Description
Painted in 1703 by Tichon Filat’ev of the expressive Armory School of iconography in Moscow, this icon has fine features, a compassionate and merciful countenance, and the distinctive light green background often used in other icons from that School and that time (see our T65 as another example). Simon Ushakov was the founder of this icon school and had a profound influence on its development and basic naturalistic style.
Christ is seen here with His right hand raised in blessing as an Orthodox priest blesses, His fingers making the Greek letters “IC XC” which is an abbreviation for Jesus Christ. Although this icon school has some features that are more naturalistic, icons always show the revelation of all things at the end of time in their eternal state. Thus Christ’s blessing hand in this icon, as in most icons, is elongated to give dimensions that are somewhat abstracted beyond the boundaries of this present life. These elements show in visual form the theological eschaton when all things will be renewed and remade in the New Heaven and the New Earth at the triumph of the Resurrection, then completely manifest.