections, the River of Paradise running through the image; in the opposite corner the Devil reclining in the mouth of the flaming monster of hell, holding the figure of the young Antichrist, with a skeleton next to him, a snake winding upwards from within the beast, the three scenes at the bottom depicting Purgatory, above Old Testament scenes; the ladder extending from hell inspired by the instructive book of the Ladder of Divine Ascent composed by the sixth century St. John of Sinai, monks climbing the steps to salvation, the hand of God appearing with the scales of judgment, receiving those who succeeded in reaching the thirtieth step; the composition painted with saturated colours predominately green and red, the border inscribed with the text of John's Revelation: to the left border a secular figure extending a scroll, the date 167(?) mentioned in the partly preserved inscription
56 x 51½ in. (142.2 x 130.8 cm)
RUSSIAN (NOVGOROD), SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY
The focal circle depicting Christ Pantokrator enthroned in a Deisis, two narrow white lines trailing from his mouth representing the Word of God, below a pair of angels attending the Holy Sepulchre containing the Instruments of the Passion; the sun and the moon to the upper sides of the circle, beneath the Anastasis and St. John the Theologian pointing to the vision, the twelve apostles in thrones on either side, above them angles, saints and bishops; the upper circle enclosing the Holy Trinity surrounded by vari-coloured concentric rings mirroring the Universe with symbols for the planets, the Apocalyptic personifications of the four Evangelists at the corners, flanked by holy figures feasting at the Banquet of Heaven, seated at long tables decorated with the meander; the circle in the lower left corner intersected by a cross with an Apocalyptic beast on each of its branches, the female figure in the intersection representing Earth, the personifications of the four seasons in the corners of the cross-sections, the River of Paradise running through the image; in the opposite corner the Devil reclining in the mouth of the flaming monster of hell, holding the figure of the young Antichrist, with a skeleton next to him, a snake winding upwards from within the beast, the three scenes at the bottom depicting Purgatory, above Old Testament scenes; the ladder extending from hell inspired by the instructive book of the Ladder of Divine Ascent composed by the sixth century St. John of Sinai, monks climbing the steps to salvation, the hand of God appearing with the scales of judgment, receiving those who succeeded in reaching the thirtieth step; the composition painted with saturated colours predominately green and red, the border inscribed with the text of John's Revelation: to the left border a secular figure extending a scroll, the date 167(?) mentioned in the partly preserved inscription
56 x 51½ in. (142.2 x 130.8 cm)
Literature
Catalogue of the exhibition D'un Autre Monde. Icônes Inconnues et Art Byzantin, Koninklijk Museum, (Antwerp, 1997), no.137
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium
Sale room notice
Please note that the dimensions for this lot are incorrect in the printed catalogue. The correction dimensions for this lot are 56 x 51½ in. (142.2 x 130.8 cm).