The painting of Vladimir-Suz-Dal Rus was closely connected with the traditions of Byzantine art. This connection is revealed by the already famous icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir. According to an ancient legend, it was brought from Constantinople as a gift to Yuri Dolgoruky by a Kyiv merchant. However, many historians do not believe the legend and believe that the icon was a gift to Yuri from the Byzantine spiritual and secular authorities for his deference to Constantinople.
The unknown artist managed to combine in the icon the heavenly majesty of sacred images with the quivering tenderness of a mother caressing a baby. Our Lady of Vladimir captivates with its sophisticated beauty. It is no coincidence that Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky, a connoisseur of all kinds of church beauty, took this icon with him to the northeast and made it the patroness of North-Eastern Russia.
Murals of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral
A remarkable example of Vladimir monumental painting was the murals of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral, made around 1195. Of all their former splendor, only the smallest part has survived - fragments of the Last Judgment composition. However, these faded fragments are worth a lot. The faces of the apostles sitting on the thrones are unusually expressive. The artist managed to give individual features to each of them. And above, above the apostles, angels hover with beautiful heavenly visions ...
It is believed that the Constantinople master played the main role in the murals of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral. But Vladimir artists also worked with him.
Icon "Angel Golden hair"
Among about one and a half dozen first-class icons of the second half of the 12th - early 13th centuries. Let's note the icon of the Archangel Gavria-la, better known as the "Angel of Golden Hair". The greatest connoisseur of ancient Russian art, V. N. Lazarev, believed that “this is one of the most beautiful works of ancient Russian painting ... the work of an outstanding master ... who was completely imbued with the spirit of Byzantine aesthetics.”
Painting of the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa
In Novgorod at the very end of the XII century. The Church of the Savior on Nereditsa was painted. These unique paintings were preserved until the Great Patriotic War, when the church was destroyed by a direct hit from an artillery shell. Now the merits of the deceased painting can only be judged by photographs and drawings. It is believed that these frescoes were made by Novgorod masters, who in many respects imitated the Greeks.
Murals of St. George's Church
In the lower reaches of the Volkhov is the ancient Novgorod fortress Staraya Ladoga. Here, among the darkened walls, rises St. George's Church, in which murals of the late 12th century have been preserved. Their most famous composition is George's Miracle about the Serpent. The image of George the Victorious - a heroic rider in a red cloak on a white horse - is full of extraordinary grace and nobility.
Along with architecture, icon painting also developed in Russia. Being a painting, the icon, however, differs sharply from the secular picture. In church representation, the icon appeared as a connecting link between the believer and the deity. Therefore, the artists of ancient Russian painting adhered to strictly religious subjects, however, they still invested their ethical and aesthetic ideals, dreams and hopes in them.
The icon was painted on boards, sometimes a canvas was pasted onto the boards, primed, and covered with a layer of drying oil on top for strength. Artists used natural paints - vegetable and mineral, which were mixed with egg yolk, plant juice.
In 842, at the Ecumenical Council, a strict theological definition of "what is an icon" was given (in Greek, "icon" is a likeness, an image). Its essence is that the icons depict not a deity, which is incomprehensible and unknown, but his human image. "Human and objective forms should be shown in the icon, although conditionally, but life-like, with the help of appropriate and decent colors."
Protection of the Mother of God (Novgorod icon)
Feature of Russian icon painting. Old Russian icons have an individual feature in depicting images and figures. In contrast to the religious subjects of Italian and European artists, where the figures are depicted in volume, on Russian icons the figures are flat, incorporeal, incorporeal, they seem to glide along the plane of the icons.
Artists - icon painters used in their subjects a variety of symbols, techniques with which they conveyed in icons the idea, dreams and aspirations, both of their own and of the Russian people. These symbols were understandable to the people, which is why the icons were so close and dear to them. What are these symbols? A star, for example, means deification. The winged young man blowing the pipes is the wind. Women holding amphorae from which water flows - rivers, streams of water. The circle is eternity, eternal life. Virgin on the throne in a crown and mantle - spring. People with crosses in their hands are martyrs. The wavy hair of angels, tied with ribbons, are rumors denoting higher vision, knowledge.
Color is also a kind of identification mark of the images: we recognize the Mother of God by the dark cherry cloak, the apostle Peter by the light crimson, the prophet Elijah by the bright red background. Paints are like the alphabet: red is the color of martyrs, but also the fire of faith; green - an expression of youth, life; white - involved in the highest rank, this is the color of God. The golden color is also the color of God.
The ancient Russian masters lavished paint with such a simple-hearted childish generosity that no adult artist would ever dare, apparently, this should have corresponded to the evangelistic words: “Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom Heavenly."
The background of the icon was traditionally covered with gold. Gold not only symbolized the Divine light, but also created a flickering, mystical light that illuminated the icon with the quivering flame of the lamp and the image on it either stood out or moved away beyond the line where mortals had no access.
Our ancestors treated holy images with great reverence: they were not sold, and old, “faded” icons could not simply be thrown away or burned - they were buried in the ground or floated on water. Icons were the first to be taken out of the house during a fire and redeemed from captivity for a lot of money. Icons were obligatory both in a peasant's hut, and in a royal palace or a noble estate. “Without God - not to the threshold” - this proverb reflected the real life of the people of that time. Sometimes icons were declared miraculous, miraculous, military victories, the cessation of epidemics, droughts were attributed to them. Icons are still treated with care, they exude joy, enjoyment of life, strength and purity.
The most ancient image of the Mother of God "The Sign" in Russia is the Novgorod icon, painted in the second quarter - the middle of the XII century. But the name "Sign" begins to be associated with it, oddly enough, only at the end of the 15th century, especially clearly - from the 16th century, and finally fixed in the 17th. The feast of the icon was celebrated on November 27, apparently, even before its miracle to the people of Novgorod, which happened on February 25, 1169 (1170). In the Novgorod First Chronicle it is reported that the Novgorodians defeated the Suzdalians "by the power of the Cross and the Holy Mother of God", that is, any name is not yet associated with the icon. The chronicler calls the icon simply “the Holy Mother of God”, without a specific epithet. The word "sign" then, as usual, was used in the same sense as in V.I. Dahl: “A sign is a sign, a sign, a sign; brand, tamga, seal; natural phenomenon or miracle for signification, proof; an omen of something."
The etymology of the word "sign" is directly related to the verb "to know". Indo-European ĝen - "to know" is identical to ĝen - "to give birth, be born" and comes from this latter. It is the concepts of “to be born” and “to know” that make up the meaning of the word “sign”.
Consider the symbolic and theological meanings of the iconography of the image. At the same time, let's not forget about the conventions of the language of the icon and the difference between the image and the depicted. I.K. Yazykova writes: “At the moment of contemplation of the icon, the holy of holies, the inner Mary, in whose bowels the God-man is conceived by the Holy Spirit, is revealed to the praying one.” Let's emphasize this "as if". With this reservation, one of the meanings of the circle in which Emmanuel is depicted should be understood and perceived as symbol revelations. But anyway revelations- Divine sign. And although the most intimate is revealed to us, nevertheless, this is only the first step in the conversation of the icon with us, when a sign is a “foreshadowing of something.” On the second step, the Mother of God, knowing Savior before Christmas, still in the womb, gives birth- on the icon, as if eternally sends - the Divine Infant into the world for the salvation of the human race.
The hands of the Mother of God are raised to the sky, they are wide open towards the One who is higher than the whole universe, and at the same time they bless those who pray. This is a very ancient prayer gesture: according to Tertullian, the hands of the Christians of his time were raised and extended, "imitating the passion of the Lord." The prayerfully raised hands of the Virgin also mean intercession for people before God. The inscription on one of the Byzantine seals of the early 13th century reads: “Stretching out Your hands and bringing Your intercession to the whole universe, give me Your protection, O Most Pure One, for what I have to do.” With hands raised to heaven, Moses also prayed during the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites: “And when Moses raised his hands, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hands, Amalek prevailed; but the hands of Moses were heavy, and then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hor supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were lifted up until the sun went down” (Ex. 17:11-12). Here the significance of the entire psychophysical side of prayer is clearly confirmed: it is not enough to pronounce words in the heart, the posture of the prayer and his gestures play an important role. Let us also pay attention to the theme of light and grace that accompanies this gesture. The name "Aaron" is translated as "mountain of light", "Or" - "light". And the hands of Moses himself were “raised until the sun went down,” that is, the hands supported by the “lights” stretched out to the Light and received the grace of God. In the same way, during the liturgy, the priest stretches out his hands in front of the altar, exclaiming: "Woe to our hearts." Therefore, we can talk about the canonicity of this gesture, which has been used in the liturgy since ancient times, about a kind of connection through this gesture of the Old and New Testaments.
The same is embedded in the iconography of the Mother of God icon "The Sign". And here we see the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the New. The Infant of God in the pictorial relation is conditional, but eternally is born into the world to save him. Therefore, He is often placed in a mandorla, through the circles of which Divine energies seem to emanate into the world (again, the theme of light and grace, reflected even in the color of Emmanuel's clothes). Mandorla in this case acts as sign movements are the movements of the Child and the light. And when, during the siege of Novgorod, the arrow of the Suzdalians hit the icon and the icon turned away from the attackers, the Suzdalians thereby lost their light and grace, and the Novgorodians, on the contrary, received this grace for decisive action and victory over the enemy. Recall that the Greek ενέργεια is translated as an active force, and a sign, according to V.I. Yes, there is a sign. But in Greek a sign - σημειον - is a wonderful sign, not an ordinary one. In the Novgorod Festive Menaion (c. the second quarter of the 14th century), this word is used in relation to the miraculous icon precisely in the meaning of “foreshadowing”, “miracle”. Another purpose of the mandorla in this case is to emphasize the Christocentrism of the icon: both with concentric circles around the Divine Infant - “Light has come into the world” (John 3: 19), and with its high hierarchical status in the system of iconographic symbols. The arms of the Divine Infant outstretched from the medallion Great Panagia(from the Greek Παναγία - All-holy) indicate the penetration of eternity into time, which means the abolition of time, which is typical for the Orthodox worldview.
