Russian icon, probably from the Old Believers' Workshops, 19th century.
"The Protection of the Mother of God", or "The Virgin of Pokrov".
Tempera and gold leaf on carved board.
Measurements: 30 x 24,5 cm.
"The Virgin of Pokrov" is one of the iconographies of the Russian Orthodox Church, although it describes events that took place in Constantinople around 910.
A priori the story was taken from the biography of Andrew of Constantinople, who together with his disciple Epiphanius, saw the Mother of God flying over the Church of St. Mary of the Blanquernas, covering the believers with her omophorion, as a symbol of protection. On several occasions the story was modified, the last being the version of Bishop Demetrius of Rostov, composed towards the end of the XVII century, and which said that among those who saw the miracle were John the Baptist, John the Apostle, Andrew of Constantinople, and King Leo the Wise. The significance of this miracle is that the Mother of God protected the city of Constantinople against the Muslim invasion.
The prototype of the icon of the protection of the Mother of God, or, in Russian, of Pokrov, develops around the 14th century, although it will have more impact in later centuries. Its iconography can be easily distinguished by the cathedral with five domes in the background, and the figure of the Virgin Mary always located in the central register of the icon, and in the lower register on both sides represent St. John the Baptist and Andrew of Constantinople, indicating with the index finger the appearance of the Virgin. On this basis, two main typologies can be distinguished, the Novgorod school, and the Rostov-Suzdal school, which was finally absorbed by the Moscow school around the 17th century. It would be fair to say, however, that just as the features of the Rostov school, the features of the Novgorod school also ended up influencing the Moscow school, the most heterogeneous of all the schools of Russian icon painting.
In the case of the lot of interest, its iconography is mixed between Novgorod and Rostov-Suzdal features at the same time, which may indicate that the icon was elaborated in some Moscow workshop. On the one hand, the angels, holding the Virgin's omophorium, are an element typical of the Novgorod school. On the other hand, among the protagonists is Roman the Méloda, the author of many songs dedicated to the cult of the Virgin, the usual character of the Rostov-Suzdal icons.
In chronological terms, the icon belongs to a period between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, to this indicate both the range of darker colors, with an evident abundance of brown and greenish tones, the architectural elements, as well as the painter's knowledge of perspectives, appreciable in the lower register of the icon.
This icon presents several curious features, which evidence its most probable relevance to the workshops of the Old Believers. First, the carved border. Secondly, the iconographic scene, as well as the saints, are accompanied by numerous inscriptions. Thirdly, the letters "ICXC", visible in the upper register, are an abbreviation of the Greek for the name of Jesus Christ. Finally, the crosses that decorate the domes have eight points, and the fingers of the saints present the blessing with two fingers, features typical of the icons of the Old Believers.
The Old Believers were a group of the Orthodox, who after Nikon's ecclesiastical reforms of 1654, decided to follow their opponent Avvakum, defending the traditional bases of the Orthodox Church. Fleeing persecution, they settled in the villages of Pomorie, near the Urals and in Siberia, although towards the XVIII century they began to settle in the northern areas and near Moscow.