Russian school, 18th century. Birth of Christ. Tempera... Lot 43

Russian school, 18th century. Birth of Christ. Tempera on panel. Measurements: 26 x 20 cm. The iconography of the Nativity came to Russia from Byzantium. The earliest known representations include a painting in the Church of the Saviour in Nereditsa destroyed by the Nazis (1198) and a painting in the Mirozha Monastery in Pskov (1156). The iconography of the feast of the Nativity of Christ belongs to the multi-scenic type: a single icon depicts several scenes dedicated to the same event. The central figures of the icon are the Mother of God and the Christ Child lying in a cave, the place where, according to the Gospel, the Lord was born. The Divine Infant Jesus is depicted lying in the manger. He is surrounded by the animals, a donkey and an ox, which, according to legend, were present at the birth of Christ and warmed the newborn Child with their breath. The leaning Magi, who at the call of the star of Bethlehem came to worship the Messiah and to offer him their gifts - gold, frankincense and Smyrna, are also shown seated before the Lord. In the case of the icon of interest, the Magi are on the left side of the icon, next to the reclining Virgin, and are looking at the Star of Bethlehem. In the upper right-hand corner of the icon are traditionally painted images of angels praising the birth of Christ. In the lower right corner of the icon is the washing of the Christ Child after the birth. In the lower left corner, according to tradition, two figures are depicted at the same time: one, the larger, St. Joseph, and the other, smaller, the figure of St. Isaiah the Prophet, who in Old Testament times foretold the birth of Christ. In general, the entire Nativity icon is painted in bright colours, reflecting the joy and triumph of the entire visible and invisible world at the birth of the Saviour. The greenish tone in which the frame of this icon is painted chronologically places it around the middle of the 18th century, when this type of polychromy for the backgrounds of icons or for large fields of colour began to become popular in Russia.