So, the first meaning of the “Sign” icon is revelation. At the same time, there is another meaning in it: Christians, for their part, get to know Birth and coming into the world of the Savior, know Him and testify of Him as recognized. That is, birth (γέννησις), in fact, takes place in the name of creation (γένεσις), in order to return creation to the Divine plan: so that man becomes a created god by grace. In other words, without division and confusion, the dual unity of “God and me” arises – the unity that S.L. Franc. Recall that the word "God" in theology indicates the property, the nature, and the word "God" - the Personality. As a supertemporal or timeless act, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled: “Behold, the Virgin in the womb will receive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Emmanuel, which means: God is with us” (Is. 7: 14; Matt. 1: 23). In the 15th century, this text of Isaiah is given not only on the icons of the prophetic tier of the iconostasis, as in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, but also serves as the basis for free literary transcriptions, in which the word "sign" is used in relation to prophecy.
The religious experience of prayerful communion with an icon allows one to discover in oneself a new state filled with Divine energies. The Greek term ένθεος, lit. "filled with divinity" This state is indicated by the words of Christ: “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). We are clothed in Christ, and Christ dwells in us. In this case, on a personal level, a real relationship is established between the Prototype and a person through the medium of an icon, and on a public level, the icon becomes a national shrine. Thus, the image of the Mother of God “The Sign” became the sacred guardian of Veliky Novgorod. This icon was also considered in Byzantium and in Russia to be the patroness of the Church, which explains the frequent use of its iconography on the seals of monasteries, dioceses and metropolises, in lunettes above the entrance to the temple, in the conchs of apses. There are grounds for establishing a connection between the image of the Mother of God "The Sign" and the icon of the Annunciation. If in the bowels of Mary “the God-man is conceived by the Holy Spirit”, as I.K. Yazykov, then this is the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy about Emmanuel: the good news has passed into the stage of its fulfillment. Therefore, E.S. Smirnova is absolutely right, considering the images on the reverse side of the icon as images of Joachim and Anna, and not the Apostle Peter and the martyr Natalia, as V.N. Lazarev with followers. The theme of the Incarnation is central to the icon of the Sign (which is why this iconography is canonical for the center of the prophetic tier of the iconostasis). Both sides of the famous Novgorod image, with increasing content, testify precisely to the Incarnation. Otherwise, the theological connection between the obverse and reverse of this icon is lost, which comes into conflict with the practice of church life. Such a connection was present in the vast majority of external Orthodox images.
A special rite in honor of the Mother of God, called the "Order of the Ascension of the Panagia", is directly connected with the "Sign" icon. But we know that the Panagia is also called the encolpion - a small image of the Virgin, worn by the bishop on his chest over the vestments, and the prosphora, from which a particle was removed at the liturgy in memory of the Most Pure. During the meal, prosphora was always placed on a special dish - panagiar - with the image of Our Lady of the Sign, often surrounded by prophets. On Byzantine panagiars of the 12th-13th centuries one can see the inscription: “Christ is Bread. The Virgin gives the body to God the Word. The inscription was applied not only for the sake of decoration; its meaning was to mysteriously connect the rank Panagia and the meaning of holy bread - the body of Christ, received by Him from His Mother. so chin Panagia brings us back to the topic of the Incarnation.
The pedigree of the iconography of the "Sign" goes back to the image of Oranta, which in Russia was also called the "Indestructible Wall", because "it was considered the intercessor of" all cities, suburbs and villages "in the fight against the eternal enemies - the steppe nomads". Is it correct to assume that Oranta was depicted as an intercessor, starting with the murals of the catacombs? In them one can see many images similar in iconography: this is how, for example, the souls of the dead were originally depicted, who prayed for the still living Christians.
Oranta was and is a symbol of the Heavenly Church. She became such in full measure and consciously from the moment when she was identified with the personality of the Mother of God. Already in the catacombs, “under the image of a praying wife, the ancient Christians sometimes used to depict none other than the Blessed Virgin Mary,” accompanying the frescoes with the inscriptions “Maria” and “Mara”. Nevertheless, “in these orants we have not a portrait, individual type of the Mother of God, but a conventional image of Her, adopted for every sedate Christian woman.” However, in the “Ascension” stamp of the Monza ampulla (the iconography of the stamps dates back to the 4th-6th centuries), we see Oranta already, undoubtedly, in the person of the Mother of God, we see Her as the personification of the apostolic Church.
Since the 9th century, they began to write the Most Pure in the conch of the apse. As I.K. Yazykov, since then “the theme of intercession has taken on a broader aspect: the prayer of the Mother of God links together the Kingdom of Heaven, represented in the upper part of the temple, with the “world of the valley” - under Her feet. The Mother of God Oranta, as it were, opens up to meet Christ, Who descends through Her to the earth, incarnates in a human form and sanctifies human flesh with Her Divine presence, turning it into a temple - hence the Mother of God Oranta is interpreted as the personification of the Christian temple, as well as the entire New Testament Church.
Serbian painters in the 14th century painted a fresco similar to the Novgorod icon “The Sign”, where the Mother of God, depicted full-length, is dressed not in the usual tunic, but in a chiton with claves. Similar examples can be seen in some of the frescoes of Oranta in the catacombs. The Mother of God in this case was understood as the Church itself and as a messenger. If earlier the intercession of the Most Pure implied a movement from the bottom to the top, then here it is understood as apostolic and directed from the top to the bottom.
The protographers of the image of Our Lady of the Sign have also been known since the 4th century (the catacombs of St. Agnes in Rome) and, judging by the absence of a halo in the Divine Infant, were created before the First Ecumenical Council, that is, before 325. And in the 5th-6th centuries they were already written on icons and in the wall paintings of temples, minted on coins, reproduced on the seals of Byzantine emperors, which indicates their Constantinople origin. This iconography has been especially widespread since the 11th-12th centuries and becomes popular throughout the Orthodox ecumene. Nevertheless, many art historians consider the time of the appearance of this recension to be only the middle of the 11th century, referring to the surviving images of coins (nomisma of Empresses Zoe and Theodora, 1042) and sphragistics (seals of Empress Eudokia Makremvolitissa, wife of Constantine X in 1059-1067). and Roman IV in 1068-1071). Apparently, the confusion here is due to the fuzzy classification of the names of iconographic types, since the tradition of fixing stable names of one or another type of the Theotokos icons takes shape only by the time of the decline of the Byzantine Empire, and possibly even later - already in post-Byzantine times.
According to I.K. Linguistically, the iconography of Oranta is an abbreviated and truncated version of the image of Our Lady of the Sign. Such an opinion cannot but arouse objections. Since the version of Oranta is older than the “Sign”, the first cannot be an “abbreviated version” of the second: only what is already there can be truncated. Here we are dealing not with the reduction of the iconography of the image, but with its construction. Therefore, the “Sign” scheme is even more complicated than the Oranta scheme, and not only externally, but also internally. “This is the most theologically rich iconographic type,” I.K. Yazykov.
Using the example of the Cypriot frescoes, we have already verified the undoubted connection between the images of the image of the “Sign” and the image of Our Lady of Blachernitissa, which only confirms the understanding of the word “sign” as a miracle, because the events of 910 that took place in the Blachernae Church have been celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church for more than eight hundred years as the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God. Apparently, it is natural that the icon is called "The Sign" only in Russia and nowhere else. In other countries, it is known under other names, mainly taken from akathists.
In the art of the Byzantine circle, several terms were used for this iconography, which are often used by art historians: “Platitera” (from “Πλαντυτέρα τόν ουρανόν” - “Wide of heaven”, from the liturgy of Basil the Great), “Episkepsis” (“Επίσκεψις” - “Patroness , Intercessor"), "Megali Panagia" ("Μεγάλη Παναγία" - "Great All-Holy") ". Let's add here "Pantonassa" ("παντο" - "everything" + "νάσσα" from "ναίω" - "to live, inhabit; be; inhabit").
It should also be noted a certain iconographic connection between the image of the Mother of God "The Sign" and the icon Our Lady Nicopeia(victorious). During the restoration of the Blachernae Church (1030–1031) during the reign of Emperor Roman III Argyra, builders discovered an icon immured in the wall, which was hidden from iconoclasts, most likely in the 8th century under Emperor Constantine Copronymus. The found image was described by the witness of the events, John Skylitsa. Its text was understood for quite a long time as a description of a recension identical to that of the Novgorod icon “The Sign”, however, modern researchers have made a more accurate translation, from which it follows that the Mother of God holds a mandorla with the Divine Infant in Her hands. This is how Nicopeia, known since pre-iconoclastic times, was found. A similar Sinai icon of the 7th century has survived to this day. The role of this edition, according to Academician N.P. Kondakov and V.N. Lazarev, resonates with the role that the Novgorod shrine is called upon to play - the icon of Our Lady of the Sign.
Note how accurately our ancestors gave the name to the image! The miracle is inextricably linked with this icon. Especially for Novgorodians. Miraculously, they received help from her during the siege of the city by the Suzdal people. In 1356, the fire that broke out in the church subsided after a prayer service in front of this icon. In 1611, the Swedes were thrown out of the Znamensky Cathedral, trying to rob it. Relatively recently, many of those present witnessed a celestial phenomenon: on August 15, 1991, when the icon was transferred from the museum, where it had been stored for a long time, to the Novgorod diocese, a rainbow surrounded the golden dome of St. Sophia Cathedral with a ring, and then began to rise and dissolved in a clear, without a single cloud, sky.
