The iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral (Uspensky Sobor) dates to the 15th century, the heyday of classical development of Russian iconostasis, around 1497 during the construction of the first stone cathedral. During this period Russian iconostases added new rows, and developed their current architectural orderliness and began to contain nearly 60 icons. Almost all 60 original icons of the iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral are preserved to this day.
A study of the icons of the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir and the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius show that the creators of this iconostasis used these churches as models. For the completion of this massive project, the monastery invited a guild, which included three leading icon painters from different artistic schools: Moscow, Novgorod, and possibly, Rostov.
The distinct style of each of the three masters manifested itself in their painting of celebratory icons. In the icons ‘Nativity of Mary’, ‘Presentation of Mary’, and ‘Candlemas’ we can clearly see features of the Dionysian trend — one of the leading trends in Moscow art of the late 15th — early 16th century. A characteristic feature of the painting style of this master is bright contrasting colors. He used cinnabar — a bright red mineral pigment, and azurite — a blue pigment, which was, literally, worth its weight in gold. Paintings in many churches dedicated to the Virgin are painted almost entirely with this heavenly blue. Light and dark shades of blue in a church indicate the infinity of the sky, a symbol of the other, and the eternal world. They are also considered the colors of the Mary, who combined the earthly and the heavenly. In the creation of icons of this iconostasis, the artist used pure azurite, adding crushed glass to the paint, which reflects light and adds to the brightness of the blue.
The ‘second’ artist painted the icons ‘Baptism of Jesus’, ‘Annunciation of Our Lady’, ‘Transfiguration of Jesus’, ‘Dormition of the Virgin’ (the Dormition Cathedral is named after the Orthodox celebration which marks the event of St. Mary, the mother of God, passing from this life to the next, in Catholicism it is called the Assumption). His work combines features of the Moscow and Novgorod traditions and is characterized by more strict architectural forms, the correct proportions of the figures and a careful study of the folds of clothing. Another feature of this master was his special color scheme. He added white, thus opacity, to almost all colors used in his icons.
An example of the work of the ‘third’ master of the Dormition Cathedral ensemble is the icon ‘The Believing of Thomas.’ This painter used simple, archaic architecture with bright, but harmonious colours. He painted the faces of the figures with a dense golden ochre, which significantly differentiates them from the cold, pale faces found on the icons belonging to the ‘second’ master.
The result of the joint work of these iconographers associated with different artistic schools of Russia was a grand, classical ensemble of ancient Russian icon painting. The iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery paints the picture of how a unified Russian style of iconography developed at the turn between the 15th and 16th centuries.
Initially, the icons were placed on the wooden shelves, called rods (tyabla). These shelves held the icons right next to each other with no frames or delimiters between them. Over time, the appearance and structure of the iconostasis changed. Rows of icons appeared and disappeared. In the middle of the 16th century, silver gilded icon frames began to be installed, first on icons revered locally, then to the rest. These icon frames and covers were designed by the monks and made by hired craftsmen. The monastery paid for them from its own coffers and from generous gifts it received. By the end of the 16th century, a ‘span-row’ of icons, consisting of small icons the size of a ‘span’ (or man’s hand) in icon frames had been added to the iconostasis. Later, the iconostasis gained another new row. This row, the forefathers or patriarchs row, contained icons of the saints of the Old Testament. The Tsar’s jewelers, also, partially replacing some of the former icon frames, made silver icon coverings for the ‘local row’ of the iconostasis.
In the 18th century, the design of the iconostasis changed once again. The original wooden shelves were replaced by a wooden gilded iconostasis frame that held the same number of icons in each of the upper rows. Thus many of the ancient icons did not fit into the new iconostasis and were moved to the altar area of the cathedral. The iconostasis frame of the middle of the 18th century is what stands in the cathedral to this day, except the icons are photocopies. The original images are kept in four museum collections — in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Central Andrey Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art, and 34 images are in the collection of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve and are presented in the exhibition ‘Old Russian Art of the 15th to 17th centuries’ in the Archimandrite building.
The iconostasis structure of the 18th century stylistically represents transitional forms from Baroque to classicism. The iconostasis still has four tiers, but the order of the rows, in comparison with the original iconostasis, is different. The ancient prophetic row was completely removed by 1764, as its wide boards did not fit into the symmetrical and monotonous structure of the new iconostasis. Semi-figured images of the prophets were placed on the shelves under the local icons at the base of the iconostasis structure. At the end of the 19th century, a gilded crucifix with the ‘nearby’ (those who, according to Biblical accounts, stood and watched Jesus on the cross) and angels was installed.
The lowest row of icons is for local icons. It is the most unstable in composition. Here were placed the icons most revered locally and those given by the Tsars in expensive icon cases. In addition, the lowest row includes the Royal doors, the doors to the diaconate and the altar. The local row after the reconstruction of the iconostasis consisted of eight images. Among them — the icon of ‘Virgin Hodegetria’, it is located to the right of the Royal Gates. On the left is the image of the Saviour, followed by the Dormition Cathedral’s namesake icon “The Dormition of the Virgin” (“Ascension to Heaven”) from the end of the 15th century.
