Russian School of Old Believers, late 17th century. "Resurrection... Lot 24

Russian School of Old Believers, late 17th century. "Resurrection of Christ, Christ's Descent into Hell, and His Life in 16 hagiographic scenes". Tempera on panel. Measurements: 43 x 36 cm. Descent of Christ to hell is one of the most important representations in the Christian iconography. This passage was 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 in a spiral, concentrating maximum attention on the central register, where, by means of 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. This scene, in turn, is surrounded by a frame of 16 hagiographic scenes, which recount different passages from the New Testament, mostly of Marian content, although there are some scenes that recount the life of Christ. Each scene is accompanied by an inscription located on the border of the icon, where the four evangelists are located in the corners of the icon. The visual characteristics of the icon help to deduce its chronological period as being the end of the 17th century. It also contains several features typical of medieval Russian iconography, which together may indicate that this icon belongs to the workshops of the Old Believers. These include the eight-pointed crosses, the two-fingered blessing, and, most importantly, the inscriptions on the border. The Old Believers were a group of 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.