Virgin Mary (Russian 16th century) - Public Domain Byzantine Painting
The Virgin Mary in this icon asks her son to forgive humanity's sins at the Last Judgement, flanked by four saints shown in intercessory prayer.
Christian Art from Russia23
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Saint John the Baptist (Russian 16th century) - Public Domain Byzantine Painting
Saint John the Baptist is shown here interceding with Christ the Judge for the forgiveness of human sins. He is surrounded by Saint Demetrius, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and Saint Cyril of Belozersk, all similarly turned in prayer toward Christ. đź’¸Please donate or subscribe to keep...
Christ Pantokrator (Russian 16th century) - Public Domain Byzantine Painting
Christ, seen in the pose of the Just Judge, holds a Gospel book open to John 7:24: "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement." Above and below are bright red seraphim, while at the sides are the venerating figures of Sts. Peter, Paul, and...
Three-Panel Icon with the "Deesis", Russian, 16th Century - Byzantine Stock Photo
These three icons form a group. In the center, Christ is represented as the Just Judge, surrounded by seraphim, archangels, and the apostles Peter and Paul. The Virgin and John the Baptist, accompanied by saints, turn toward him with their hands raised in prayer. Each panel is decorated with a...
Icon of Resurrection (19th Century, Russia, unknown author) - Public Domain Byzantine Art
The image is of a Russian icon depicting the Resurrection, dating back to the 19th century. The style of this icon is characteristic of traditional Russian Orthodox religious art, known for its formalism and rich symbolic content. The icon features Jesus Christ rising from the tomb, surrounded by symbolic elements...
Icon of Resurrection (1900, by unknown) - Public Domain Byzantine Art
The icon of the Resurrection from Russia in 1900 is a vibrant and detailed representation of traditional Russian religious art. It features a central panel depicting the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, surrounded by smaller panels showing scenes from the Bible or the lives of saints. The color palette is rich...
Fragment from a Pendant Panaghiarion with the Holy Trinity (16th century, Russia) - Byzantine Stock Photo
About the Image: This ivory piece is one half of a 'panaghiarion,' a case designed to enclose the 'panagia,' bread dedicated to the Virgin in an Orthodox worship service (compare Walters 71.257-258). The relief carving is in the composition known as the Hospitality of Abraham,...
Wedding at Cana (1594-1596) by Lukas of Cyprus - Public Domain Illuminated Manuscript
About the Image: This is one of twenty-six known manuscripts by the hand of Luke the Cypriot (active 1583-1625), an accomplished Greek calligrapher who worked after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453). He copied it in 1594 at his episcopal see of Buzau (in Wallachia, now Romania) and soon took...
Christ Driving the Merchants from The Temple (1594-1596) by Lukas of Cyprus - Public Domain Illuminated Manuscript
About the Image: This is one of twenty-six known manuscripts by the hand of Luke the Cypriot (active 1583-1625), an accomplished Greek calligrapher who worked after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453). He copied it in 1594 at his episcopal see of Buzau (in Wallachia, now Romania) and soon took...
Triptych Icon of Christ, Saint Nicholas, and Saint Blaise (17th century, Russia) - Public Domain Byzantine Painting
About the Image: Fitted with two rings for suspension, a hook, and a hasp, this small icon can be closed and hung round one's neck as a token of piety and divine protection. Open, it can be used as a prayer image. Christ and two bishop saints, most...
Christ coming to John the Baptist in the desert (1594–1596, Ottoman) by Lukas of Cyprus - Public Domain Illuminated Manuscript
About the Image: Here is a beautiful page from a Byzantine-style illuminated manuscript. Manuscripts such as these played a crucial role in preserving religious texts, stories, and iconographies during the medieval period. Let's delve into the components: 1. Text: 2. * The text is written in Greek, a significant...
