Communicative Value of the Russian Orthodox Icon Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 236 ( 2016 ) 305 – 309 Available online at www sciencedirect com ScienceDirect 1877 0428 © 2016 Published by El[.]
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 236 (2016) 305 – 309 International Conference on Communication in Multicultural Society, CMSC 2015, 6-8 December 2015, Moscow, Russian Federation Communicative value of the Russian orthodox icon Elena A Avdyusheva*, Irina V Egorova National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Kashirskoe shosse 31, Moscow 115409, Russian Federation Abstract The presence of icons is the most striking feature first noticed upon entering an Orthodox church An icon being a combination of art and faith is unique Early Russian Icon Painting had its own unforgettable artistic language reflecting its complexity, spiritual deepness, grace and fineness This study aimed to comprehend the art of communication through the icon – a new approach to the understanding of art as a means of communication A unique XVII-century Yaroslavl icon “Sergius of Radonezh” was chosen as an object for the investigation Historical-typological and semiotic methods allowed to identify its communicative value © 2016 2016Published The Authors Published Elsevier Ltd.access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license © by Elsevier Ltd.by This is an open Peer-review under responsibility of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) Keywords: Russian culture; icon painting; communication; Sergius of Radonezh; Mamai Battle Introduction Modern lifestyle is constantly changing our worldview that is why appealing to national spiritual traditions is so important nowadays The art being one of the means of communication is able to represent, store and transmit spiritual processes which later become available to the public worldwide A special wedding of art and faith realized in Russian icons is being investigated in the article People came to church to be somehow transformed, and the art became their means of communication with the divine (Evans & Wixom, 1997) To understand the icon painting art using this new communicative approach, a notable XVII-century icon “Sergius of Radonezh with scenes from his life” from an old town Yaroslavl was chosen [A] What communicative values can be revealed in Russian Orthodox * Corresponding author Tel.: +7-910-425-5647 E-mail address: el.avdyusheva@yandex.ru 1877-0428 © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Peer-review under responsibility of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.12.034 306 Elena A Avdyusheva and Irina V Egorova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 236 (2016) 305 – 309 icons? Did historical events influence the spiritual background of Russian people? These are the main questions to be answered in this article Icons have always attracted attention of art specialists, artists, historians as well as church members Many scientists A.A Zaliznyak, I.B Levontina, A.D Shmelyov (Zaliznyak, Levontina, and Shmelyov, 2005), L.A Uspensky (Uspensky, 1997), V.G Bryusova (Bryusova, 1984), I.P Bolottseva (Bolottseva, 1980,1981), A.S Preobrazhenskiy (Preobrazhenskiy, 2015), V.V Filatov (Filatov, 1960), N.I Komashko, E.M Sayenkova (Komashko and Sayenkova, 2007), V.V Bychkov (Bychkov, 1995), E Yu Makarova (Makarova, 2015) studied this icon but did not use communicative approach Each of them drew attention to certain features they were interested in For example, V.G Bryusova (Bryusova, 1984) was interested in the historical aspect, as historical events influenced greatly the artist’s worldview In her work “Russian painting of the VII century” she did not analyze the combination of all aspects which is typical for the semiotic method Other authors like N.I Komashko and E.M Sayenkova (Komashko and Sayenkova, 2007)) wrote about iconography and artistic value of the icon Some scientists (I.P Bolottseva (Bolottseva, 1980, 1981), A.S Preobrazhensky (Preobrazhenskiy, 2015), V.V Filatov (Filatov, 1960)) argue about the time period when this icon was created A.A Zaliznyak, I.B Levontina, A.D Shmelyov (Zaliznyak, Levontina, and Shmelyov, 2005) in their work “The main ideas of the Russian painting” focused their attention on the peculiarities of the artistic language But none of them used communicative approach in combination with historical-typological and semiotic methods in order to investigate this unique icon Working further in this direction, one will be able deeper understand the historical environment and background for the creation of this work of art, as well as Russian spiritual tradition and its contribution to the world culture The problem of communication in Russian Orthodox icons has not been thoroughly studied yet An appeal to this XVII-century Yaroslavl icon and to the image of St Sergius of Radonezh made it possible to trace certain patterns in the development of Russian icon painting, its influence on people, the role of the artist, which is closely connected to the worldview of a medieval man Further study of this problem will allow to identify the development of intercultural communication in general The analysis of the Yaroslavl icon “Sergius of Radonezh” with border scenes from his life and “The legend about Mamai Battle” can become the basis for the following works dedicated to the related topics on the Russian art and history of the XVII