Onufrienko Maksim

Iconostasis side doors of Archangel Michael church in Riga. The unknown monuments of the 16th century Pskov icon painting

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the dating and attribution of Archangel Michael Church in Riga iconostasis side doors, which have been known to scholars since the end of the 19th century, but are not systematically studied and, as a result, appeared to be forgotten. Meanwhile, these monuments are still located in the Riga church. Due to the information contained in the Inventory of Pskov uyezd 1585–1587 as well as in several other sources, it is possible to confi rm the earlier suggested hypothesis of the origin of these doors from St. John the Theologian Church of Krypetsky monastery near Pskov, and to trace their history up to the present day. These icons depict rare scenes, such as The Eulogius’ Vision, On a Jewish Boy, Saved by the Virgin from an Oven, The Divine Liturgy and Wisdom has Built its House. On the basis of stylistic features, a conclusion has been made that Archangel Church doors were made by Pskov artists. Since the date of construction of St. John the Theologian Church is known (although there are some discrepancies), as well as thanks to the method of stylistic analysis and comparing these works to a wide range of Pskov icons, it is possible to date the altar doors to the middle of the 16th c. and to place them in the artistic context of the Metropolitan Makariy era.

Keywords

Divine Liturgy, Eulogius’ Vision, Wisdom has Built its House, Pskov icon, Krypetsky monastery, iconostasis side doors, 16th century icon

References

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Information about the author

Onufrienko Maksim

Student status: Graduate student;
Place of study: Lomonosov Moscow State University; 27/4 Lomonosovsky prospect, Moscow 119192, Russia;
ORCID: 0000-0003-4756-8309;
Email: maksimonufrienko@icloud.com.