Exceptional Russian icon of the Novgorod School, 19th century.
"Saint Great Martyr George surrounded by 18 scenes from his life ".
Tempera and levkas on panel.
Restorations on the levkas and on some painted scenes. A central crack in the vertical height has been restored. Probably, the original wood panel may have been reinserted during the 19th century into a more recent wood panel. This common practice saved the old parts of damaged icons and thus avoided the loss of sacred images.
Measurements: 117 x 80 cm.
In the exceptional icon in question, the episodes of St. George's life unfold in six registers. All of them are dedicated in particular to the temptations to which he was subjected and the torments he suffered by order of Diocletian, such as the breaking wheel that can be seen in the second register, until his final torture, which was the decollation (the penultimate scene).
A very similar icon (89.5 x 68 cm) depicting the miracle of Dmitri Solunski (from the 16th century) is preserved in the State Art Museum of Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) (inv. no. 5). Another icon of the same subject (165 x 137 cm), depicting 20 scenes from the life of St. George (16th century), is preserved in the Petit Palais in Paris (inv. PPP4907).
The Novgorod school was born between the 11th and 16th centuries in Novgorod, and can be distinguished in two time periods separated by the Mongol conquest.
While Russia was in the midst of an artistic crisis, the Church decided to invite Greek artists to "raise" the iconographic and stylistic level. Thus, this style produced icons all over Russia. But in Novgorod, as elsewhere, the cultural exchange was not unilateral. Painters were influenced by Novgorodian and Russian icon art in general.
Thus, Novgorod artists preserved the Byzantine tradition while introducing lighter colors, flatter forms, softening of facial faces, and the increasing use of a rhythmic line to define form. Until the early 14th century, artistic activity was dominated by mural painting. The introduction of the iconostasis, which brought together all the icons on display instead of being scattered all over the walls of the church, provided a new artistic impetus. This presentation required a strong overall coherent impression, rhythmic lines and harmonious colors. The figures were elongated, which then became the norm in Russian art.
At the end of the 16th century, the Moscow school took over from the Novgorod school.