The fifteenth century was the classical period in the development of the
Russian iconostasis. It grew quickly in size; new tiers of icons were added to
it, and it became amazingly architectonic. With the growth of the icons' size
and the appearance of full - length Deesis tiers in place of the old
half - length ones, the altar screens grew higher and gradually concealed the
sanctuary from the eyes of the worshippers in the body of the church.
That the vast composition of the iconostasis was about the development of this
process on Novgorodian soil is very scant.
Praying Novgorodians
It would seem that Theophanes the Greek was the first to introduce the
full - length built around full - figure Deesis icons is patently shown by an
extremely interesting icon depicting praying Novgorodians. As early as 1849,
G. L. Filimonov correctly read the inscription on the icon's lower part:
"(Painted) in the summer of 6975 of the 15th indiction by order of God's
creature Antip Kuzmin for veneration by orthodox believers". When the icon was
cleaned, there was found beneath this later inscription a part of the original
one reading: "In the 15th indiction, by order of God's creature Antip Kuzmin,
for veneration by Christians". Consequently, the original date of the icon,
which aroused such heated arguments, should be read 1467. The indiction,
counting the year as starting in September, also coincides with the date
suggested by G. D. Filimonov. Novgorodian chronicles for the seventies of the
fifteenth century mention the Boyars Kuzmins: Vasiliy, Ivan and Timofey
Kuzmins were present at the reception of Ivan III in 1476. The donor of the
icon, Antip Kuzmin, must have come from this family. He commissioned the
artist to paint himself with all his family, including the children (in the
middle of the icon runs the inscription, "God's servants Grigory, Mariya,
Yakov, Stefan, Yevsey, Timofey, Olfim and children pray to the Saviour and the
Holy Virgin for their sins"). The figures are depicted in a row in praying
attitudes. They are dressed in colourful garments and caftans with red
collars, and high boots in Marocco leather.
The Presentation in the Temple
The woman on the right wears an ubrus (kerchief). The children are dressed in
white shirts. The men's hair is plaited. Though the faces are not portrait
like - nesses, they are extremely animated. The Boyars Kuzmin are praying to
Christ, who is seated on a throne surrounded by the Virgin, St. John the
Baptist, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and the Apostles Peter and Paul.
We see here a Deesis row venerated by a boyar family. The second tier of the
icon depicts an area further removed from the spectator. However, instead of
developing the composition in depth, the Novgorodian artist builds it up
vertically. In his choice of colours he is no less sensitive than his
predecessors: his combinations of red, green, azure, pink, yellow and
cherry - red tones are amazingly bold. The faces are painted freely, without
any dryness. The colouring and the manner of painting are directly descended
from the traditions of the first quarter of the fifteenth century, but the
proportions of the figures contain many novel elements: there is an elongation
unusual for the earlier period, the figures have become delicate, fragile and
unstable. They barely touch the ground and seem to be balancing for stability.
This is particularly true of the angels, which are indicative of the approach
of the epoch of Dionisiy. By the end of the fifteenth century, these features
will.have become even more pronounced in Novgorodian painting.
It is precisely this elongation of proportions that leads one to date the
feast - day from the Volotovo church in that same period, i.e. approximately
the sixties.
The Transfiguration
The complexity of architectural backgrounds also speaks in favour of this
relatively late dating. In the Presentation in the Temple we see in the
background a curved wall with a ciborium above it, a temple with an apse, and
behind St. Symeon a very elongated ciborium with four steps leading to it. As
St. Symeon leans over, his head stands out against the light background of the
building, and its sharply pronounced vertical lines stress the interval
between him and the Virgin, behind whom come St. Joachim and St. Anna. This
conglomeration of architectural forms is not very organic, and the
compositional links between the figures in the foreground and the
architectural setting of the background are not very strongly pronounced. It
would seem that the somewhat unusual format of the feast - day tier icons from
the Volotovo church, with their pointed elongation, confused the painters and
hampered them in finding natural compositional solutions (this is particularly
felt in such icons from the same ensembles as the Raising of Lazarus and the
Bormition, with their crowded composition).
The Annunciation
The Transfiguration, which by the nature of its iconography fits well into the
elongated form of the panel, is much more successful. Very expressive, as
usual, are the dynamic figures of the apostles lying on the ground blinded by
the light emanating from Christ. Complexity of architectural form is also
typical of the scene of the Annunciation decorating the upper part of the
royal doors. The figures of the Virgin and the Archangel Gabriel are set off
by buildings of fanciful architecture in the background. To balance the
composition and fill in the gaps on the sides, the artist introduces two more
structures, with a red velum, reminiscent of ancient Hellenistic painting,
stretched toward one of them. The figure of the Virgin, frightened by the
sudden appearance of the angel, is shown in an elaborate contraposto in which
nothing is left of the static nature of the figures in the early
fifteenth - century icons. The famous icon showing the Battle between the
Novgorodians and the Suzdalians from the Novgorod Museum, must also have been
painted in the sixties. This subject became especially popular in the period
of tense political struggle between Novgorod and Moscow. Suzpalians meant
Muscovites, and it was against them that, according to the legend, celestial
forces had come to aid Novgorod. Moscow, it will be recalled, won in this
unequal struggle, and Novgorod in the end was stripped of its independence.
But the legend lost nothing of its attractiveness because of this.
Battle Between the Novgorodians and the Suzdalians
On the contrary, it became widely popular, for it reminded the Novgorodians of
their erstwhile power. The icon from the Novgorod Museum is one of the
earliest works on the subject. It is divided into three horizontal bands which
tell how Andrey Bogolyubskiy besieged Novgorod with his Suzdalian army in
1169, and how the icon of the Virgin of the Sign came to the Novgorodians'
assistance. In the upper band we see the icon carried from the Church of the
Saviour in Il'yin Street to the Novgorod Kremlin, in the Cathedral of St.
Sophia. On the right, churchmen bring the icon out of the temple; in the
centre the procession crosses the bridge over the Volkhov River; and on the
left it is met by a crowd of people coming out of the Kremlin. In the middle
band the artist shows Novgorodians taking cover behind fortress walls; the
ambassadors, who have come together for talks; and the Suzdalian army which
has opened hostilities: arrows are flying "like a heavy rain" toward the icon
held forth in the manner of a battle standard. Below, the Novgorodian army is
shown emerging from the fortress gate, led by Sts. Boris, Gleb, George and St.
Demetrius of Thessalonica, who, according to the legend, were sent by the
Virgin to aid the Novgorodians under her protection. The Suzdalians falter,
their ranks turn back, the bodies of the dead and discarded weapons lie on the
ground.
The Archangel Michel
Though all the forms are strongly stylised and episodes taking place at
different times are shown on the same plane, the depicted events are presented
so vividly, so eloquently, that they are immediately understandable. In
building his composition on a plane, the artist skilfully coordinates its
component elements. Elongating the fortress walls out of all proportion, he
uses them as the background for both the ambassadors and the troops riding out
of the gate. An extremely felicitous use is made of the intervais between the
welcoming people and the procession, between the ambassadors, between the
opposing armies. By placing the lines of warriors one above the other and
encircling them with a single continuous line, the artist achieves the effect
of countless numbers locked in mortal combat. The numerous buildings in the
Kremlin are used to set off the Church of the Saviour with its bell tower,
thereby showing exactly where the action took place. His mature and exquisite
art denotes a highly developed sense of colour and also a wonderful ability to
give a striking expressiveness to austere and clear - cut silhouettes, whether
of buildings, horsemen, a cross or a banner. As a rule, the silhouette is
given as a bright. patch of colour which stands out clearly against a lighter
background.