Icon - Christ Pantocrator - Wood

Christ the Savior (Salvator Mundi)

Russian school, circa 1850 to 1870

Provenance: European private collection
Region: Russia
19th century
Oil on board
Devotional post-iconographic style.
Measurements: 38.5x34x2.5

Description

Notable Russian icon representing Christ the Savior of the World (Спаситель / Salvator Mundi), one of the most widely spread images in Orthodox iconography. The composition shows Christ frontally, with his right hand raised in a gesture of Trinitarian blessing and his left holding the globe, a symbol of his universal dominion.

Executed in oil on panel, the dark background contrasts with the golden glow surrounding the head of Christ, creating a luminous halo effect characteristic of the 19th-century Russian academic style, already influenced by Western painting. The palette combines vermilion reds and deep blues on the tunic and cloak, accentuated by aged varnishes that add warmth and patina.

The face, with serene and symmetrical features, conforms to the late Moscovite canon, typical of devotional workshops from Moscow or Palekh, where the icon tradition remained vibrant throughout the 19th century. The fine, uniform craquelure confirms its authentic age, while the current frame is later, of contemporary craftsmanship.

A devotional work of excellent formal balance, representative of the transition between the traditional Russian icon and the academic religious painting of the Tsarist Empire.