the upper edge of the halo, and also the accentuated pattern of the
angels’ wings, all reinforce the allusion to the “round image” of Saint
Nicholas and introduce into the composition the motif of the triumph
and glorification not only of the saint himself, but also of his wonder-
working Novgorodian icon, or rather of the prelate through the agency
of his icon.
In this respect there is a certain similarity here to the iconography of
the icon of Christ Acheiropoietos, “Not Made By Hands,” where angels
are depicted along the sides of the cloth or tile with the miraculous
imprint of Christ’s face. The earliest Russian composition of this kind
is a miniature in the Novgorod manuscript of a 1262 (?) Prologue in
the State Historical Museum, Хлуд. 187. This iconography became
widespread in Russia. (Figure 20).
Figure 20. The Savior “Not
Made By Hands”; Christ in
the Tomb. Stroganov master
Stephan Arefiev, beginning
of the 17th century. Russian
Museum, Saint Petersburg
(from the Annunciation
Cathedral in Solvytchegodsk).
Figure 21. Inscription above
the central image: НИКОЛАЕ
ЧЮ[до]ТВОРЕЦЪ (Nicholas
the Miracle Worker).
Impulses encouraging the development of the new image. The
veneration of wonder-working icons of Saint Nicholas in the
16 th century. The role of the struggle against Protestant tendencies
The main and largest inscription on the icon, above Nicholas’ halo, reads: НИКОЛАЕ
ЧЮ[до]ТВОРЕЦЪ [Nicolas the Miracle worker] (Figure 21). The significance of
this inscription can be appreciated only if we turn to the history of inscriptions on
representations of the saint. Whereas hagiological and prayer texts originally denote the
saint as a great miracle-worker, inscriptions on representations give the quite different
definition of “Агиос” [agios], “Святой” [saint]. In Russian works up to and including
the 15 th century these two words are used in art with very rare exceptions. One such
exception is the Novgorodian hagiographical icon of the late 14 th century from the church
of Saints Boris and Gleb in Plotniki (Novgorod Museum), 26 with the characteristic
Novgorodian replacement of “ч” by “ц”: НИКОЛАЕ ЦЮДОТВОРЕЦЬ [Nicholas the
Miracle worker].
Such inscriptions did not begin to spread until the beginning of the 16 th century and
became prevalent roughly from the middle of the century, which was most evident in
hagiographical icons, possibly because they contain numerous miracles by the saint.
Why did this new description of Nicholas (as a Wonderworker),
previously used so rarely, become established in art? And why did
so many hagiographical icons of him abound in scenes of miracles?
What was behind the desire to create a new iconography of the saint
emphasising his role as a wonder-worker sent from above?
Obviously the basic deep-rooted factors behind these changes lie
in the development of religious feeling, in the desire to express
new nuances in the veneration of the saint. The history of Russia
in the 16 th century was marked not only by the intensity of political
life, with its dramatic collisions, its cruelty, executions, destruction
and the break with the old order, but also by the country’s growth,
26 L. Nersessian, (ed). Иконы Великого Новгорода XI – начала XVI века, (Moscow: Severniy palomnik, 2008), Cat.
17.
12
Journal of Icon Studies