Russia, ca. 19th century CE. Finely painted in egg tempera and sumptuously adorned with gold leaf and enamel on wood, this icon features the miracle-working Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker dressed as a bishop in a cross adorned omophorion holding candlesticks in each hand, flanked by two saints; a heavenly apparition of the Holy Trinity in the celestial realm above. Surrounding the arched composition is a gilt and enamel border of jewel tone and golden hues, enamel also featured on the 'pearl' haloes of Nicholas and the saints. Size: 12.25" W x 14" H (31.1 cm x 35.6 cm)

Nicholas, one of the most beloved saints of the church, who served as an intercessor, performing miracles of healing and rescue, has an interesting history. A strong opponent of the heretical bishop Arius at the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas, after slapping Arius in the face, was denied his holy insignia and tossed in jail. However, Christ and the Virgin appeared to him and gave him back his freedom and his episcopal office. Here shown with a serious countenance, a high furrowed forehead, concentrating eyes framed by arched brows, and a short, gray beard, Saint Nicholas is portrayed as a staunch champion of the Christian faith, a defender against heresy, and a healer. Saint Nicholas is regarded as the archetypal Bishop and the archetypal Saint – these titles supported by the presence of the Holy Trinity amid heavenly clouds above. The stunning gilding surrounding the arched composition as well as the decorative gilded and jewel tone enameled border add to the sacred nature of this icon.

Exhibited in "Windows Into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art" at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina (December 20, 2003 through February 22, 2004) which presented highlights of one of the world's great artistic traditions through an extraordinary group of sixty-five 18th and 19th century Russian icons on loan from the private collection of Lilly and Francis Robicsek.

Icons (icon means "image" in Greek) are sacred objects within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. Found in homes as well as churches, these painted images depict holy persons and saints as well as illustrate scenes from the Scriptures. Some icons are encased in precious metal covers (oklads) adorned with pearls and semi-precious stones or glass-fronted wooden cases (kiots). Icons are not worshiped, but are instead venerated for their ability to focus the power of an individual's prayer to God. As such they are truly "windows into heaven."

The “Windows Into Heaven” exhibition profiled a magnificent chapter of Russian artistry, the embrace of the Russian Orthodox faith of religious icons during the Romanov centuries. The Russian religious faith was an offshoot of Byzantine Christianity, which in 1054 parted ways from Roman Catholicism. Icons were and continue to be religious images created for veneration. As a focus for prayers and meditation for believers, icons serve as “windows into heaven.”

Provenance: Ex-Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art, Charlotte, NC; exhibited at Mint Museum of Art "Windows Into Heaven", Charlotte, North Carolina (December 20, 2003 through February 22, 2004)

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#119447

Gilded and painted surfaces with some expected wear and loss as shown, but overall very good. Age cracks visible on verso, small loss to wood on periphery. Mint Museum label and suspension wire on verso.