Russian icon, 19th century

Russian icon, 19th century
"Liturgical calendar".
Egg tempera on wood.
In good condition, except for slight scratches.
Measurements: 44 x 38 x 3 cm.
Russian icon structured in numerous squares, each of which contains a scene from the life of Jesus, developing around the central representation of the risen Christ in mandorla. The various passages depicted mark the most important liturgical feasts. The four evangelists are depicted in the corners. Stylistically, the extreme refinement achieved by Russian icons can be seen, which in the 19th century continued to respect certain Orthodox precepts, but the figures became more stylised and their features softened. Vivid pigments are used for the symbolic use of colour, and a sinuous line with a synthetic stroke lengthens the canons.
The icons cannot be compared to other works of art in the usual sense of the 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 so with special means of representation, developed over the centuries. In them, colour plays a significant role, that of a symbolic language that must express not the colour of things, but their luminosity, a light that comes from beyond the physical world. The golden spaces of the icons embody this unearthly light, and the golden background symbolises the space that is "not of this world". In the icons there is no such thing as usual space, just as there are no conventional events. The icon is an open window to a world of another nature, but this window opens only for those who possess a spiritual vision.