The first collaborative work between Russian Icon, an online platform specializing in antique Russian icons, and the famous Moscow Museum of the Russian Icon has led to the appearance of a unique book. Titled Russian Icon Collection, it features the most complete information on antique Russian icons of the 18th-19th centuries. The book encompasses many years of painstaking research and considerable experience of the leading experts in the field of religious icon art. A PDF version of this enormous work is already available to all connoisseurs of antique Russian icons; the printed version is planned to be released in the foreseeable future.
About the book
Russian Icon Collection is a selection of rare antique Russian icons of the 18th-19th centuries, created in Palekh, Mstyora, Kholuy, and other notable iconographic centers of the Russian Empire. Each icon has a detailed description and analysis, telling the story of the depicted scene, its iconographic type, and peculiarities of the style.
The focus of the book is on the icons depicting the scene of The Resurrection – The Harrowing of Hades, which were quite popular in the Russian Empire of the 19th century. Among other interesting icons included in the book are highly detailed Menaion icons, icon of the Great-Martyr Catherine, icon of Saint Alexius – The Man of God, icon of the Prophet Elias in the Desert, icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God, and more. Each of them bears a powerful symbolism and has a historical message encoded in it. With the help of the book, one should not be an expert to look at the world of ancient Russian icon art and understand the essence and the meaning of all the elements.
About the authors
Russian Icon Collection is a result of a collaborative work between Russian Icon, the Museum of the Russian Icon in Moscow, and two noteworthy specialists in Russian icon art: Anna Ivannikova and Sergey Khodorkovskiy. Anna Ivannikova is an art expert and historian known worldwide for her long-standing experience in studying old Russian art. Sergey Khodorkovsky, in his turn, is a reputable collector and guru of antique Russian icons.
About the Museum
Founded by the Russian art patron and businessman Mikhail Abramov in 2006, the Museum of the Russian Icon is the first in Moscow and the second in Russia private museum dedicated to Christian art, with a focus on Byzantine and Old Russian icons. Its collection features nearly 5,000 items brought to Moscow from around the world, including approximately 1,000 one-of-a-kind and rare antique Russian icons. The highlight of the collection is a series of the 15th- and 16th-century icons created in Pskov.
Russian Icon Collection is a unique book covering the topics that have never been discovered so closely and elaborately before. If you want to know more about its creation and content, please visit https://russianicon.com/for more detailed information.
