編號 103796037

標誌 - 珍稀 - Menological Year 圣像,包含十二个月与主要节日 - 45 × 55 cm - 木
編號 103796037

標誌 - 珍稀 - Menological Year 圣像,包含十二个月与主要节日 - 45 × 55 cm - 木
A highly impressive and unusually elaborate Russian Orthodox year icon, also known as a calendar icon or Menaion icon. This remarkable panel brings together the entire liturgical year in one painted composition: month by month, the saints and feast days of the Orthodox calendar are arranged in dense horizontal registers, surrounding a central field with the principal events of the Christian year.
This is how such an icon “works”: it is not devoted to a single saint or episode, but functions as a complete sacred calendar. Each section represents a month of the year, with numerous saints shown according to their commemorative days. The central scenes highlight the great feasts, visually anchoring the calendar around the most important events of Orthodox tradition. In this way, the icon acts almost like a painted theological calendar.
Year icons of this type are rare, especially in such a large and complex format. They required an extraordinary amount of labour and precision. The painter had to render hundreds of figures, inscriptions, feast scenes, architectural details, garments, haloes and attributes on a single panel, often at miniature scale. Every small figure had to remain identifiable, balanced within the composition, and integrated into the larger liturgical structure.
The result is a visually overwhelming and highly decorative icon: a golden field filled with saints, colour, rhythm and sacred order. Beyond its religious meaning, it is also a remarkable demonstration of technical discipline and workshop skill. Such icons were ambitious commissions, made for viewers who wished to contemplate not merely one holy image, but the full cycle of the Orthodox year.
A rare and fascinating collector’s piece, combining devotional function, historical interest and exceptional painterly effort.
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