Between Heaven and Earth
Discovering the Icons of Holy Russia
Amy Boucher Pye
July 1, 1998
"The Art of Holy Russia: Icons From Moscow, 1400-1600." London: The Royal Academy of Arts, Spring 1988.
One born Catholic, born again Baptist, now in adulthood Anglican, visits Holy Russia. A postmodern story of pick-and-mix religion? Yet another Gen Xer seeking mystery, symbolism, and beauty? Or just a transplanted American in London, spending an afternoon at the Royal Academy of Arts before meeting a friend for tea?
I approached the darkly lit rooms of "The Art of Holy Russia: Icons from Moscow, 1400-1600" with anticipation. What treasures would I find? What mysteries would flow from the Virgin's gaze? What would I learn from the familiar biblical figures depicted in a way strange to my eyes?
Actually, the first thing I encountered upon entering "Holy Russia" was a loud American explaining to his wife the history and purpose of the "paintings." Moving on from that dubious first moment, I caught sight of 16 illuminated manuscripts, a delight for any book-lover. These treasures come from liturgical books, such as the gospels and Psalters, or theological, devotional, and historical writings. Their delicate artistry is the work of scribes who painted the miniatures and penned the Cyrillic script in rich colors on folios made first of membranes, then rag, skin, and finally paper.
The majority of the exhibition, however, is devoted to fifty rarely exhibited icons, created in Moscow from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. They illustrate the rise of that city as it moved from Mongol rule to the reign of powerful Tsars. Moscow became a political and artistic center as its new rulers began to use Orthodox Christian art to support their quest to make their city the "third Rome."
These icons by Orthodox Christians represent, ...
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