century Data and methods Every nation has its own communicative values expressed in national culture but in Russian culture they are of special importance compared to other cultural values The demand of communication has always been great in Russian mentality Soul, truth, justice, sincerity are the key concepts of Russian culture They are fundamental principles for every Russian, for his life, artistic language, Orthodox traditions These main concepts are reflected in artistic images – icons Russian icon has become one of the artistic objects which had its own unforgettable language showing its complexity and spiritual deepness as well as grace and fineness (Zaliznyak, Levontina, and Shmelyov, 2005) One can say that Byzantium’s theology was mainly by word but Russian theology was through an image (Uspensky, 1997) For our investigation we chose a unique image - XVII-century icon “Sergius of Radonezh” with border scenes from his life and a large bottom marginal plate with scenes from “The legend about Mamai Battle” This icon is one of the most prominent among many other icons of that time Here one can find a lot of historical and edifying pieces along with traditional holy scenes Semiotic and historical – typological methods allowed to analyze this work of art in accordance with its characteristics, formal and stylistic qualities; to understand iconographic features in the context of historical environment; to analyze the worldview of the painter; to identify spiritual processes stored and transmitted through this iconographic image; to show the importance of further study of the communicative values of Russian icons in order to preserve and develop Russian spiritual culture Elena A Avdyusheva and Irina V Egorova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 236 (2016) 305 – 309 Results Icon painting has always been closely connected to the spiritual life and spiritual needs of the society Russian paintings of the seventeenth century support the idea The beginning of the seventeenth century was the time of great changes This time was called The Time of Troubles and that was the time when the idea of national unification appeared which later developed into a powerful national liberation movement This force helped to overcome hard times and total devastation giving people hope for future social justice Every person acquired a sense of beauty and value of life, felt the presence of spiritual sincerity and sacred wisdom In the Time of Troubles the Russian Orthodox Church headed by the Patriarch Germogen was consolidated He urged people “to stand for the Orthodox belief” Patriarch Germogen became the victim of the Poles’ revenge and after his death the archimandrite Dionysius from The Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra continued his mission The monastery suffered a severe siege for sixteen months but was saved by “the holy protection of St Sergius of Radonezh” (Bryusova, 1984) All these events – historical drama, humiliation, national and cultural revival – were reflected both in spiritual life and in the art Icon painting of this time amazes the beholder with beauty of its idea and details, internal organization appealing to the mind and feelings at the same time The idea of cultural and spiritual heritage, Russian traditions was so great that people created icons and portraits of their Motherland defenders: Alexander Nevsky, Sergius of Radonezh, metropolitans Peter and Alexey, commander M V Skopin-Shuysky Hagiographies of that time were full of remarkable events of the Russian history (Bryusova, 1984) The icon “Sergius of Radonezh” and border scenes from his life, placed in the Holy Trinity (Vlasyeva) church in town Yaroslavl, can become a vivid example The icon fully depicts St.Sergius, his life and deeds Observing the icon, one can assume that the author especially honored St.Sergius trying to keep the story of his life for the descendants, to comprehend his deeds as a defender of his Motherland In the central part of the icon there is a standing figure of Sergius and all his life is depicted in 24 border scenes framing the image The icon was painted in the Holy Trinity-St Sergius monastery Some decades later a Yaroslavl master filled the initial background of the central part with the scenes representing some little-known St.Sergius’ miracles They mainly belong to the end of the XVI century - beginning of the XVII century and tell us about his save deeds in the times of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and during the Time of Troubles The plots for these scenes were taken from the new edition of his life made by a cellarer Simon Asaryin from the Holy Trinity-St.Sergius monastery and published in 1646 (Bolottseva, 1980) These scenes were added to the earlier painted figure in the central part of the icon Recent restoration works revealed that these new paintings and the gold background of the central part lie over the initial brownish and olive colour background, the nimbus of Sergius being part of it The initial background can also be seen near his figure, especially round his right hand and between fingers The new scenes of the central part are considered to be painted in the middle or in the third quarter of the XVII century (Bolottseva, 1981) Some authors – A.S Preobrazhensky, N I Komashko, E.M Sayenkova – believe that these scenes from the central part of the icon, representing important events of the Russian history, not push aside