Icon of St Theodore Stratilates and St Theodore Tyron
15th century Egg tempera on panel, gesso ground, 53,5 x 38 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg The ancient Novgorod school of painting is a remarkable and singular phenomenon in Russian art. This is especially evident from 15th century icon painting. A refined work of art, this icon in the Hermitage collection was produced by a skilful master who preferred graceful delicate forms and elongated proportions. The icon depicts two holy warriors. The features of their faces are small, which is a characteristic of the Novgorod icon-painting school. The saints' light figures are full of inner movement and their feet barely touch the ground. They are draped with flowing cloaks. The faces are dark with sharply contrasting light spots. In the colour scheme based primarily on the combination of ochre, red, brown and green, the cinnabar cloak of Theodore Stratilates is a bright spot on a light background. The haloes still retain traces of their original gilding. Artist: UNKNOWN MASTER, Russian , Icon of St Theodore Stratilates and St Theodore Tyron , 1451-1500 , Russian , painting , religious