19th century Russian icon.
"Elijah in the desert".
Tempera on panel.
Measurements: 31 x 26,5 cm.
This work refers to another thematic icon called "Elijah in the Wilderness", painted by Fyodor Evtycheev Zubov between 1659 and 1662, for the church of the saint in Yaroslavl (Russia). It is a classic image par excellence of Russian iconography, preserved today in the Museum of Fine Arts in Yaroslavl.
The anonymous master of our piece represents Elijah in the center of the icon, according to the canon: seated on a stone and leaning on the staff. The saint, who turns his face towards the raven that brings him a loaf of bread, is surrounded by nature. Instead of hagiographic cells, called "kleimó" in Russian and typical of traditional Orthodox iconography, our master opts for miniatures, less common but equally used, which form a circular composition.
The scenes should be read from the upper left corner downwards, ending in the upper right corner. It is true that this icon has some deterioration, but even so all the scenes can be appreciated well, because the inscriptions are preserved, a feature of orthodox iconography. In the first miniature we see the Pantocrator. It is followed by a scene with Elijah, probably when Elijah spoke with God. The third scene describes the descent of the angel in the dream Elijah. It is followed by a scene describing one of his miracles, when he touched the waters of the Jordan River with his clothes, and the waters parted, just as happened to Moses. In the penultimate miniature we see the prophet Elisha, who frequently accompanies Elijah. . Finally, the composition culminates with Elijah's ascension to heaven, even though he is mortal, thus symbolizing his great virtue.
In addition to representing with iconographic accuracy the life of Elijah, the anonymous author improvises freely, enriching the icon with vegetal and maritime landscapes.
Elijah was one of the most revered Old Testament saints in Old Rus, even before the Christianization of Rus in 988. Today he is considered the protector of the air forces. He is one of the few prophets equally appreciated in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. There is very little information about his origin and his name, which probably comes from Hebrew and means "my God is Yahweh (the only God)", is not known exactly. During his life, Elijah openly criticized the king of Israel, Ahab, and his wife Jezebel, both pagans. For the lack of faith in Christianity, God punished Israel with a drought, which lasted three years. During this period, Elijah lived in the desert, next to a small river, or a natural water source, and was fed with the help of the ravens that brought him food. The central scene of our icon represents precisely this episode, the colors of ocher, red, and yellowish tones, help to convey the feeling of heat and drought, in an uninhabited desert. When the people of Israel finally tired, Elijah offered to make a test, building two altars, one pagan and one Christian. Likewise, the one on which the fire would fall that night would be the religion he would follow. God lit the Christian altar, putting an end to paganism in Israel. As a gift for this rigorous faith and virtue, Elijah was ascended to heaven.