The Russian Icon

This volume provides a history of the Russian icon, from its origins in the 11th century to its golden age in the 14th and 15th centuries, and ending with its rapid decline in the 16th century. The book describes: the dawn of panel painting; techniques and aesthetics of Russian icons; main schools of icon painting; and discusses individual artists and their best works. One chapter is dedicated to the history of the discovery of Russian icons and to the major scholars who dealt with Russian iconography. The text also incorporates Viktor Lazarev's observation of the techniques used in restoring the art. An appendix, providing detailed descriptions of each colour plate, allows both the scholar and non-specialist reader to gain maximum understanding of Lazarev's main text. The general bibliography represents all the scientific literature on Russian iconography of the 11th to the 15th centuries.