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St. Nicholas

Painting
Flat painted wood panel with computer paper description taped on the back describing St. Nicholas's life and death, also dating the painting to 1889. The painting depicts a man's face with brown eyes and a [deteriorating] white hair and beard. His painted hands are held in the three finger blessing symbol and hold a gospel book engraved into the silver riza. The riza is bordered with floral motifs in the four corners and along the border sporadically. Cyrillic script captions are on either side of the figure, who wears a rounded miter crown and full robes with floral motifs on a plain background save for his halo.

2005.02.066

Panel

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

2005.02

Betsy Scheuring

Gift

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Sergey Shebanov

1889

Kazan, Russia

Makers Mark

1. Left side of the figure within the halo 2. bottom edge of the riza (where it attaches to the wood panel)

1. С.Ш, 1889, 84, Small winged dragon symbol 2. Впсу 55 3/8 3p no, С.Ш, 1889, 84, Small winged dragon symbol

Cyrillic

SSh (Artist Sergey Shebanov), City of Kazan (Zilant/winged dragon) Brcy? 55 3/8 3p no

Icon

Symbol, Religious

Religious Objects

Ceremonial Objects

Category 08: Communication Objects

10-1/4 in

8-1/8 in

1-1/8 in

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Cultural/Historical Context

"St. Nicholas was born at Patara in Asia Minor at a time when Christians were persecuted under the rule of Diocletian in the late 3rd century. He became bishop of Myra and was imprisoned until Constantine came to power. He then attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the miracles attributed to him during his lifetime and afterward secured him a position as one of the most beloved saints in the Orthodox tradition. The silver riza frames the bishop with a floral border that nicely complements his decorative halo. Under the riza, St. Nicholas is depicted with subtle details: his mitre bears an oval with a cross on top that is surrounded by stars rather than the usual oval with a cross inside. The Bible he holds has a large green jewel on the front instead of the customary tri-bar cross, and his clothes are less ornate than usual. The figure’s halo consists of the outline of two circles unlike the detailed design for this feature on the riza. Moreover, the painting lacks a border. Western European artistic influence is evident in the saint’s well modeled features."

St. Nicholas picture number 1