The Resurrection and Descent into Hell with Feasts, 1750 CE - 1900 CE
Tempera on Wood
17.5 x 20.5
PF.5262
Three separate scenes occupy the center square of this multi-faceted icon. At the top is the graphic representation of Christ's descent into Hell (Anastasis). Below, he ministers to His kneeling...
Three separate scenes occupy the center square of this multi-faceted icon. At the top is the graphic representation of Christ's descent into Hell (Anastasis). Below, he ministers to His kneeling disciples, surrounded by a glowing nimbus. In a touching scene Jesus preaches to a follower at the Sea of Galilee, while two others sit listening in a boat. The other scenes, depicting the 16 major feast days, from upper left clockwise, are-- Birth of the Virgin Mary; presentation of Mary to the temple; the Holy Trinity; the Annunciation; the Nativity; Baptism of Christ by St. John the Forerunner in the river Jordan; Christ's Transfiguration; exaltation of the Holy Cross; Dormition ('falling asleep') of the Virgin Mary; the beheading of St. John the Baptist; the vision of God in the flames of fire; protecting of the Virgin Mary's veil; the Ascension of Christ to Heaven; the Holy Trinity in the form of angels; Jesus' entry into Jerusalem; His presentation as an infant to the temple. Though such icons were intended, in part, to promote Russian Orthodoxy as the basis for the power of royal Russian dynasty; the sheer weight and power of the collected images overshadows worldly concerns, emphasizing the most beautiful aspects of Christianity.