In conclusion, we recall that the word "miracle" is derived from the verb "chuti" - that is, "hear, feel." God, considering human nature, for the salvation of His people, speaks to them with the help of signs. As long as we “feel” the omnipresence of God and the universal protection of the Mother of God, we can hope for Her intercession and help in sorrows. And through Her image of the “Sign” the luminous grace of God will continue to descend upon us.
Yazykova I.K. Theology icons. S. 189.
There. S. 92.
See the wall paintings in the temple of Panagia Phorbiotissa in Ashina and in the temple of Panagia in Trikomo, which were mentioned above (notes 13, 14).
“The name “Vlahernitissa” is found both on compositions with Our Lady Oranta without a medallion with Emmanuel, and on compositions with Our Lady Oranta and Emmanuel, that is, on the Novgorod icon. However, the Byzantines themselves applied this name not only to these, but also to other images, for example, to the Mother of God with the Child of the “Tenderness” type, which in iconography is most reminiscent of our Tolga. Probably, all the revered images of Blachernae, with their various iconographic types, could be called “Vlachernitissa”, including the version of the Novgorod miraculous icon” ( Smirnova E.S.. Novgorod icon "Our Lady of the Sign". S. 292).
“The Sign of the Mother of God in Blachernae Church is eschatological. According to the prophecies, the Veil is a sign and a miracle of the last times. The significance of this secret will be revealed when evil has already won, as it were, a complete and unconditional victory on earth. What kind of revelation this will be, we don’t know now, ”writes a modern author ( Rogozyansky Andrey. Veil: theological mystery and historical paradox // http://www.rusk.ru/st.php?idar=103738).
Smirnova E.S.. Novgorod icon “Our Lady of the Sign. S. 290.
Cm.: Lazarev V.N.. Russian icon painting // Icons of the XI-XIII centuries. M., 2000. S. 42, 166; as well as: Kondakov N.P.. Iconography of the Mother of God. Pg., 1915, vol. 2, pp. 105–123.
The only monument of Kievan antiquity in St. Sophia of Kyiv is the Korsun bronze cross, with the image of the Mother of God, honored under the name Kupyatitskaya Mother of God. Even legends refuse to call anything in the Russian south a monument of the most ancient icon painting and persistently point to Moscow and Vladimir, then to Ryazan, Smolensk and Nizhny Novgorod, where the images were transferred: Savior Not Made by Hands Image in 1352 to Nizhny Novgorod or Hodegetria to Suzdal in 1381, or to the Ryazan Theological Monastery icon John the Evangelist in 1237 and to the temple Archangel Michael- its Byzantine image. Only later we will see that all the same, the connections of the Russian south with the Greek Korsun and Kafoy already from the end of the 14th century. and throughout the 15th century led to the revival of the characteristic southern craftsmanship, which was called Korsun.
Ancient Kyiv, thanks to the countless invasions that began in the XI century. and ended with the general desolation of Kievan Rus, retained so little of its ancient iconography that it is not possible to form an idea of the ancient Kyiv iconography from the actual material, that is, from the monuments. miraculous icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, suspended from the top of the iconostasis and almost inaccessible to consideration, according to legend, it refers to 1073; according to the appearance of the oblong low board on which it is written, the icon has the form of an ancient miniature, painted earlier than the usual composition of the Assumption (in the "Holidays"), and resembles the mosaic image of the Assumption in the altar of the Roman church of St. Mary Maggiore of the 13th century, but seems to have been roughly rewritten. The icon of the Mother of God of Igor, in the same lavra, in the chapel, attributed, according to legend, to Prince Igor Olgovich, cannot be earlier than the end of the 14th century. The same applies to the 15th century. also needs to be cleaned up. This is all the material on the ancient Kyiv icon painting.
Considered icons of Greek writing: Mother of God of Vladimir and image Nicholas the Wonderworker, preserved in the choirs of Kyiv Sophia, should be the Mother of God in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow (as if brought between 1144-1155) - in fact, the end of the 14th century .; Assumption of the Mother of God in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (1073); Hodegetria in the Smolensk Cathedral (1046) - in fact, the XIV century; Tikhvin Mother of God(XII century) - in fact, the end of the XIV century; Omens in Novgorod in the 12th century; Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Novgorod Dvorishchensky Cathedral (1103) - in fact, the XIV century; Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Cathedral of Zaraysk, brought in 1224 (unknown time). Most likely antiquity Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God(kept in the Bogolyubov Monastery near Vladimir), but it is not yet possible to say (because the icon is covered with a massive riza and under it with a mica cover) whether it belongs to the 11th-12th centuries, although it is possible that this particular icon was once considered a memory Yuri Dolgoruky and Andrei Bogolyubsky.
The Kievo-Pechersk Patericon contains information about Alipiy, the first Russian icon painter, who learned icon painting from the newcomer Greeks and died a hieromonk of the Lavra around 1114. Much is said about Alipiy’s industriousness, even more about his kindness of heart, humility, purity, fasting, and these, according to apparently, the true historical features in the consciousness of a distant era made a miracle worker out of the icon painter: he cleansed a Kyiv city dweller of leprosy, the Angels painted for Alypiy 5 icons of Deesis, ordered for him, but not executed by him, because 2 monks hid from him both the order and money, and also an angel, instead of the sick Alipiy, painted the icon of the Dormition for him. With all the abundance of legends, we do not have a single icon that could be taken, if not for the original work of Alipiy himself, then at least for a remote list from his works.
Icon of Our Lady of Svens represents the Mother of God, according to the type of the Pechersk icon, with the Infant blessing before Himself, and Saints Anthony and Theodosius in anticipation. Tradition reports that this icon was sent from Kyiv to Bryansk and miraculously appeared to Prince Roman Mikhailovich in 1288. icons Alipia, although in the form of a list, is completely excluded.
We know absolutely nothing about the works of Alipius, and then we continue to hear in the annals only about the call of Greek icon painters to perform wall paintings both in Kyiv and in the Suzdal region, and even in distant Novgorod. These constant calls and parishes in the XII and XIII centuries. testify to the obvious fact that icon painting for a long time could not settle in Russia so much that its own workshops were formed, and the succession of masters began. On the other hand, it is impossible to deny the presence in Kievan Rus of a high culture, which allowed the existence of such refined arts as craftsmanship cloisonne enamel , enamel and tsenins, jewelry, etc., to which the surviving works of art are indisputable evidence. In view of this fact, the absence of Kyiv monuments of icon painting is explained, of course, by the desolation of southern Russia since the time of the Mongols, at the same time, not only Novgorod, but even the Suzdal region devastated by the Tatars, were able to retain the most ancient monuments.
For the first researchers of icon painting D. A. Rovinsky, F. I. Buslaev and G. D. Filimonov, its history was limited to the 17th century. and all its previous periods, including Novgorod, seemed to be only a continuation of Greek icon painting, i.e., Byzantine art. Since that time, academic circles have managed to get acquainted with the Novgorod icon painting and appreciate its artistic merits; there was even some disregard for the Suzdal icon painting. But it was the Suzdal icon painting (as it came out of Kyiv) that was and always remained in Russia the main Russian school of icon painting, which, after Kyiv, it was she who adopted in the XII-XIII centuries. Greek inheritance, and in it it developed most (true, from the end or the 2nd half of the 14th century), and this school from the end of the 14th century. and to our time, it was dominant in various branches and schools of icon painting, excluding Novgorod, Pskov and Tver, and a supplier of major talents: Andrey Rublev, Dionysius and Theodosius, Procopius Chirin and Simona Ushakova. Suzdal icon painting has always been famous for its subtle knowledge of icon drawing and mastery of paints, in other words, it guided the taste and experience.
The real foundation of the oldest Suzdal icon painting was laid, as everywhere else, by the murals of churches and the installation of iconostases in them, after which workshops remained or were re-arranged in cities and monasteries, and visiting masters continued to work Deesis, holidays, rites, etc. True, all this began a little later than Novgorod and at first it was weak and needed the support of princes and clergy, but, for various reasons, it was more magnificent than Novgorod icons and, most importantly, higher in artistic taste.
It is important to note the existence of a special and strong artistic style that dominated the wide expanse of central Europe from Galich and Volyn - through Kyiv and the Suzdal region - to the Volga region and the Great Bolgars, due to the trade with the East that had risen to the north.
From the Galician-Volyn chronicler under 1259 it is known that the Galician prince Daniel, who so richly and artistically decorated the churches he built in Kholm, in the name of John Chrysostom, Cosmas and Damian, the Mother of God, united masters "from the Germans" and from the Tatars. But in terms of icon decoration, he was limited exclusively to Greek samples. After Daniel of Galicia, Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich Volynsky (1287) was distinguished by a special love for temple building; describing his serious illness, which brought him to the grave and prompted him to distribute all his property to churches, monasteries and the poor. Of the icons, only the local Savior and the Mother of God are mentioned, bound with gold or painted “on gold”, i.e. on a golden background, or even directly “forged icons”, i.e. covered with chased chasubles, like Peter and Paul in the Novgorod Sophia. The main feature of Novgorod icon painting and closely related Pskov icon painting lies in its extreme isolation and specificity: the Novgorod icon is recognized easily and immediately, and the easier and faster it is, the simpler and “handicraft” it is. Even the influences that appeared in this icon painting and the works that it took as a model were immediately remade in their own way both in drawing and in colors. But when moving on to Suzdal icon painting, this feature of Novgorod makes it easy to distinguish everything in ancient Russian icon painting that is not Novgorod, or directly conclude that all these will be monuments of Suzdal icon painting, because there is nothing more to be in the XIV and XV centuries.
