Russian Old Believers Workshop, C. 1900, Large Quadripartite Icon

RUSSIAN SCHOOL, Old Believers’ Workshop (c. 1900)
Four-panel icon depicting the Crucifixion, Christ Pantocrator, Saint Nicholas, Saint Charalambos and the Mother of God ‘Soothe my sorrows’
Tempera on wooden panel.
H_44 cm W_41.2 cm
Signs of wear, craquelure, partially restored.

This significant four-panel icon is arranged in a very balanced manner around a large central Crucifixion, which acts as a sacred axis. The four panels depict, respectively, Christ Pantocrator, Saint Nicholas of Myra, Saint Charalambos and the Mother of God known as ‘Apaişe mes douleurs’ (Soothe my Sorrows). Two patron saints are also depicted full-length on the side borders (polia).

Typical of the meticulous craftsmanship of the Old Believer workshops at the turn of the 20th century, the composition is notable for the density of its Cyrillic inscriptions and the care taken with its iconographic structure. On the reverse, the wooden panel retains its two original reinforcing crossbars (sponki) and is finished in a period blue-grey paint.