Russian icon from the late 18th - early 19th centuries.

Russian icon from the late 18th - early 19th centuries.
"Resurrection and transfiguration of Christ."
Tempera and gold on wood.
In good condition except for slight old cracks.
Measurements: 56 x 42 x 3.2 cm.
This icon represents one of the most relevant episodes of the New Testament: the transfiguration of Christ. The biblical text tells that while on the mountain, Jesus begins to radiate light (a miracle symbolized here in the form of a star) and the prophets Moses and Elijah appear at his side, as they are represented here in the form of haloed figures. At the foot of the mountain, the apostles Peter, James the Greater and John hide, afraid of the glare. We are facing a meritorious icon in terms of plastic and narrative quality.
Icons cannot be compared with other works of art in the usual sense of this word. They are not paintings, because they do not reproduce motifs from reality; They do not represent, but constitute in themselves another world. And they do it with special means of representation, developed over the centuries. In them, color plays a significant role, that of a symbolic language that must express not the color of things, but their luminosity, a light that comes from beyond the physical world. The golden spaces of the icons embody this non-terrestrial light, and the golden background symbolizes the space that is “not of this world.” In icons there is no usual space, nor do conventional events exist. The icon is a window open to a world of another nature, but this window opens only to those who possess spiritual vision.