Andrey Rublev: icons and paintings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In Russia and abroad, this name is well known - Andrei Rublev. Icons and frescoes, created by the master about six centuries ago, are a real gem of Russian art and still excite the aesthetic feelings of people.

First information

Where and when Andrei Rublev was born is unknown. There are suggestions that this happened around 1360-70, in the Moscow principality, or in Veliky Novgorod. Information about when the master began to paint the faces of the Saints is contained in medieval historical documents. From the "Trinity Chronicle" found in Moscow, it is known that, being a monk (monk), Rublev painted together with Feofan the Greek and Prokhor Gorodetsky the house church of Prince Vladimir Dmitrievich, son of Dmitry Donskoy.

Iconostasis of Vladimir Cathedral

A few years later, according to the same "Trinity Chronicle", in collaboration with the famous icon painter Daniil Cherny, it was Andrei Rublev who restored the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral after the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. The icons that made up a single ensemble with frescoes have survived to this day. True, in a magnificent eraCatherine the Second, the dilapidated iconostasis turned out to be inconsistent with the current fashion, and it was transferred from the cathedral to the village of Vasilyevskoye (now in the Ivanovo region). In the 20th century, these icons were restored, some of them entered the collection of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the other part was placed in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Deesis

The central part of the Vladimir iconostasis, which is made up of icons painted by Andrei Rublev, is occupied by the Deesis (“prayer” in Greek). His main idea is God's judgment, which in the Orthodox community is called the Terrible. More precisely, this is the idea of the ardent intercession of the saints before Christ for the entire human race. The image is imbued with a high spirit of love and mercy, nobility and moral beauty. In the center on the throne is Jesus with an open Gospel in his hands. The figure is inscribed in a scarlet rhombus, this color symbolizes roy alty and at the same time sacrifice. The rhombus is placed in a green-blue oval, personifying the union of the human with the Divine. This composition is in a red square, each corner of which is reminiscent of the four Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Soft shades are harmoniously combined with slender clarity of lines.

Features in the image of the faces of Saints

What new did Andrey Rublev bring to the image of the Savior? Icons depicting the Lord existed in Byzantine culture, but the amazing combination of majestic solemnity with extraordinary meekness and tenderness makes the creations of the masterunsurpassed and unique. In the image of Rublevsky Christ, the ideas of Russian people about justice are clearly visible. The faces of the saints praying before Jesus are full of fervent hope for a judgment - just and right. The image of the Mother of God is filled with prayer and sorrow, and in the image of the Forerunner one can read inexplicable grief for the entire erring human race. Apostles John Chrysostom and Gregory the Great, Andrew the First-Called and John the Theologian selflessly pray to the Savior. Archangels Gabriel and Michael are depicted here as worshiping angels, their images are full of heavenly solemn beauty, speaking of the delightful world of heaven.

Spas by Andrey Rublev

Among the iconographic images of the master, there are several masterpieces, which are said to be the icon of the Savior.

Andrey Rublev was occupied with the image of Jesus Christ, and indeed the hand of the great painter created such works as “The Almighty Savior”, “The Savior Not Made by Hands”, “The Savior with Golden Hair”, “The Savior in Power”. Emphasizing the extraordinary gentleness of the Lord, Rublev guessed the main component of the Russian national ideal. It is no coincidence that the color range shines with a gentle warm light. This went against the Byzantine tradition, in which the face of the Savior was painted with contrasting strokes, contrasting the green and brown colors of the background with the strongly highlighted lines of facial features.

If we compare the face of Christ, created by the Byzantine master Theophan the Greek, which was, according to sometestimonies, teacher Rublev, with the images written by the student, we can see a clear difference in manner. Rublev lays the colors smoothly, preferring soft transitions of light into shadow to contrast. The lower layers of paint transparently shine through the upper ones, as if a quiet, joyful light is streaming from the inside of the icon. That's why its iconography can definitely be called luminiferous.

Trinity

Or as it is called, the icon "Holy Trinity" by Andrei Rublev is one of the greatest creations of the Russian Renaissance. It is based on the famous biblical story about how the righteous Abraham was visited by the Triune God in the guise of three angels.

The creation of the icon "Trinity" by Andrei Rublev goes back to the history of the painting of the Trinity Cathedral. It was placed to the right of the Royal Doors in the lower row of the iconostasis, as it was supposed to.

The Mystery of the Holy Trinity

The composition of the icon is constructed in such a way that the figures of angels form a symbolic circle - a sign of eternity. They sit around a table with a bowl in which lies the head of a sacrificial calf - a symbol of redemption. The center and left angels bless the cup.

Behind the angels we see Abraham's house, the oak under which he received his Guests, and the peak of Mount Moriah, which Abraham ascended to sacrifice his son Isaac. There later, in the time of Solomon, the first temple was built.

Traditionally it is believed that the figure of the middle angel depicts Jesus Christ, his right hand with folded fingers symbolizes unconditional obedience to the will of the Father. The angel on the left is the figure of the Father blessingthe cup that the Son is to drink to atone for the sins of all mankind. The right angel depicts the Holy Spirit, overshadowing the consent of the Father and the Son and comforting Him Who will soon sacrifice himself. This is how Andrei Rublev saw the Holy Trinity. His icons in general are always full of high symbolic sound, but in this one it is especially penetrating.

There are, however, researchers who interpret the compositional distribution of the faces of the Holy Trinity in a different way. They say that God the Father sits in the middle, behind whom the Tree of Life is depicted - a symbol of source and completion. We read about this tree on the first pages of the Bible (it grows in the Garden of Eden) and on its last pages when we see it in New Jerusalem. The Left Angel is located against the background of a building that can denote the Housebuilding of Christ - His Ecumenical Church. We see the Right Angel against the background of the mountain: it was on the mountain that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles after the Ascension of Christ.

Color plays a special role in the space of the icon. Noble gold shines in it, delicate ocher, greens, azure blue and soft pink shades shimmer. Sliding color transitions are in harmony with the smooth tilts of the head, the movements of the hands of the calmly sitting Angels. In the faces of the three hypostases of the Deity, unearthly sadness lurks and at the same time - peace.

In closing

The icons of Andrei Rublev are mysterious and ambiguous. Photos that contain images of the Deity give us an incomprehensible feeling of confidence that the meaning of the Universe and every human life is inloving and safe hands.