Mikhail Vassilievich Nesterov (1862–1942), The Holy Prince Boris

Mikhail Vassilievich NESTEROV (1862–1942)
The Holy Prince Boris (Святой Князь Борис)
Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper,
monogrammed lower right М. Н.
Framed under glass.
H_38 cm L_20 cm (sight size)
Very good state of preservation.

Private collection. On the verso, an old inventory label with a mention of the State Archive of Literature and Art of Russia (RGALI).

This delicate work fully embodies the poetic and spiritual style of Mikhail Nesterov, one of the foremost representatives of Symbolism and the revival of sacred art in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The drawing depicts the Holy Prince Boris (baptized Roman), son of Grand Prince Vladimir. Murdered in 1015 on the orders of their brother Svyatopolk the Accursed, Boris and his brother Gleb were the first saints canonized by the Russian Church. Having refused to take up arms against their brother to avoid fratricidal war, they embody, in the Orthodox tradition, the ideal of non-resistance to evil and of sacrifice through Christian love. Here, Nesterov portrays the young prince clad in his richly ornamented princely mantle, holding the cross of martyrdom in one hand and resting the other on his sheathed sword.