Only in the Suzdal icon painting can we find an almost Greek drawing, in its meaningful correctness, and Italian expression. In fact, it was the Suzdal region that was in closest relations with Volhynia and Galich, and then with Bukovina and Moldavia, and as soon as Suzdal churches began to be built, samples were immediately found for them, and, consequently, their local and close workshops. The well-known reliefs of the cathedrals of Vladimir, Yuryev-Polsky and other Suzdal temples and cathedrals are divided into 2 samples: Western Romanesque, very few and monotonous, and numerous Greco-Eastern.
Of course, the most characteristic monument of Suzdal is Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God in the Bogolyubov monastery near Vladimir. The Bogolyubskaya icon, large, almost monumental in size, was appointed, of course, for the cathedral, and not for the monastery, because. near it was the palace of Andrei Bogolyubsky and the transition from it to the temple. Icon this Byzantine character, dark and at the same time reddish black, with a typical Greek inventory of eyes, nose and lips, but probably Russian work /
No less significant monument of this era is icon of St. Boris and Gleb.
Archbishop Anthony of Novgorod, who made a pilgrimage to Constantinople around 1200, tells that in Hagia Sophia at the altar, on the right side, near the place where the kings were appointed to the kingdom in Byzantium and where, according to legend, the Mother of God prayed to Her Son for a Christian family, in his time “the great icon of Saints Boris and Gleb was placed; there are scribes in it.” Under the great icon, the pilgrim apparently meant those large local icons, which in Hagia Sophia in its various parts were put to worship on special or holidays. This news is all the more significant because it mentions the icon of Russian saints, not only placed in Hagia Sophia for worship, but also reports that it was located near the icon-painting workshop, which was brought up especially at Hagia Sophia. According to ancient sources, the wall image of the martyr princes was painted for the first time on the walls of a church built to house their relics.
This icon of Boris and Gleb, being a genuine work of Suzdal icon painting, there is a list of the most ancient icons the time of Archbishop Anthony. At present, it is not known whether this icon will remain the only copy for the time being, or whether it is intended to be the first discovered list of a unique monument of the Russian-Byzantine icon style. At the same time, due to many simple considerations, this icon cannot come from Kyiv, where similar monuments of icon painting on wood were exterminated by Tatar pogroms and, most importantly, by centuries of barbarism that came in the south, and if the original can only come from Suzdal, then the lists could also be taken to Novgorod.
Icon contains in its ornamental decorations such exclusively Suzdal details (reworking of Greek animal types) that it cannot be considered a primary or direct copy from a Byzantine icon, especially since it was wise to bring an icon of this size from Constantinople itself. It is possible that the original was executed in Suzdal by princely order, among other things, for Hagia Sophia of Tsaregradskaya and was accepted there as a “prayer” and contribution.
The most ancient image of John Chrysostom in the collection of I. S. Ostroukhov should be attributed to the XIII century and not to Novgorod, but to Suzdal icon painting. This image was in the full rank of the Deesis of some Suzdal temple, but not high and even, as it was necessary for the size of the slender buildings of the XII-XIII centuries. The general design of the image is purely Greek, but with some irregularities in the design, or rather, exaggerations of the list from the characteristic original.
Tradition says that St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, personally brought from Byzantium the icon of the Image Not Made by Hands, which was located above the Royal Doors in the Spaso-Andronicus Monastery in Moscow, but those who saw this precious monument of antiquity will not find even a Greek plaque in it, not only a Greek letter: this is a purely Russian image, a prayer, and is a list from the Yugoslav miraculous image exactly the end of the 14th century. Many features of the type of the Savior depend on the fact that the Image Not Made by Hands in ancient times was not related to the image of the Almighty Savior and for a long time kept the Greek-Eastern originals.
Icon of Archangel Michael(Russian Museum). The archangel is depicted up to his chest in a large Deesis with a thin measure in his hand. Icon it is distinguished by a wonderful drawing of the very oval of the face of the Archangel. In the icon, only the vestment of the Archangel in a dark green undergarment with a brown-purple shoulder and a red mantle remained from the Byzantine sample. The black wings of the Archangel are covered with golden rims, and the gilded nimbus is made convex, which also indicates a Greek or Yugoslav, Balkan original.
An outstanding work of ancient Russian-Byzantine icon painting is icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker, in the Smolensky Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow, on the left rear pillar of the cathedral, which was formerly local. Visible under a deaf metal riza, the face of the Saint is dark fucked up and, in addition, extremely darkened from many correspondences and varnishing, but even from the drawing it betrays its antiquity. 
It is clearly still of Russian-Byzantine work and does not have any signs of Novgorod writing, but, on the contrary, is written in a purely Greek manner and, obviously, is an early copy of a Greek icon in Russia.
Thus, we can recognize the Russian icon painting of the late XIV century. original characteristic, vital diversity in the choice of samples and their independent processing. The soil for the emergence of talents was definitely cultivated in the Suzdal region.
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Introduction
1. The development of art in Russia in the X - XIII centuries.
2. The art of ancient Russia X - XIII centuries.
2.1. Painting
2.2. Iconography X - XIII centuries.
Introduction
Ancient Russian art of ancient Russian state formations of the 10th - 13th centuries. incorporating the traditions of Eastern Slavic culture and the advanced experience of the art of Byzantium and the Balkan countries, he created outstanding monuments of church and secular painting, wonderful mosaics, frescoes, icons, miniatures, reliefs, decorative items, numerous church chants of various genres.
In a broad sense, ancient Russian art is medieval Russian art. During the formation of feudalism in Russia (X-XIII centuries), art developed on the basis of the achievements of the artistic culture of the East Slavic tribes and the Scythians and Sarmatians who lived on these lands before them. Naturally, the culture of each tribe and region had its own distinctive features and was influenced by neighboring lands and states. Together with Christianity, Russia adopted the traditions of ancient, primarily Greek, culture.
It is important to note that the Russian art of the Middle Ages was formed in the struggle between two ways - patriarchal and feudal, and two religions - paganism and Christianity. And just as traces of the patriarchal way of life can be traced in the art of feudal Russia for a long time, so paganism reminded of itself in almost all its forms. The process of getting rid of paganism was spontaneous, but still attempts were made to strengthen the new religion, to make it close, accessible to people. It is no coincidence that churches were built on the sites of pagan temples; elements of folk deification of nature penetrated into it, and some saints began to be attributed the role of old gods.
Of course, like any art of the Middle Ages, the art of Ancient Russia of the 10th - 13th centuries follows certain canons, which can be traced both in architectural forms and in painting. Even samples were created - “cuts”, “originals”, facial and sensible (in the first it was shown how to write, in the second it was “interpreted”), but both following the canons and contrary to them, the rich creative personality of the artist was able to express himself.
Based on the age-old traditions of Eastern European art, Russian masters managed to create their own national art, enrich European culture with new forms of temples inherent only in Russia, original wall paintings and iconography, which cannot be confused with Byzantine, despite the common iconography and the apparent closeness of the pictorial language.
The purpose of my essay is to trace the formation of Russian art in the period of X - XIII centuries, an important period in the history of Russia. It is most unique in that, despite wars, civil strife, feudal fragmentation, economic and social vicissitudes, art did not stand still, and its development during this period laid the foundation for all subsequent centuries.
1. The development of art in Russia in the X - XIII centuries
The epoch of the 10th - 13th centuries is a colossal epoch of transition from the beginning of a new faith to the beginning of the Tatar-Mongol conquest, which had amazing potential that laid the foundations and stimulated the comprehensive development of an original, incomparable art in Russia. This is the time of the appearance and flourishing of painting, icon painting of epics, it is this period that the transition to stone construction in architecture belongs to. The roots of this phenomenon lie in the art of Byzantium, which at the end of the tenth century brought a whole host of traditions and practical experience to a clean, ready for transformation Russia.
In Byzantine art, which in the first millennium of our era was considered the most perfect in the world, both painting, music, and the art of sculpture were created mainly according to church canons, where everything that contradicted the highest Christian principles was cut off. Asceticism and rigor in painting (icon painting, mosaic, fresco), sublimity, "divinity" of Greek church prayers and hymns, the temple itself, which becomes a place of prayerful communication of people - all this was characteristic of Byzantine art. If this or that religious, theological theme was once and for all strictly established in Christianity, then its expression in art, according to the Byzantines, should have expressed this idea only once and for all in a fixed way; the artist became only an obedient executor of the canons dictated by the church.
And now, canonical in content, brilliant in its execution, the art of Byzantium, transferred to Russian soil, collided with the pagan worldview of the Eastern Slavs, with their joyful cult of nature - the sun, spring, light, with their completely earthly ideas about good and evil, about sins and virtues. From the very first years, Byzantine church art in Russia experienced the full power of Russian folk culture and folk aesthetic ideas (a single-domed Byzantine church in Russia in the 11th century was transformed into a multi-domed pyramid, the basis of which was Russian wooden architecture). The same thing happened with painting. Already in the XI century. the strict ascetic manner of Byzantine icon painting turned under the brush of Russian artists into portraits close to nature, although Russian icons carried all the features of a conventional icon-painting face.
Along with icon painting, fresco painting and mosaics developed. Later, the Novgorod school of painting took shape. Its characteristic features were the clarity of the idea, the reality of the image, accessibility, as well as the abundance of masterpieces written in the Novgorod land. Suffice it to recall, for example, the famous frescoes of the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa near Novgorod (end of the 12th century).
2. The art of ancient Russia X - XIII centuries
2.1. Painting
Now it is quite difficult, having sorted through a lot of literature, to find preserved information about the original Old Russian painting. Some chronicles keep notes that painting still existed before baptism, however, it was a relief picture roughly hollowed out on the walls of buildings (huts), which were then painted with improvised paints (ocher, whitewash, etc.).
Old Russian painting is one of the highest peaks of world culture, the greatest spiritual heritage of our people. Ancient Russian painting - the painting of Christian Russia - played a very important and completely different role in the life of society than modern painting, and its character was determined by this role. Inseparable from the very purpose of ancient Russian painting and the height it reached. Russia was baptized by Byzantium and together with it inherited the idea that the task of painting is to “embodie the word”, to embody the Christian dogma in images.
