Russian school, workshops of the Old Believers,... Lot 22

Russian school, workshops of the Old Believers, 18th century. "Resurrection of Christ, Christ's Descent into Hell, and His Life in 28 hagiographic scenes". Tempera on panel. Measurements: 53 x 42,5 cm. Descent of Christ to hell is one of the most important representations in Christian iconography. This passage has been known in Ancient Rus since the 11th century, although it became most popular in the second half of the 14th century. Iconography of this New Testament passage finally developed in the 17th century in Moscow workshops. In this period, the icon reached its maximum complexity, combining the New and Old Testament passages, and at the same time composing the scenes of the Resurrection and Christ's descent into hell into one. The icon of interest attracts the viewer's attention with its complex structure, concentrating maximum attention on the central register, where, through a complex and dynamic composition, the resurrection and the descent into hell are narrated simultaneously. In both cases the figure of Christ in a golden mandorla is surrounded by various saints, apostles and Old Testament characters, such as Adam, who is recognised as a bearded man holding Christ's hand. In this section, the allegory of hell, represented as an eye and polychrome in reddish tones, is particularly striking. The central register is surrounded by two rows of hagiographic scenes, which relate Marian passages, the life of Christ, and his passions. Each of these twenty-eight scenes is striking for its pictorial quality, great detail, and architectural richness. Among this horror vacui, a number of details stand out, which help to classify this icon as belonging to the workshops of the Old Believers. For example, the abundance of various inscriptions on the frames of the scenes-miniatures, and the typology of the eight-pointed cross with a skull on the feet of Jesus Christ, or the blessing with two fingers, are the most obvious signs. The Old Believers were a group of the Orthodox who, after Nikon's church reforms of 1654, decided to follow their opponent Avvakum, defending the traditional foundations of the Orthodox Church. Fleeing persecution, they settled in the villages of Pomorie, near the Urals and in Siberia, although by the 18th century they began to settle in the northern areas near Moscow. The Old Believers' Faith was legalised as early as 1905, which sparked an interest in the Russian Empire in the discovery of the national religious heritage, as well as the development of collecting ancient icons, which had never been experienced before.