the icon’s artistic value and iconography of St.Sergius life cycle But it is his initial life scenes which are so important Ideal forms and exquisite lines are their basic features The painter put his paint layers very precisely The resulting image is full of high morale and contemplation that was very important for the people who came to the church The author intentionally focused his attention on the communication between the characters and the God The mortal man who beholds the image directs his mind to a higher contemplation His veneration is no longer distracted The eyes encourage deep thoughts, and the art is able by means of colours to transmit to the Saint the prayers of the mind The contemplation of the image put one in the immediate presence of the Saint and the reciprocal gaze of the figure allowed their communication (Evans and Wixom, 1997) This type of icons was widely spread in the country in the XVI-XVII centuries But this icon is considered to be exceptional The viewer regards the image as a real one He is impressed by his reserved, strict and thoughtful look which can be regarded as a sign of constant control over the movements of his soul and as an appeal to pray All these caused a vivid and sincere response in the people hearts One will not find any new techniques and approaches in this icon’s iconography, but a sequence of mini-stories about St.Sergius’ life gives the icon a unique originality The scenes from Sergius’ childhood where he is depicted in his devout parents’ house, are of particular interest This was unusual for the icons of that time as he was usually 307 308 Elena A Avdyusheva and Irina V Egorova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 236 (2016) 305 – 309 painted as an elderly ascetic man who completely reached saintliness There are some scenes with Sergius as a baby, teenager and young man In this Yaroslavl icon the artist emphasized images of Sergius as a young and middle-aged man There are four scenes with Sergius as a young man and six with Sergius as a middle-aged man This is an amazing fact considering that out of 24 life border scenes, one depicts the Holy Trinity and five are dedicated to the scenes of his childhood and adolescent age Many authors of that time made illustrations to the hagiographies in details But examining this very icon, one can observe some discrepancies in the event sequence – life scenes from the initial icon (where there are not many images of Sergius as a middle-aged man) not correspond to the newly painted life scenes in the central part of the icon (Preobrazhenskiy, 2015) Adding these scenes, the artist showed a long and difficult life path of the Saint, trying to correlate it with a long and hard way of his spiritual progress, which had something in common with spiritual experience of an ordinary person That is why the icon is clear for any orthodox person to understand While studying this icon, we compared it with the icon painted in 1591 by Eustathius Golovkin “Sergius of Radonezh and border scenes from his life” [B] Numerous scenes of childhood and youth markedly distinguish the examined Yaroslavl icon from the one painted by Eustathius Golovkin Some researchers argue about the time when the icon was created Some of them believe that the scenes in the central part and the initial central Rostov image were painted in the middle of the XVII century (Filatov, 1960) I.P Bolottseva suggested that St.Sergius’ figure and his life border scenes framing the icon were primary to the scenes in the central part (Bolottseva, 1980) V G Bryusova thought that the year when both the icon and its marginal plate were created was 1680 (Bryusova, 1984) Recently the most ancient layer of the painting has attracted attention as an independent cultural heritage (Komashko, Sayenkova, 2007) A.S Preobrazhensky assumed that it belonged to the XVI-XVII centuries But still there are some doubts about the most ancient paint layer and the time of its creation (Preobrazhenskiy, 2015) Taking into consideration new research works, this idea is rather convincing, but nevertheless further investigation should be carried out One more interesting feature makes this icon special There is a large bottom marginal plate with scenes from “The legend about Mamai Battle” It dates back to 1680 and consists of 100 scenes telling us about Mamai Battle (the Battle of Kulikovo) – an important historic event which happened in 1380 It should be noted that the author depicted this historical event along with the icon which is rare in icon-painting It happened after the glorification of St.Sergius as the defender of Russia All these scenes are accompanied with the author’s inscriptions and comments where he mentioned the names of towns and main characters The role of town Yaroslavl, its princes and their squads was especially emphasized In the foreground there is town Yaroslavl and its princes are coming out of the town heading their numerous squads Yaroslavl painter Fedor Fedorov (1654-1732) is believed to be the author of this unique work He was a skilled icon painter and became famous for his church wall paintings which gave glory to the Yaroslavl icon-painting art (Makarova, 2015) At the beginning of the XVII century when Moscow suffered from “The Time of Troubles”, Yaroslavl became the center of busy public life Iconography in Yaroslavl was very original as narrative stories were included into icons Strict silent contemplation, typical