First of all, this is the Holy Scripture, the Bible (“Bible” in Greek - books) - books created, according to Christian doctrine, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Holy Scripture consists of the New Testament, which includes the Gospel and several other works written by the apostles - the disciples of Christ, and the Old Testament, which contains books created by inspired prophets in the pre-Christian era.
It was necessary to embody the word, this grandiose literature, as clearly as possible - after all, this incarnation was supposed to bring a person closer to the truth of this word, to the depth of the dogma that he professed. The art of the Byzantine, Orthodox world - all countries within the sphere of cultural and religious influence of Byzantium - solved this problem by developing a deeply unique set of techniques, creating an artistic system that had never been seen before and would never be repeated, which made it possible to embody the Christian word in an unusually full and clear way. picturesque image.
"Image" in Greek is an icon. And already from ancient times, the word "icon" began to be used and is still used as a direct name for individual independent images that have become widespread in the painting of the Byzantine world, as a rule, written on a board. But in a broad sense, an icon, that is, an image that embodied the word, is everything created by this painting: images that are inseparable from the temple buildings themselves, mosaics laid out on their walls from cubes of precious glass, frescoes painted on the plaster covering these walls, and miniatures decorating the pages of handwritten books. In an effort to emphasize the purpose and nature of the painting of the Byzantine Orthodox world, often the term “icon painting” is referred to it as a whole, and not just to the icons themselves.
For many centuries, the painting of the Byzantine, Orthodox world, including ancient Russian painting, carried people, embodying them unusually brightly and fully in images, the spiritual truths of Christianity. And it was in the deep disclosure of these truths that the painting of the Byzantine world, including the painting of Ancient Russia, the frescoes, mosaics, miniatures, icons, acquired extraordinary, unprecedented, unique beauty.
Among the visual arts of Kievan Rus, the first place belongs to the monumental "painting". The system of painting temples, of course, was adopted by Russian masters from the Byzantines, and folk art influenced ancient Russian painting. The murals of the temple were supposed to convey the main provisions of the Christian doctrine, to serve as a kind of "gospel" for the illiterate. Mosaics and frescoes of St. Sophia of Kyiv allow us to imagine the system of painting of a medieval temple. The mosaics covered the most symbolically important and most illuminated part of the temple - the central “dome”, the space under the dome, the “altar” (Christ the Pantocrator in the central dome and Our Lady Oranta15 in the altar apse). The rest of the temple is decorated with frescoes (scenes from the life of Christ, the Mother of God, images of preachers, martyrs, etc.). The secular frescoes of St. Sophia of Kyiv are unique: two group portraits of Yaroslav the Wise with his family and episodes of court life (competitions at the hippodrome, figures of buffoons, musicians, hunting scenes, etc.).
In order to strictly follow the canon, which forbids writing from nature, icon painters used either ancient icons or icon-painting originals, sensible, which contained a verbal description of each icon-painting plot (“Prophet Daniel young curly, bows George, in a hat, clothes under azure, top cinnabar, etc.), or facial, i.e. illustrative (strings - a graphic representation of the plot).
Since we will talk about icon painting in Russia during this period below, it should be noted that the phenomenon of book miniatures became a special phenomenon of ancient Russian painting. The oldest Russian manuscript "Ostromir Gospel" (1056-57) is decorated with images of the evangelists, whose bright planar superimposed figures are similar to the figures; Apostles Sophia of Kyiv. Screensavers are filled with fantastic floral ornaments. The miniatures of Svyatoslav's Izbornik (1073) contain portrait images of the grand-ducal family. A huge role in the life of Kievan Rus was played by applied, decorative art, in which images of pagan mythology were especially tenacious. The early Kievan round sculpture was not developed, due to the fact that the church fought against pagan idolatry but played its role in the formation of a national tradition of stone carving.
Having absorbed and creatively processed various artistic influences, Kievan Rus created a system of all-Russian values that predetermined the development of art in the following centuries.
2.2. Iconography X - XIII centuries.
Icon painting played an important role in Ancient Russia, where it became one of the main forms of fine art. The earliest ancient Russian icons had the traditions, as already mentioned, of Byzantine icon painting, but very soon their own distinctive centers and schools of icon painting arose in Russia: Moscow, Pskov, Novgorod, Tver, Central Russian principalities, “northern letters”, etc. There were also their own Russian saints , and their own Russian holidays (Protection of the Virgin, etc.), which are vividly reflected in icon painting.
The artistic language of the icon has long been understood by any person in Russia, the icon was a book for the illiterate. The very word "icon" in Greek meant an image, an image. Most often they turned to the images of Christ, the Mother of God, saints, and also depicted events that were considered sacred.
And yet, even in such a state, the picturesque ensemble of St. Sophia of Kyiv amazes with its grandeur and unity of design, embodying the world of ideas of a medieval person. The appearance of the saints in the mosaics of St. Sophia of Kyiv is close to the canon developed in Byzantine painting: an elongated oval face, a straight long nose, a small mouth with a thin upper and plump lower lip, huge, wide-open eyes, a strict, often stern expression. However, some saints, and especially those in the apse, give the impression of portraiture. In general, despite the incomplete preservation, the hierarchical rank with echoes of Hellenistic portraiture in faces, with a clear constructiveness of forms and sophistication of colors is one of the strongest parts of the decorative ensemble.
Many works of easel painting were created in the 11th century. The Kiev-Pechersk patericon even preserved the name of the famous Russian icon painter of the 11th - early 12th centuries. Caves monk Alimpiy, who studied with Greek masters. About the monk-painter, contemporaries said that he “painted icons cunningly [was] very smart”, icon painting was the main means of his existence. But he spent what he earned in a very peculiar way: for one part he bought everything that was necessary for his craft, he gave the other to the poor, and donated the third to the Caves Monastery. Most of the works of this period have not reached us.
Icons of Vladimir-Suzdal masters of the XII century. became known in recent years after they were cleared by the Central State Restoration Workshops. Some icons are still very similar in style to the Kyiv monuments of the 11th century. Among such icons is a horizontally elongated icon with a depiction of the “Deesis” on the shoulder from the Moscow Assumption Cathedral (Christ, the Mother of God and John the Baptist). The famous Yaroslavl oranta, which came to Yaroslavl from Rostov, is also associated with Kyiv artistic traditions. The monumental majestic figure of the oranta is close in proportion to the figures of Kyiv mosaics. The monumental, solemn icon of Demetrius of Thessalonica, (by the 12th century) brought from the city of Dmitrov, with perfect regularity, symmetry and “sculptural” modeling of a very bright face, resembles the Yaroslavl orant. Apparently, the icon of George of the end of the 12th century - the beginning of the 14th century also belongs to the Vladimir-Suzdal school. The artist also created here the image of a warrior, but younger, with a beautiful expressive face. For a more complete characterization of the pre-Mongolian Vladimir-Suzdal painting, it is necessary to focus on one icon of the late 12th century. sharply different from all previous ones. This is an icon of the Belozerskaya Mother of God, which is a kind of processing of the type of the Vladimir Mother of God. The icon, created on the northern outskirts of the Vladimir-Suzdal land by a folk master, is distinguished by its monumentality and deeply emotional interpretation of the image of a mournful mother. Particularly expressive is the look of the huge eyes fixed on the viewer, and the painfully twisted mouth. In the image of Christ - a boy, with an ugly face, a large forehead, a thin neck and long, knee-deep legs, there are features of life observation, sharply grasped details. The whole image as a whole is distinguished by the flatness and angularity of the pattern. The icon is made on a silver background in a restrained and gloomy range. On its blue fields there are medallions with bust images of saints with Russian types of faces, painted in a broader pictorial manner on pink and blue backgrounds.
In connection with the fragmentation of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality into a number of small principalities, local schools began to take shape in the main cities of these principalities, partially continuing the traditions of Vladimir-Suzdal painting (Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Moscow, Rostov, Suzdal, etc.).
Speaking about the process of creating an icon, it should be noted the high complexity and subtlety of the work. To begin with, a board was skillfully selected (most often from linden), on the surface of which hot fish glue (prepared from bubbles and cartilage of sturgeon fish) was applied, a new canvas-pillowcase was tightly glued. On the pillowcase, in several steps, gesso (the basis for painting) was applied, prepared from crushed chalk, water and fish glue. Levkas was dried and polished. Old Russian icon painters used natural dyes - local soft clays and hard precious stones brought from the Urals, from India, Byzantium and other places. For the preparation of paints, the stones were ground into powder, a binder was added, most often the yolk, as well as gum (water-soluble resin of acacia, plums, cherries, cherry plums). Icon painters boiled drying oil from linseed or poppy oil, which was used to cover the painting of icons.
Unfortunately, the ancient icons have come down to us greatly altered. The original beautiful painting was hidden by a film of drying oil that had darkened with time, which was used to cover the finished icon in the Middle Ages, as well as several layers of later renovations of the icon.
Among the earliest Novgorod icons that have come down to us are masterpieces of world significance. Such, for example, is the “Angel of Golden Hair”, probably written at the end of the 12th century. In all likelihood, this is a fragment of the Deesis tier. The deep spirituality of the sad face with huge eyes makes the image of the icon charmingly beautiful. What a high, pure beauty in this unforgettable image! The seal of Byzantium is still clear and something truly Hellenic shines in the beautiful oval of the face with a gentle blush under the wavy hair trimmed with golden threads. But sadness in the eyes, so radiant and deep, all this sweet freshness, all this exciting beauty is not already a reflection of the Russian soul, ready to realize its special destiny with its tragic trials.