Pendant Cross (Russian, 1700) - Byzantine Stock Photo
About the Image: This cross depicts at its center a second small cross of the Crucifixion, flanked by miniature representations of the lance and sponge, instruments of Christ's Passion. The skull below suggests the name of the hill - Golgotha (place of skulls) - and also refers to...
Santa Maria Della Salute, Venice (Russian, 1876 - 1945) by Konstantin Ivanovich Gorbatov - Public Domain Catholic Painting
About the Image: Santa Maria della Salute is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy[1][2][3][4][5]. It was built to commemorate the end of a terrible outbreak of the plague that...
Crucifixion (Russian, 16th Century) - Public Domain Byzantine Painting
Details: This delicately painted icon shows Christ's Crucifixion before the walls of Jerusalem. A detail rarely included in Crucifixion scenes is the resurrection of the dead, portrayed here as tightly wrapped corpses, after Matthew 27:52: "The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints...
Great Deesis with Prophets (16th century, Russian) - Public Domain Byzantine Painting
Details: These panels reproduce the upper two tiers of the screen (known as the iconostasis) that separates the nave from the altar in Orthodox churches. Such sets, of which this is one of the earliest known, were used by priests for makeshift altars and by lay people for personal prayer....
Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple and the Virgin of the Burning Bush (1598, Russian) - Public Domain Byzantine Icon
Details: This rare double-sided icon was most likely commissioned by Tsar Boris Godunov (r. 1598-1605) as a gift for a church in Jerusalem, where it was kept until the mid-20th century. It would have been displayed for veneration on the feast days of the Virgin's Presentation in the...
Hospitality of Abraham (1600, Russian) - Public Domain Byzantine Icon
This majestic painting was created for a large iconostasis, a screen separating the altar sanctuary from the nave in Orthodox churches. Here, Abraham and Sarah sacrifice a calf to honor their guests, who reveal themselves as angels (Genesis 18:1-10). Christian theologians interpreted the three angels as Old Testament precursors...
Christ Appearing to His Disciples after the Resurrection (1594-1596, Russia) by Lukas of Cyprus - Public Domain Illuminated Manuscript
Details: This is one of twenty-six known manuscripts by the hand of Luke the Cypriot (active 1583-1625), an accomplished Greek calligrapher who worked after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453). He copied it in 1594 at his episcopal see of Buzau (in Wallachia, now Romania) and soon took it to...
St. John the Baptist Preaching, John 1:19-20 (1594-1596, Russia) by Lukas of Cyprus - Public Domain Illuminated Manuscript
Details: This is one of twenty-six known manuscripts by the hand of Luke the Cypriot (active 1583-1625), an accomplished Greek calligrapher who worked after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453). He copied it in 1594 at his episcopal see of Buzau (in Wallachia, now Romania). He soon took it to...
Altar Cloth (17th century, Russia) - Public Domain Byzantine Icon
Details: The "plashchnitsa" (Greek "epitaphios") is an altar cloth that was brought out for special veneration on Good Friday, the feast day of the Crucifixion. At the center, the dead Christ is depicted on an altar-like table beneath a six-winged cherub. To the left and right,...
Saints Chariton and Alexander Pendant (1768, Russia) - Byzantine Stock Photo
Details: This painted enamel pendant was probably commissioned as a baptism gift. An inscription on the back of the silver frame gives a birth date (September 9, 1768), and the date of the child's "name day," or baptism (September 28), also the date of the feasts...
Archangel Gabriel Icon (1387-1395, Russia) - Public Domain Byzantine Icon
Details: The Archangel Gabriel is a popular figure in Russian Orthodox iconography[1][2][3][4][5]. He is usually depicted wearing white or blue garments and holding a spear in his right hand[2]. In some icons, he may also be holding a mirror in his left hand[2]...
Icon of the Virgin (12th century) - Public Domain Byzantine Icon
Details: This small icon depicts the Virgin with her hands raised in prayer, and identified by an abbreviated inscription as the Mother of God. The size and theme of the icon suggest it was used in private devotion. For its pious owner, it would have served as a constant reminder...