The next row of the iconostasis is the row of celebratory (or festive) icons. It includes icons on the themes of the twelve major feasts of the Orthodox Church, as well as stories of the Passion and other events that tell about the earthly life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. This row of the iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is the largest row still preserved from the 15th century.
The third row is called the Deesis row and it is the eye of the composition of the iconostasis of the 15th century. Its main theme is that of the Second Coming, the Last Judgment and the coming final salvation of mankind. Deesis, translated from the Greek, means prayer, petition or supplication. The center of this row is a depiction of is the Jesus, the Almighty, standing in judgment. On either side of the Saviour, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, the apostles Peter and Paul, bowing to Christ in prayer, followed by other saints, interceding for the forgiveness of sinners. Their location on this row was carried out in a certain hierarchy — archangels, apostles, saints, martyrs, etc. This row represents an image of the Heavenly Church, standing before the throne of the Almighty in constant prayers for the salvation of the human race. The Deesis row of the iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is fully preserved.
The upper row of the iconostasis is the row of the forefathers or patriarchs. This row appeared in the second half of the 16th century, as part of the high Russian iconostasis series, and consists of images of the Old Testament righteous, called forefathers or patriarchs. The image of the “New Testament Trinity” is usually found in the center of this row and it depicts the three beings of God — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The forefathers are depicted in full length, facing the central image, with unfolding scrolls on which are inscribed the prophecies of the coming of Jesus Christ. The flatness of the faces in these icons is in contrast to their voluminous bodies shown through their many folds of clothing. Copper icon frames and made in the 17th century, surround and cover backgrounds and halos of these icons.
Large-scale research and restoration of icons of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery began in the 1960s. Thanks to the work of restorers, historically significant and unique icons from the Dormition Cathedral were discovered and studied.
Restoration of the iconostasis frame was carried out in 2012-2013. Artists-restorers of the Research and Restoration Workshops cleaned the icons of dirt, mold, and a thick layer of compressed dust. They also managed to preserve the original gilding. The broken fragments of the ornately carved decor were glued back together and returned to their original place.
Upon completion of the restoration of the iconostasis frame, copies of all the original icons and the ornately carved Royal gates were re-installed. The original version of the Royal gates of 1645 from the Dormition Cathedral, given to the monastery by Tsar Mikhail Romanov, can be seen in the exhibition “Old Russian Art of the 15th to 17th Centuries”, located in the Archimandrite building.
A study of the icons of the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir and the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius show that the creators of this iconostasis used these churches as models. For the completion of this massive project, the monastery invited a guild, which included three leading icon painters from different artistic schools: Moscow, Novgorod, and possibly, Rostov.
The distinct style of each of the three masters manifested itself in their painting of celebratory icons. In the icons ‘Nativity of Mary’, ‘Presentation of Mary’, and ‘Candlemas’ we can clearly see features of the Dionysian trend — one of the leading trends in Moscow art of the late 15th — early 16th century. A characteristic feature of the painting style of this master is bright contrasting colors. He used cinnabar — a bright red mineral pigment, and azurite — a blue pigment, which was, literally, worth its weight in gold. Paintings in many churches dedicated to the Virgin are painted almost entirely with this heavenly blue. Light and dark shades of blue in a church indicate the infinity of the sky, a symbol of the other, and the eternal world. They are also considered the colors of the Mary, who combined the earthly and the heavenly. In the creation of icons of this iconostasis, the artist used pure azurite, adding crushed glass to the paint, which reflects light and adds to the brightness of the blue.
The ‘second’ artist painted the icons ‘Baptism of Jesus’, ‘Annunciation of Our Lady’, ‘Transfiguration of Jesus’, ‘Dormition of the Virgin’ (the Dormition Cathedral is named after the Orthodox celebration which marks the event of St. Mary, the mother of God, passing from this life to the next, in Catholicism it is called the Assumption). His work combines features of the Moscow and Novgorod traditions and is characterized by more strict architectural forms, the correct proportions of the figures and a careful study of the folds of clothing. Another feature of this master was his special color scheme. He added white, thus opacity, to almost all colors used in his icons.
An example of the work of the ‘third’ master of the Dormition Cathedral ensemble is the icon ‘The Believing of Thomas.’ This painter used simple, archaic architecture with bright, but harmonious colours. He painted the faces of the figures with a dense golden ochre, which significantly differentiates them from the cold, pale faces found on the icons belonging to the ‘second’ master.
The result of the joint work of these iconographers associated with different artistic schools of Russia was a grand, classical ensemble of ancient Russian icon painting. The iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery paints the picture of how a unified Russian style of iconography developed at the turn between the 15th and 16th centuries.