Features of the artistic Kievan tradition are still preserved in a number of icons of the 12th-beginning of the 13th century, which originate mainly from Novgorod again. Such is the "Savior Not Made by Hands" (the face of Christ depicted on the board) from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (XII century). This icon had a special veneration in Novgorod and was a glorified icon. This is evidenced by one of the Novgorod manuscripts of the XIII century (Zakharyevsky Prologue). The stern face of Christ with huge eyes is painted in olive-yellow tones. Her restraint is enlivened by the red rouge of her cheeks, as well as the forehead and nose contour, the differently arched eyebrows give the face of Christ.
Special expressiveness, just as asymmetry, curvature of lines endow Novgorod churches with special plastic expressiveness.
The main, central image of all ancient Russian art is the image of Jesus Christ, the Savior, as he was called in Russia. Savior (Savior) - this word absolutely accurately expresses the idea of the Christian religion about him. It teaches that Jesus Christ is a Man and at the same time God, and the Son of God, who endured the salvation of the human race.
Traditionally located on any of his images on both sides of the head IC XC - the word designation of his personality, the abbreviated designation of his name - Jesus Christ ("Christ" in Greek - the anointed one, the messenger of God). A nimbus also traditionally surrounds the heads of the Savior - a circle, most often golden, - a symbolic image of the light emanating from it, the eternal light, and therefore acquiring a round, beginningless shape. This halo, in memory of the sacrifice he made for people on the cross, is always lined with a cross.
A very important and widespread type of image of the Savior in ancient Russian art was the type that received the name "Savior Almighty". The concept of "Almighty" expresses the basic idea of the Christian dogma about Jesus Christ. "The Almighty Saved" is a half-length image of Jesus Christ in his left hand with the Gospel - a sign of the teaching he brought into the world - and with his right hand, the right hand, raised in a gesture of blessing addressed to this world. But not only these important semantic attributes unite the images of the Almighty Savior. The artists who created them strove with special fullness to endow the image of Jesus Christ with divine power and majesty.
A mosaic image of the Almighty Savior in the dome of one of the oldest churches - the Hagia Sophia in Kyiv (1043-1046) has come down to us.
With the same attributes of the Master of the World as the Almighty Savior, with the Gospel in his left hand and his right hand raised in blessing, Jesus Christ was also depicted in the widespread compositions "The Savior on the Throne." Sitting on the throne (throne) itself indicated his royal power here. In these images, it was especially clear that the Lord of the world is also its judge, since "sitting on the throne", the Savior will do his last judgment on people and the world.
2.3. Fresco and mosaic painting
Along with icon painting, fresco painting and mosaics developed. Translated from Italian, the word "fresco" means "fresh", "raw". This is painting on a damp plastered wall with paints that are diluted with water. Drying, the lime is tightly connected to the paint layer. You can also write on dried lime plaster. Then it is moistened again, and the paints are pre-mixed with lime.
Artists painted the walls of cathedrals, temples, churches. The painting of the temple began only a year after its construction. This was done so that the walls would dry well. The painting was usually started in the spring and tried to be completed within one season.
The murals of ancient Russian cathedrals and churches are distinguished by their unique originality. In the famous St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the images of saints and scenes from their lives are monumental and majestic. The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral show the manner of painting by the local Greek and Russian masters, their commitment to human warmth, integrity and simplicity. On the walls of the cathedral you can see images of saints, and the family of Yaroslav the Wise, and the image of Russian buffoons, and animals.
No less original style, manifested in the severe beauty and restraint of Novgorod frescoes, is also being developed in Novgorod.
The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv show the manner of painting by the local Greek and Russian masters, their commitment to human warmth, integrity and simplicity. On the walls of the cathedral we see images of saints, and the family of Yaroslav the Wise, and images of Russian buffoons, and animals. Beautiful icon-painting, fresco, mosaic painting filled other churches in Kyiv. Known for their great artistic power are the mosaics of the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery with their images of the apostles, saints who have lost their Byzantine severity: their faces have become softer, rounded.
The mosaics of the Cathedral of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv date back to 1112 (currently stored in the upper rooms of St. Sophia Cathedral). The general system of interior decoration of the cathedral was obviously close to that of Sophia, but the nature of the images is somewhat different. Thus, in the scene of the "Eucharist" in the figures there is no heaviness characteristic of the Sofia mosaics. The apostles are taller, slimmer, their movements are freer, their postures are relaxed, their faces are more elongated, their eyes are not so big, their gaze is calmer, it is devoid of that almost magical tension that the huge, as if wide-open eyes of Sophian mosaics radiate.
St. Demetrius of Thessalonica on the mosaic of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is depicted full-length as a young warrior with a sword (the image was on the inside of the altar arch). The magnificence of clothes, combined with an imperious pose, makes Dmitry look like a proud and energetic Kyiv prince-warrior. He was put to death under the emperor Diocletian for his adherence to Christianity and revered as the patron of the army and the patron of the Slavs. Dimitri sits on a throne with a sword half drawn from its scabbard. On this throne is the sign of Vsevolod the Big Nest. With all his appearance, Dmitry of Thessalonica, as it were, personifies the prince-knight, called to create a right court and protect his people. Y is a very refined color scheme, consisting of combinations of soft pink and green colors of clothes with abundant gold of armor.
Later, the Novgorod school of painting took shape. Its characteristic features were the clarity of the idea, the reality of the image, and accessibility. From the XII century. Remarkable creations of Novgorod painters have come down to us: the icon “Angel with Golden Hair”, where, for all the Byzantine conventionality of the appearance of an Angel, one feels a quivering and beautiful human soul. Or the icon “The Savior Not Made by Hands” (also from the 12th century), in which Christ, with his expressive break in his eyebrows, appears as a formidable, understanding judge of the human race. In the icon "Assumption of the Virgin" in the faces of the apostles all the sorrow of loss is captured. And the Novgorod land gave a lot of such masterpieces. Suffice it to recall, for example, the famous frescoes of the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa near Novgorod (end of the 12th century).
The widespread use of icon-painting, fresco painting was also characteristic of Chernigov, Rostov, Suzdal, and later Vladimir-on-Klyazma, where wonderful frescoes depicting the Last Judgment adorned the Dmitrievsky Cathedral.
A special type of monumental painting is a mosaic, which is created from durable materials: small stones or pieces of opaque colored glass - smalt. The history of the existence of the mosaic has several millennia. The oldest mosaics were created from multi-colored clays; in Greco-Roman structures they were used for interior decoration, pebbles and various stones were used for them. This type of art occupied a dominant position in the decoration of Byzantine churches in the era of the establishment of Christianity. The walls and ceilings were painted with mosaic images of gospel scenes, images of Christ and the apostles. Mosaic especially reveals its beauty on curved surfaces, under the vaults of the temple, loves oblique light. Placed at different angles, pieces of smalt shimmer with different shades and create a beautiful exciting spectacle. You can be convinced of this by visiting the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, where the mosaic image of the Mother of God is located.
Frescoes and mosaics, as representatives of the painting of the Russian Middle Ages, have invariably aroused and continue to arouse great interest among art lovers and scientists around the world. Every year, millions of people come to Veliky Novgorod or Kyiv to enjoy the frescoes of medieval painters in ancient cathedrals. Among the educated people of Russia, it is almost impossible to find those who do not have at least one art album in their house with photographs of icons or frescoes.
2.4. Other arts
2.4.1. Music and theater
In the life of the people of Ancient Russia, music, songs and dances occupied a large place. The song accompanied the work, they went on a campaign with it, it was an integral part of the holidays, it was part of the rituals. Dances and instrumental music were accompanied by "games between the village", princely entertainment.
Church circles had a negative attitude towards all these entertainments, seeing in them "dirty", "demonic", associated with pagan religious beliefs, distracting people from the church. Song melodies, motives of instrumental music, dances are not yet known to us. However, we can make some judgments about them on the basis of acquaintance with surviving sources.
Among the musical instruments of Ancient Russia were percussion instruments - tambourine, nakry, organ; wind instruments - horn, trumpet, horn, surna, ocarina, kuvichki, fife, pity, maybe bagpipes; strings - harp and beep, or smyk. The famous frescoes of the tower of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv depict musicians and dancers. The degree of application and prevalence of musical instruments varied. Trumpets and horns were signaling instruments for hunting and hiking; string instruments, tambourines are used as single instruments, as well as in the orchestra at games and holidays.
We can talk not only about the spread of music, songs, dances, but also about the selection of professional performers. One group consisted of skomoroks, singers of epics and legends, the other - buffoons - entertainers, amusers, entertainers, who were both musicians and dancers, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, animal trainers.
Sources also testify that musical notations appeared very early in Russia. This was facilitated by the spread of Christianity. The service was accompanied by singing, which was conducted according to special singing manuscripts-books.
Such manuscripts have survived to our time since the 12th century. In addition to the usual liturgical text, they preserved special ancient Russian musical signs: “banners” and “hooks” (hence the name of the manuscripts: znamenny, kryukovy). Already from the XII century. in singing manuscripts, two main note systems are distinguished: kondakar and znamenny. The first was borrowed from Byzantium. It is a complex two-line system of many special characters located above the main line of text. Short laudatory songs in honor of the saints were called kondaks, the collections of which were respectively called Kondakars. Such notated Kondakorei for the XII - XIII centuries. only five survived. Apparently from the 13th century. maybe from the 14th century. the kondakar system in Russia fell into disuse. The second system of notation, the banner one, existed simultaneously with the kondakar. It was widely developed after the XIV century. occupied a dominant position. It should be noted that if the znamenny notation system is successfully deciphered, then the kondakar records could not be deciphered.
And, of course, an important element of the entire ancient Russian culture was folklore - songs, legends, epics, proverbs, sayings, aphorisms. Many features of the life of people of that time were reflected in wedding, drinking, funeral songs. So, in ancient wedding songs, it was also said about the time when brides were kidnapped, "kidnapped" (of course, with their consent), in later ones - when they were ransomed, and in the songs of the Christian time, it was about the consent of both the bride and parents for marriage.
