Go back

St. George the Victorious

Painting
Tempera on flat wooden panel backed in faded purple velvet topped with silver riza. The velvet on the back has been carved with a message in Cyrillic script. The riza features a three leaf ivy leaf motif around the edges and has a Cyrillic caption on the bottom. The focal image features a male with a painted clean shaven face and hands holding a metal spear and adorned with a metal halo. He wears a cape draped over his armor and tunic and wears trousers in his shin guards over his shoes. He stands on a rock in a lake with square top buildings in the background.

2005.02.121

Panel

Tempera

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

2005.02

Betsy Scheuring

Gift

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Nikolay Gertov

1829 - 1833

St. Petersburg, Russia

Makers Mark

Left side of the halo, to the right of the right boot in the cape, and underside of riza

HГ, 84, the profile of a crowned head

Cyrillic

N. G.

Inscription

Back of icon

Cursive script

Cyrillic

Icon

Symbol, Religious

Religious Objects

Ceremonial Objects

Category 08: Communication Objects

8-3/4 in

7 in

1 in

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Cultural/Historical Context

For the biography of St. George, see 2005.02.047. St. George stands in full military dress with the city of Silene visible in the background. His features are soft and he has been given large, round eyes and curly brown hair. Distance is suggested with hills and water seen between St. George and the city, and details include delicate waves, leaves, grass, and even decorations on distant buildings. Attached to the riza is a separate halo with a meander design on its border, and just inside the border is another halo with small ornaments complementing the rays emitted from the halo. The border contains floral scrolls that go well with the armor’s decorative engravings.

St. George the Victorious picture number 1