Dear friends!

We continue to acquaint you with the Artistic Heritage of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

Today we are going to talk about the carved sacred sculpture, which is a rare item of the Fund collection of the Preserve. It is the triptych named “The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius of Radonezh”. The work was created by the Trinity-Sergius Lavra master in the 19th century (KPL-SK-425).

It is known that carved icons, crosses and folds started to be created by the masters of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in the 15th century. According to the legend, St. Sergius blessed the making of carved icons for the blind people, as they could not see the picturesque images of saints. At the beginning of the 16th century carved icons started being produced in large quantities in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The works of Lavra and those of town carvers were characterized by a specific decorative design specified in the strips of small curls of wood shavings.

The size of the triptych is small - 15.0 × 8.5 cm. Such folding icons were convenient when traveling, they were pilgrimage relics. In the central part of the triptych there is the composition “The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius Radonezh”. It illustrates one of the episodes of the life of St. Sergius. For the first time this plot was used by Ambrose, the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and the outstanding carver of the 15th century. The triptych almost completely repeats the picturesque images seen, in particular, in the painting created by artist I. Boldyrev, in 1860s, which was then reproduced in the technique of lithography.

The left sash of the triptych depicts St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the right one - St. Nikon the Wonderworker. The composition “The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius of Radonezh” accompanied by the image of St. Nikon the Wonderworker is quite a rare combination of images that was not typical for the masters of Sergiyev Posad (the city developed around the fortified walls of the Trinity–Sergius Monastery).

The frames, in which the images are enclosed, are decorated with the small spirals of wood shavings glued to the surface along the perimeter. The haloes of the saints that look like thin rays, are made of mica. This design approach was typical for the products of Sergiyev Posad carvers.

The presented plot is easily perceived due to the clarity and simplicity of the design, the perfect combination of carefully executed reliefs of a complex bas-relief carving. Relief plastics, sculptural modeling of faces and proportionality of figures of saints, well-honed skills in performing complex bas-relief carving are those signs that characterize the performer of as a high-level professional and a person that testifies his high quality of art education.

Captions to the illustrations:

1. The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius, the central part of the triptych “The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius of Radonezh” (KPL-SK-425)

2. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The left sash of the triptych “The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius of Radonezh” (KPL-SK-425)

3. St. Nikon the Wonderworker. The right sash of the triptych “The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius of Radonezh” (KPL-SK-425)

4. Unknown lithograph. The Virgin Appearing to St. Sergius of Radonezh. Drawn by I. Boldyrev. 1863

Prepared by Olena Serhii, senior research associate

Study of Artistic Heritage Research Division

National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”

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