A whole world of Russian life opens up in epics. Their main character is a hero, a defender of the people. The heroes possessed great physical strength. So, about the beloved Russian hero Ilya Muromets, it was said: “Wherever it doesn’t wave, here the streets lie, where it turns away - with alleys.” At the same time, he was a very peaceful hero who took up arms only in case of emergency. As a rule, the bearer of such an irrepressible force is a native of the people, a peasant son. Folk heroes also possessed great magical power, wisdom, cunning. So, the hero Magus Vseslavich could turn into a gray falcon, a gray wolf, and could become Tur-Golden Horns. People's memory has preserved the image of heroes who came not only from the peasant environment - the boyar son Dobrynya Nikitich, the representative of the clergy, the cunning and dodgy Alyosha Popovich. Each of them had his own character, his own characteristics, but all of them were, as it were, spokesmen for the people's aspirations, thoughts, and hopes. And the main one was protection from fierce enemies.
In epic generalized images of enemies, real foreign policy opponents of Russia are also guessed, the struggle against which has deeply entered the consciousness of the people. Under the name of Tugarin, a generalized image of the Polovtsy with their Khan Tugorkan is visible. the fight against which took a whole period in the history of Russia in the last quarter of the 11th century. Under the name "Zhidovina" Khazaria is displayed, the state religion of which was Judaism. Russian epic heroes faithfully served the epic prince Vladimir. They fulfilled his requests for the defense of the Fatherland, he turned to them at crucial hours. The relationship between the heroes and the prince was not easy. There were resentments and misunderstandings. But all of them - both the prince and the heroes in the end decided one common cause - the cause of the people. Scientists have shown that the name of Prince Vladimir does not necessarily mean Vladimir I. This image merged the generalized image of both Vladimir Svyatoslavich - a warrior against the Pechenegs, and Vladimir Monomakh - the defender of Russia from the Polovtsy, and the appearance of other princes - brave, wise, cunning. And in the more ancient epics, the legendary times of the struggle of the Eastern Slavs with the Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Scythians, with all those whom the steppe so generously sent to conquer the East Slavic lands, were reflected. These were old heroes of very ancient times, and the epics that tell about them are akin to the epic of Homer, the ancient epic of other European and Indo-European peoples.
2.4.1. Literature
The first millennium of the existence of literature in Russia was preserved in chronicles.
Chronicles are the focus of the history of Ancient Russia, its ideology, understanding of its place in world history - they are one of the most important monuments of writing, literature, history, and culture in general. For compiling annals, i.e. weather accounts of events, only the most literate, knowledgeable, wise people were taken, able not only to state different things year after year, but also to give them an appropriate explanation, to leave to posterity a vision of the era as the chroniclers understood it.
However, according to some experts, the first chronicle may have been compiled at the end of the 10th century. It was intended to reflect the history of Russia from the time of the emergence of a new Rurik dynasty there and until the reign of Vladimir with his impressive victories, with the introduction of Christianity in Russia. From that time on, the right and duty to keep chronicles were given to the leaders of the church. It was in churches and monasteries that the most literate, well-prepared and trained people were found - priests, monks. They had a rich book heritage, translated literature, Russian records of old tales, legends, epics, legends; they also had the grand ducal archives at their disposal. It was most convenient for them to carry out this responsible and important work: to create a written historical monument of the era in which they lived and worked, linking it with past times, with deep historical sources.
Scientists believe that before chronicles appeared - large-scale historical works covering several centuries of Russian history, there were separate records, including church, oral stories, which at first served as the basis for the first generalizing works. These were stories about Kiev and the founding of Kyiv, about the campaigns of Russian troops against Byzantium, about the journey of Princess Olga to Constantinople, about the wars of Svyatoslav, the legend of the murder of Boris and Gleb, as well as epics, lives of saints, sermons, traditions, songs, all kinds of legends .
Later, already at the time of the existence of the chronicles, all new stories were added to them, legends about impressive events in Russia, such as the famous feud of 1097 and the blinding of the young prince Vasilko, or about the campaign of Russian princes against the Polovtsy in 1111. The chronicle included in its composition and Vladimir Monomakh's memoirs about life - his Teaching to Children.
The second chronicle was created under Yaroslav the Wise at the time when he united Russia, laid the temple of Hagia Sophia. This chronicle absorbed the previous chronicle and other materials.
Already at the first stage of the creation of chronicles, it became obvious that they represent a collective work, they are a collection of previous chronicle records, documents, various kinds of oral and written historical evidence. The compiler of the next chronicle acted not only as the author of the corresponding newly written parts of the chronicle, but also as a compiler and editor. This and his ability to direct the idea of the vault in the right direction were highly valued by the Kievan princes.
The next Chronicle Code was created by the famous Hilarion, who wrote it, apparently under the name of the monk Nikon, in the 60-70s of the 11th century. after the death of Yaroslav the Wise. And then the Code appeared already in the time of Svyatopolk in the 90s of the XI century.
The vault, which the monk of the Kyiv-Pechersk monastery Nestor took up and which entered our history under the name "The Tale of Bygone Years", turned out to be at least the fifth in a row and was created in the first decade of the 12th century. at the court of Prince Svyatopolk. And each collection was enriched with more and more new materials, and each author contributed his talent, his knowledge, erudition to it. The Code of Nestor was in this sense the pinnacle of early Russian chronicle writing.
We do not know the names of the authors of the legends about Oleg's campaigns, about Olga's baptism or Svyatoslav's wars. The first known author of a literary work in Russia was the priest of the princely church in Berestov, later Metropolitan Hilarion. In the early 40s of the XI century. he created his famous "Sermon on Law and Grace", in which he outlined his understanding of the place of Russia in world history in a vivid publicistic form.
In the second half of the XI century. other bright literary and journalistic works appeared: “The Memory and Praise of Vladimir” by the monk Jacob, in which Hilarion’s ideas are further developed and applied to the historical figure of Vladimir I. At the same time, “The Legend of the Initial Spread of Christianity in Russia”, “The Legend about Boris and Gleb”, patron saints and defenders of the Russian land.
In the last quarter of the XI century. monk Nestor begins to work on his compositions. Chronicle was his final fundamental work. Prior to that, he created the famous "Reading about the life of Boris and Gleb." In it, as in the "Word" of Hilarion, as later in the "Tale of Bygone Years", the ideas of the unity of Russia sound, its defenders and guardians are paid tribute. Already at that time, Russian authors were worried about this growing political enmity in the Russian lands.
Literature of the 12th century continues the traditions of Russian writings of the 11th century. New ecclesiastical and secular works are being created, marked by a vivid form, a wealth of thoughts, and broad generalizations; new genres of literature emerge.
In his declining years, Vladimir Monomakh wrote his famous Teaching to Children, which became one of the favorite readings of Russian people in the early Middle Ages. At the beginning of the XII century. one of Monomakh's associates, hegumen Daniel, creates his own, no less famous, "Hegumen Daniel's Journey to the Holy Places."
XII - beginning of the XIII century. gave a lot of other bright religious and secular works, which replenished the treasury of Russian culture. Among them are the "Word" and "Prayer" by Daniil Zatochnik, who, having been in prison, having experienced a number of other worldly dramas, reflects on the meaning of life, on a harmonious person, on an ideal ruler. Addressing his prince in the Prayer, Daniel says that a real person must combine the strength of Samson, the courage of Alexander the Great, the mind of Joseph, the wisdom of Solomon, the cunning of David. Turning to biblical stories and ancient history helps him convey his ideas to the addressee. A person, according to the author, should strengthen the heart with beauty and wisdom, help his neighbor in sorrow, show mercy to those in need, and resist evil. The humanist line of ancient Russian literature firmly asserts itself here as well.
Author of the middle of the XII century. Metropolitan of Kyiv Klimenty Smolyatich in his "Message" to the priest Thomas, referring to the Greek philosophers Aristotle, Plato, to the work of Homer, also recreates the image of a highly moral person, alien to lust for power, greed and vanity.
In his “Parable of the Human Soul” (end of the 12th century), Bishop Kirill of Turov, relying on the Christian worldview, gives his own interpretation of the meaning of human existence, discusses the need for a constant connection between soul and body. At the same time, in his "Parable" he raises questions that are quite topical for Russian reality, reflects on the relationship between church and secular authorities, defends the national-patriotic idea of the unity of the Russian land, which was especially important at the time when the Vladimir-Suzdal princes began to implement centralization policy on the eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
Simultaneously with these writings, where religious and secular motifs were constantly intertwined, scribes in monasteries, churches, in princely and boyar houses diligently copied church service books, prayers, collections of church traditions, biographies of saints, and ancient theological literature. All this wealth of religious, theological thought also constituted an integral part of the general Russian culture.
But, of course, the synthesis of Russian culture, the interweaving of pagan and Christian features, religious and secular, universal and national motives, sounded most vividly in The Tale of Igor's Campaign. This is a poem of the era. This is her poetic figurative expression. This is not only an excited call for the unity of the Russian land, not only a proud story about the courage of the “Russians” and not only lamentation for the dead, but also reflections on the place of Russia in world history, about the connection of Russia with the surrounding peoples. The centuries of "Trajan" and Chersonese, the Venetians, Germans, Greeks - all of them are connected with the fate of the Russian land, where only those who express its true interests are glorious.
But these works of the XII century. sounded throughout Russia, were created during the period of the greatest political fragmentation of the country.
2.4.3. crafts
Over the course of many centuries, the art of wood carving, and later stone carving, developed and improved in Russia. Wooden carved decorations generally became a characteristic feature of the dwellings of townspeople and peasants, wooden temples.
The white-stone carving of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus, especially the time of Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod the Big Nest, in the decorations of palaces and cathedrals became a remarkable feature of ancient Russian art in general.