Initially, the icons were placed on the wooden shelves, called rods (tyabla). These shelves held the icons right next to each other with no frames or delimiters between them. Over time, the appearance and structure of the iconostasis changed. Rows of icons appeared and disappeared. In the middle of the 16th century, silver gilded icon frames began to be installed, first on icons revered locally, then to the rest. These icon frames and covers were designed by the monks and made by hired craftsmen. The monastery paid for them from its own coffers and from generous gifts it received. By the end of the 16th century, a ‘span-row’ of icons, consisting of small icons the size of a ‘span’ (or man’s hand) in icon frames had been added to the iconostasis. Later, the iconostasis gained another new row. This row, the forefathers or patriarchs row, contained icons of the saints of the Old Testament. The Tsar’s jewelers, also, partially replacing some of the former icon frames, made silver icon coverings for the ‘local row’ of the iconostasis.
In the 18th century, the design of the iconostasis changed once again. The original wooden shelves were replaced by a wooden gilded iconostasis frame that held the same number of icons in each of the upper rows. Thus many of the ancient icons did not fit into the new iconostasis and were moved to the altar area of the cathedral. The iconostasis frame of the middle of the 18th century is what stands in the cathedral to this day, except the icons are photocopies. The original images are kept in four museum collections — in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Central Andrey Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art, and 34 images are in the collection of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve and are presented in the exhibition ‘Old Russian Art of the 15th to 17th centuries’ in the Archimandrite building.
The iconostasis structure of the 18th century stylistically represents transitional forms from Baroque to classicism. The iconostasis still has four tiers, but the order of the rows, in comparison with the original iconostasis, is different. The ancient prophetic row was completely removed by 1764, as its wide boards did not fit into the symmetrical and monotonous structure of the new iconostasis. Semi-figured images of the prophets were placed on the shelves under the local icons at the base of the iconostasis structure. At the end of the 19th century, a gilded crucifix with the ‘nearby’ (those who, according to Biblical accounts, stood and watched Jesus on the cross) and angels was installed.
The lowest row of icons is for local icons. It is the most unstable in composition. Here were placed the icons most revered locally and those given by the Tsars in expensive icon cases. In addition, the lowest row includes the Royal doors, the doors to the diaconate and the altar. The local row after the reconstruction of the iconostasis consisted of eight images. Among them — the icon of ‘Virgin Hodegetria’, it is located to the right of the Royal Gates. On the left is the image of the Saviour, followed by the Dormition Cathedral’s namesake icon “The Dormition of the Virgin” (“Ascension to Heaven”) from the end of the 15th century.
The next row of the iconostasis is the row of celebratory (or festive) icons. It includes icons on the themes of the twelve major feasts of the Orthodox Church, as well as stories of the Passion and other events that tell about the earthly life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. This row of the iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is the largest row still preserved from the 15th century.
The third row is called the Deesis row and it is the eye of the composition of the iconostasis of the 15th century. Its main theme is that of the Second Coming, the Last Judgment and the coming final salvation of mankind. Deesis, translated from the Greek, means prayer, petition or supplication. The center of this row is a depiction of is the Jesus, the Almighty, standing in judgment. On either side of the Saviour, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, the apostles Peter and Paul, bowing to Christ in prayer, followed by other saints, interceding for the forgiveness of sinners. Their location on this row was carried out in a certain hierarchy — archangels, apostles, saints, martyrs, etc. This row represents an image of the Heavenly Church, standing before the throne of the Almighty in constant prayers for the salvation of the human race. The Deesis row of the iconostasis of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is fully preserved.
The upper row of the iconostasis is the row of the forefathers or patriarchs. This row appeared in the second half of the 16th century, as part of the high Russian iconostasis series, and consists of images of the Old Testament righteous, called forefathers or patriarchs. The image of the “New Testament Trinity” is usually found in the center of this row and it depicts the three beings of God — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The forefathers are depicted in full length, facing the central image, with unfolding scrolls on which are inscribed the prophecies of the coming of Jesus Christ. The flatness of the faces in these icons is in contrast to their voluminous bodies shown through their many folds of clothing. Copper icon frames and made in the 17th century, surround and cover backgrounds and halos of these icons.
Large-scale research and restoration of icons of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery began in the 1960s. Thanks to the work of restorers, historically significant and unique icons from the Dormition Cathedral were discovered and studied.
Restoration of the iconostasis frame was carried out in 2012-2013. Artists-restorers of the Research and Restoration Workshops cleaned the icons of dirt, mold, and a thick layer of compressed dust. They also managed to preserve the original gilding. The broken fragments of the ornately carved decor were glued back together and returned to their original place.
Upon completion of the restoration of the iconostasis frame, copies of all the original icons and the ornately carved Royal gates were re-installed. The original version of the Royal gates of 1645 from the Dormition Cathedral, given to the monastery by Tsar Mikhail Romanov, can be seen in the exhibition “Old Russian Art of the 15th to 17th Centuries”, located in the Archimandrite building.
