Tsereteli Art Gallery Presents Nevyansk Icons From the Collection of Eugene Roizman

Timed to the 10th anniversary of the first in Russia private museum of icons in Nevyansk, the exhibition of over 300 icons is an unparalleled opportunity to trace the Nevyansk tradition of icon-painting from the 18th till the early 20th century.

 

Unique Nevyansk icons are named after the factory-town of  Nevyansk that was  a spiritual center of Old Believers in the mining Urals who in the early 18th century commissioned local artisans to paint glimmering stylish icons. The icon-painters of this tradition worked not only in Nevyansk, but also in other Urals towns of mining and metallurgical industry (Nizhni Taghil, Krasnoufimsk, Staraya Utka). The dynasties of icon-painting masters executed exclusively commissions and painted no icons for sale.   

 

In early icons of the Nevyansk school one can feel a tie with old Russian icon-painting centers -  Yaroslavl, Kostroma and Vologda. By the last quarter of the 18th century the Nevyansk school had obtained its own distinctive features.  The Nevyansk icon-painters have gilded the entire surface of the icon. The “enamel” openness of color with bright orange and cinnabar flashes is particularly accentuated by dark emerald green, dark lilac and blue tones reminding of the Urals stones such as malachite and lapis lazuli. The icons create an impression of freshness, novelty and joy. Many of them have been signed and dated. The oldest among icons on show in Tsereteli Art Gallery “Our Lady of Egypt” dates back to 1734, the latest “The Savior”  was painted in 1919.  The collection of the private museum in Nevyansk contains over 600 icons.






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