Utensils and dishes were famous for their fine carving. In the art of carvers, Russian folk traditions, the ideas of the Russians about beauty and grace, were most fully manifested. The famous art critic of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Stasov wrote: “There is still an abyss of people who imagine that you need to be elegant only in museums, in paintings and statues, in huge cathedrals, and finally, in everything exceptional, special, and as for the rest, you can deal with it no matter what - say, the case is empty and absurd. No, real, integral, healthy art really exists only where the need for elegant forms, for a constant artistic appearance has already spread to hundreds of thousands of things that surround our lives every day. The ancient Russians, surrounding their lives with constant modest beauty, have long confirmed the validity of these words.
This applied not only to wood and stone carving, but also to many types of artistic crafts. Elegant jewelry, genuine masterpieces were created by ancient Russian jewelers - gold and silver craftsmen. They made bracelets, earrings, pendants, buckles, diadems, medallions, trimmed utensils, dishes, weapons with gold, silver, enamel, precious stones. With special diligence and love, craftsmen decorated icon frames, as well as books. An example is the skillfully trimmed with leather and jewelry casing of the Ostromir Gospel, created by order of the Kyiv mayor Ostromir during the time of Yaroslav the Wise.
Until now, earrings made by a Kyiv artisan (XI-XII centuries) are admired: rings with semicircular shields, to which six silver cones with balls and 500 rings 0.06 cm in diameter made of wire 0.02 cm in diameter are soldered. tiny grains of silver with a diameter of 0.04 cm were fixed. It is difficult to imagine how people did this without having magnifying devices.
3. Russian culture X - XIII centuries.
The culture of a people is part of its history. Its formation, subsequent development is closely connected with the same historical factors that influence the formation and development of the country's economy, its statehood, political and spiritual life of society. Naturally, the concept of culture includes everything that is created by the mind, talent, needlework of the people, everything that expresses its spiritual essence, a view of the world, nature, human existence, and human relations.
The culture of Russia takes shape in the same centuries as the formation of Russian statehood. The birth of the people went simultaneously along several lines - economic, political, cultural. Russia took shape and developed as the center of a huge people for that time, consisting at first of various tribes; as a state whose life unfolded over a vast territory. And all the original cultural experience of the Eastern Slavs became the property of a single Russian culture. It developed as a culture of all Eastern Slavs, while at the same time retaining its regional features - some for the Dnieper region, others for North-Eastern Russia, etc.
The development of Russian culture was also influenced by the fact that Russia took shape as a flat state, open to all, both intra-tribal domestic and foreign international influences. And it came from time immemorial. The general culture of Russia reflected both the traditions of, say, the Polyans, the Severians, the Radimichi, the Novgorod Slavs, and other East Slavic tribes, as well as the influence of neighboring peoples with whom Russia exchanged production skills, traded, fought, reconciled - with the Finno-Ugric tribes , Balts, Iranian tribes, other Slavic peoples and states.
Russia not only blindly copied other people's influences and recklessly borrowed them, but applied them to its cultural traditions, to its folk experience, which came down from the depths of centuries, to its understanding of the world around it, to its idea of beauty.
Therefore, in the features of Russian culture, we are constantly confronted not only with influences from outside, but with their sometimes significant spiritual processing, their constant refraction in an absolutely Russian style. If the influence of foreign cultural traditions was stronger in cities, which in themselves were centers of culture, its most advanced features for their time, then the rural population was mainly the custodian of ancient cultural traditions associated with the depths of the historical memory of the people. In villages and villages, life flowed at a slow pace, they were more conservative, more difficult to succumb to various cultural innovations.
For many years, Russian culture - oral folk art, art, architecture, painting, artistic crafts - developed under the influence of pagan religion, pagan worldview. With the adoption of Christianity by Russia, the situation changed dramatically. First of all, the new religion claimed to change the worldview of people, their perception of all life, and hence ideas about beauty, artistic creativity, aesthetic influence.
However, Christianity, having had a strong impact on Russian culture, especially in the field of literature, architecture, art, the development of literacy, schooling, libraries - in those areas that were closely connected with the life of the church, with religion, could not overcome the origins of the people. Russian culture. For many years, dual faith remained in Russia: the official religion, which prevailed in the cities, and paganism, which went into the shadows, but still existed in remote parts of Russia, especially in the northeast, retained its positions in the countryside, the development of Russian culture reflected this duality in the spiritual life of society, in the life of the people. Pagan spiritual traditions, folk at their core, had a profound impact on the entire development of Russian culture in the early Middle Ages.
Under the influence of folk traditions, foundations, habits, under the influence of the people's worldview, church culture itself, religious ideology, was filled with new content. The stern ascetic Christianity of Byzantium on Russian pagan soil, with its cult of nature, worship of the sun, light, wind, with its cheerfulness, love of life, deep humanity, has significantly changed, which is reflected in all those areas of culture where the Byzantine, Christian at its core, cultural influence was especially large. It is no coincidence that in many church monuments of culture (for example, the writings of church authors) we see completely secular, worldly reasoning and a reflection of purely worldly passions. And it is no coincidence that the pinnacle of the spiritual achievement of Ancient Russia - the brilliant "Lay of Igor's Campaign" is all permeated with pagan motives.
This openness and synthesizing of ancient Russian culture, its powerful reliance on folk origins and folk perception developed by the entire long-suffering history of the Eastern Slavs, the interweaving of Christian and folk-pagan influences has led to what is called in world history a phenomenon of Russian culture. Its characteristic features are the desire for monumentality, scale, figurativeness in chronicle writing; nationality, integrity and simplicity in art; grace, deeply humanistic beginning in architecture; softness, love of life, kindness in painting; the constant beating of the pulse of quest, doubt, passion in literature. And all this was dominated by the great fusion of the creator of cultural values with nature, his sense of belonging to all mankind, his concern for people, for their pain and misfortune. It is no coincidence that, again, one of the favorite images of the Russian church and culture was the image of Saints Boris and Gleb, philanthropists, non-resistors who suffered for the unity of the country, who accepted torment for the sake of people. These features and characteristic features of the culture of Ancient Russia did not appear immediately. In their basic guises, they have evolved over the centuries. But then, having already poured into more or less established forms, they retained their strength for a long time and everywhere. And even when united Russia politically disintegrated, the common features of Russian culture were manifested in the culture of individual principalities.
Despite the political difficulties and local peculiarities, it was still a single Russian culture of the 10th - early 13th centuries. the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the subsequent final disintegration of the Russian lands, their subordination to neighboring states interrupted this unity for a long time.
Conclusion
Boundless selfless love for the native land, the beauty of labor and military feat, high moral nobility, firm faith in the victory of good over evil, justice over untruth and deceit, and at the same time deep poetry, inexhaustible humor, apt selection of typical life phenomena, their soundness and accuracy estimates - all this is typical for the works of folk art of the feudal era. To one degree or another, in various forms, these remarkable qualities of folk art made their way not only in painting, but also in literature and architecture, of medieval Russia.
The development of Russian art of the Middle Ages reflected the peculiarities and contradictions characteristic of this era. They were determined, ultimately, by the socio-political and economic processes that took place in Russia. The feudal mode of production, with its inherent conservatism in the development of productive forces, the dominance of a closed subsistence economy, poorly developed exchange, and traditions to preserve the political system of feudal fragmentation, slowed down the pace of development of art and culture, the formation of local traditions and characteristics.
Undoubtedly, the development of Russian art was greatly influenced by the dominance of the religious worldview. The church, especially in the early Middle Ages, played a certain role both in the spread of literacy and in the development of architecture and painting. But at the same time, the church jealously guarded its dogmas and was hostile to new phenomena in culture, it was a brake on the development of sciences, technical knowledge, literature, and art. The church directed all the enormous power of its material power and spiritual influence on the complete and unconditional adherence of the whole culture to the narrow framework of religious-scholastic thinking, it fettered the desire of the human mind for free creativity. From this it becomes clear why the spiritual life at that time proceeded mainly within the framework of a religious and theological shell, why the struggle of class tendencies of different content was, as a rule, clothed in the form of religious disagreements and disputes. Nevertheless, Russian art did not develop in isolation from world culture, being enriched by its achievements and contributing to its development.
Despite the fragmentation, the art of all Russian lands demonstrates the continuity of the traditions of Kievan Rus, which was their common source. At the same time, in conditions when ties between the Russian lands and, to a certain extent, with Byzantium, weakened, there were more favorable opportunities for the formation and development of original forms of icon painting and fresco painting in Novgorod, Vladimir-Suzdal and other lands. Each of these regions will subsequently contribute the best of its cultural fund, characteristic only for this land, to the formation of related arts of the Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian peoples. Unfortunately, at the highest level, the development of ancient Russian art was interrupted by the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
List of used literature
- Wagner G.K. Vladyshevskaya T.F. Art of Ancient Russia. - M. Art, 1993. - 234 p.
- Questions of the formation of the Russian people and nation. Digest of articles. Under. ed. Volobueva R.A. - M-L. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR 1958. - 354 p. ill.
- Dmitrieva N.A., Akimova L.I. Ancient Art: Essays. - M. Det. Lit. 1988. -255-6 p. ill.
- History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 17th century / Ed. Sakharova A.N. Novoseltseva A.P. - M. 1996. - 351 p.
- Lyubimov "L.S. The Art of Ancient Russia. - M. Education, 1974. - 162 p.
- Rakova M.M. Ryazantseva I.V. History of Russian art. - M. Visual arts, 1991. - 235 p.
- Ryabtsev Yu.S. Journey to Ancient Russia: Stories about Russian Culture. - M. VLADOS, 1995. - 394 p.
- Encyclopedia of World Painting / Comp. Petrovets T.G. Sadomova Yu.V. - M. OLMA-PRESS, 2002. - 431 p. ill.