 |
| ST. GEORGE THE WARRIOR 11th century 174 x 122. Egg tempera on lime wood. Two-side icon. Reverse side: The Virgin Hodigitria [12th(?)-17th cc.]. From the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin, Moscow. #966, col. 25, Dorm. 140k, jpeg. St. George is one of most favorite personages of the Christian pantheon of saints. His legendary life is shown from the 5th century when the iconography of his image as a holy warrior and a great martyr, was depicted in Byzantium, in the city of Thessalonica where in the 5th century a church was erected and consecrated in his honor. The fact that St. George was the patron saint of Kyivan Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise (978-1054) who was baptized with the name of George, greatly favored St. George's cult in Kyivan Rus'. Thus, in Kyiv's St. Sophia Cathedral (1017), a chapel was consecrated in honor of St. George and its walls, vaults and the concha of the apse feature frescos representing scenes from his life. Not far from the St. Sophia, St. George's Cathedral was erected (1037-1050s) which has not survived to the present. The Icon St. George is one of the few preserved from those remote years. It illustrates the ideal of Old Rus' warrior. One cannot but feel an epic mood permeating the icon and an echo of Hellenistic traditions. The icon is huge: the saint's stature is twice a normal man's size. The elevated but reserved manner, impeccable painting and lines are typical of other masterpieces created during the rule of Old Rus' Grand Princes. In fact, this icon might have been the principal one in Kyiv's St. George's Cathedral. http://www.christusrex.org/www1/lviv/Gallery/Room1.html#1 |