for the previous time period, disappeared Events of the Russian history were often depicted It should be noticed that only “Church Council of a Hundred Chapters” in 1551 established the general rules of icon-painting They allowed to show historical events related to the church (Preobrazhenskiy, 2015) Therefore an interest to this kind of painting plots arose The main reason was an urgent need to unite Russia and fight against the enemy Conclusion The article is devoted to the understanding of communicative value of the Russian Orthodox icon The analysis showed that Russian XVII-century icon “Sergius of Radonezh” with border scenes and “The legend about Mamai Battle” conveys the ideas of social, ethical and esthetic problems faced by the society at that time The artist was able to show a high degree of Russian national identity The image of St Sergius of Radonezh appeals to the beholder to focus on prayers and calm contemplation The art is able to transmit to the Saint the prayers of the mind The contemplation of the image and the reciprocal gaze of the figure – the direct eye contact – allowed the beholder to send forth prayers This real communication through the Russian icon is a unique phenomenon which needs further comprehensive investigation Elena A Avdyusheva and Irina V Egorova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 236 (2016) 305 – 309 The icon painting art is valuable not only because of its role as a means of communication, but also because of that specific precious information which it transfers The icon “Sergius of Radonezh” and "The legend about Mamai Battle" confirms the idea The problem examined here has not been thoroughly studied yet In modern history the emphasis is generally placed on the time period when the icon was painted as well as on the purpose for its painting A new approach to the understanding of art as a means of communication has been applied in this article References Bolottseva I.P (1980) Bolottseva I.P (1980) Skazanie o Mamaevom poboishche na ikone “Sergij Radonezhskij s zhitiem” XVII veka [The legend about Mamai Battle on the hagiographical icon "Sergius of Radonezh" of the XVII century] Moskva:Nauka [Moscow:Science] Moscow: Nauka Bolottseva, I.P (1981) Yaroslavskaya ikonopis XIII-XVIII vv [The Yaroslavl iconography of the XIII-XVIII centuries] Katalog vystavki [Exhibition catalogue] Yaroslavl Bryusova, V.G (1984) Russkaya zhivopis 17 vek [Russian painting of the 17th century] Moscow: Iskusstvo Bychkov, V.V (1995) Russkaya srednevekovaya estetika [Russian medieval aesthetics in the Russian language] Moscow: Mysl Evancs, H.C., and Wixom, W.D (Eds) (1997) The glory of Byzantium: art and culture of the Middle Byzantine era, A.D 843-1261 Filatov, V V (1960) Izobrazhenie “Skazanie o Mamaevom poboishche” na ikone XVII v [The image "The legends about Mamai Battle" on the icon of the XVII century in the Russian language] Trudi Otdela drevnerusslkoy literaturi [Works of the department of the old Russian literature] Moscow, Leningrad: Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR Komashko, N.I., and Sayenkova, E.M (2007) Russkaya zhitijnaya ikona [Russian hagiographical icon in the Russian language] Moscow: Knigiwam Makarova, E.Yu (2015) Drevnerusskoe iskusstvo XIII-nachala XVIII v.v [Old Russian art of the XIII - beginning of the XVIII centuries in the Russian language] Putevoditel po ekcpozitsii Yaroslavskogo hudozhestvennogo muzeya [Yaroslavl Art Museum guide] Yaroslavl Preobrazhenskiy, A.S (2015) O vremeni sozdaniya zhitijnoj ikony prepodobnogo Sergiya Radonezhskogo [Hagiographical icon of St.Sergius of Radonezh and the time of its creation in the Russian language] XIX nauchnye chteniya pamyati Iriny Petrovny Bolottsevoj (1944-1995) [XIX scientific readings in memory of Irina Petrovna Bolottseva (1944-1995)], Yaroslavsky hudozhestveny muzey [Yaroslavl Art Museum] Yaroslavl: Aversplus, pp 12-26 Uspensky, L.A (1997) Bogoslovie ikony Pravoslavnoj Tserkvi [Theological studies of an Orthodox icon] Izdatelstvo Bratstva vo imya svyatogo khyazya Aleksandra Nevskogo [Publishing house in the name of St prince Alexander Nevsky] Zaliznyak, A.A., Levontina, I.B., and Shmelyov, A.D (2005) Klyuchevye idei russkoi yazykovoj kartiny mira [Key ideas of the Russian language world] Yazyki slavyanskoj kultury Sbornik statej [Languages of Slavic culture Collection of articles] Moscow: Yaziki slavyanskoj kultury References A Christian art Museum of History and Architecture, Yaroslavl, Russia St Sergius of Radonezh with Scenes from His Life, URL: http://www.icon-art.info/masterpiece.php?lng=en&mst_id=1139 (accessed on 01.02.2016) B The Sergiev-Posad Museum-Preserve, Icons of the 14th – 17th cc (page 3), Eustathius Golovkin St Sergius of Radonezh and the Scenes from His Life 1591, URL: http://www.musobl.divo.ru/Ecoll_icon5.html (accessed on 01.02.2016) 309 ... against the enemy Conclusion The article is devoted to the understanding of communicative value of the Russian Orthodox icon The analysis showed that Russian XVII-century icon “Sergius of Radonezh”... Sayenkova – believe that these scenes from the central part of the icon, representing important events of the Russian history, not push aside the icon? ??s artistic value and iconography of St.Sergius life... XVII v [The image "The legends about Mamai Battle" on the icon of the XVII century in the Russian language] Trudi Otdela drevnerusslkoy literaturi [Works of the department of the old Russian