Icon of the Mstera school, 19th century.
"Conversation with the Mother of God".
Tempera, gold leaf on panel.
It is in a very good state of preservation.
Measurements: 15 x 12 cm.
The Conversation with the Mother of God is a particular typology of the icons of the Mother of God, venerated in the Orthodox Church. The three characters represented in this miniature are the seated Mother of God, St. Nicholas the Miraculous, and the acolyte Georgiy Yurish. The Mother of God appears in front of the acolyte right on the place where the church was to be built, where the icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin was later found in 1383.
According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared and ordered that a wooden cross be placed on the dome of the church, not a metal one. The Virgin Mary appeared together with St. Nicholas, who promised to give a sign to the infidels. The request of the Virgin Mary was not carried out and the master, Georgiy Yurish, who was trying to place the metal cross, was caught by a gust of wind, which brought him down to the ground unharmed. A wooden cross was then placed in the church, as indicated by the Virgin.
This icon follows the iconographic typology of the story, however, with certain modifications. The Mother of God appears seated, although she is not seen in this image, according to tradition, on the trunk cut out of wood. Behind her is a tree in full growth with large leaves. In her arms she holds a hygumen rod, black in color, in the case of the auctioned icon it is gilded. In front of the Virgin is a kneeling man, in a posture of prayer. Among them is Saint Nicholas, who does not follow his canonical representation, since the type of beard and hair is different from the traditional one.
This icon was produced in the workshops of Mstera, one of the most important schools of icon painting in Russia, both for the quantity and quality of its production. This village is located near Vladimir, another of the places that houses the most important school of icon painting, and the first mentions of it are dated around 1628. It was a poor location, and its inhabitants, mainly peasants, alternated their farming activities with various handicrafts to make a living. Since Mstera was surrounded by monasteries and churches, icon painting was the most common activity. Thus, by the 19th century, more than half of the population was engaged exclusively in icon painting. The specialty of this school was to follow the ancient styles, their icons stand out for the abundance of details, both in the representation of the saints and the representation of nature, but at the same time the aesthetics of the characters could be described as naive. Apart from painting icons en masse, the masters of Mstera were first-class restorers.