Subject , iconography , purpose
Figure 6 ( left ). Detail : The Savior with Gospel Book and the Archangel Michael .
Figure 7 ( right ). Detail : The Virgin with omophorion and the Archangel Gabriel .
The center of the icon is the traditional halflength representation of Saint Nicholas of Myra in a phelonion , and a white episcopal omophorion with large black crosses ( Figure 5 ). The saint ’ s right hand is raised in blessing and his left hand holds a closed Gospel . In the upper corners are the Savior and the Virgin Mary depicted down to the knee against the greenish background of the heavens surrounded by pink clouds ( Figures 6 , 7 ). They are turned towards Saint Nicholas , holding out the episcopal attributes , the Gospel and omophorion . Lower down , against a gold background , on a level with Nicholas ' shoulders , are angels bearing the gifts of Christ and the Virgin Mary to the saint . Their names are inscribed : “ АРХА [ нге ] Л [ ъ ] МИХАИЛ [ ъ ], АРХА [ нге ] Л [ ъ ] ГАВРИИЛЪ ”. Their robes follow the traditional iconography for the two archangels : Michael is in a red himation and a green chiton , and Gabriel in a green himation with a red chiton .
The holy hierarch himself is depicted with the attributes already presented to him . The representation of Christ and the Virgin Mary handing Nicholas the attributes was well known in Byzantine and early Russian art . 9 This iconography was intended to emphasize the special role of Saint Nicholas among the Christian Fathers of the Church and became very popular in Russia , where the story of the so-called Nicene Miracle of the saint ’ s struggle against the Aryan heresy at the First Nicene Council , after which he was deprived of the rank of bishop and cast into prison , where he was visited by Christ and the Virgin Mary who gave him back the episcopal insignia . 10 It is perhaps in Russia , to be more precise , in Novgorod , where the most expressive early representation of Christ and the Virgin Mary handing Saint Nicholas the episcopal attributes has survived — on the 1294 icon of Saint Nicholas from the church dedicated to the saint on the island of Lipno ( Novgorod Museum ), 11 with large figures of the Savior and the Virgin Mary , who are each standing on a red cloud with their gifts touching the saint ’ s colored halo .
In the newly discovered icon the theme of the highest patronage of the saint is presented with new details and a different intonation . New nuances of meaning are created by the inclined figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary , their turning towards the saint , the gold radiance of the background around Nicholas and , most importantly , the
9 N . P . Ševčenko , The Life of Saint Nicholas in Byzantine Art . ( Torino 1983 ), p . 79 , note 9 .
10 G . Anrich , Hagios Nikolaos . Der heilige Nikolaos in der griechschen Kirche . Texte und Untersuchungen , Bd . II , ( Leipzig-Berlin 1917 ), p . 393 ; V . O Klyuchevskiy ,. Древнерусские жития святых как исторический источник , ( Moscow 1871 ), p . 457 .
11 V . Lazarev , Русская иконопись от истоков до начала XVI века , ( Moscow : Iskusstvo , 1983 ), Cat . 17 ; L . Nersessian , ( ed ). Иконы Великого Новгорода XI – начала XVI века , ( Moscow : Severniy palomnik , 2008 ), Cat . 4 .
Journal of Icon Studies 5