Description in Icons, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2004, cat. no. 38:
Late 14th - early 15th century, Novgorod
NMI 279

Wood: Linden (Tilia sp.), egg tempera
on canvas. Panel made of three boards
with two splines inlaid across the panel
(both replaced); back covered with
thick varnish.

PROVENANCE: Vilhelm Assarsson (”Theo -
phanes the Greek, end of 14th century”).;
Åke Wiberg; Gift of Å. Wiberg 1959
EXHIBITIONS: Gothenburg 1970, no 3; Helsinki
1970, no 3; Stockholm 1988, no 3
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Assarssons samling (3:2);
NM annual report 1959, pp 14–15, 24; Titov
1968, p 841; Smirnova 1982, p 364; Smirnova
1984, pp 77–82; Abel 1989:2, p 12
CONSERVATION: Restored prior to entering
NM: crack through panel mended with
metal clips on top and bottom edges; lower
part with feet and portions of green ground
reconstructed partly made on top of original;
gold on background retouched;
insertions and retouches on upper border and
on top of Christ’s head; cleaned; NM 1960:
panel thinned and flattened with impregnation,
new splines and new wood inserted
in joints, heavy paint loss in joints and
blistering remedied (B. Titov)1; 1966: conservation
for blistering; 1980: severe blistering
of paint layer and ground in lower half
of central section remedied. Cracks in
joints, losses of ground and paint layer
along borders; paint layer flaking along
borders; background gold abraded; above
the standing figures, cinnabar fragments of
original inscriptions.

The core of this image is a traditional,
full-length Deesis, with Christ enthroned,
flanked by the Mother of God
and John the Baptist. St Nicholas
stands behind the Mother of God and
an unknown saint behind John. Both
saints face the beholder. The unknown
saint carries an open book, the text of
which comes from Luke XII: 16–17:
“And he spoke a parable unto them,
saying, the ground of a certain rich
man brought forth plentifully. And he
thought within himself, saying, What
shall I do?” The saint is not Luke himself,
nor is he John the Evangelist, as
noted by the Museum in the inventory.
In a comprehensive study of this icon,
E. Smirnova puts forward the hypoth -
esis that, judging by the iconography,
it may represent the prophet Sophonius,
whose feast day, 3rd December,
has coincided with the 26th Sunday
after Whitsun, on which day this text
from Luke was prescribed three times
between 1380 and 1450, namely in
1419, 1430 and 1441.2
The distinctive, somewhat manner -
ist drawing, the predominance of clear,
cold shades of blue, green and mauve
combined with gold and cinnabar, like
the high emotional temperature of the
figures, all clearly tie in with Byzantine
Paleologue art. Alternatively, the stylistic
affinity of this icon to Byzantine art
has suggested that it was the art of a
Byzantine artist active in Novgorod,
e.g. Theophan the Greek. At the same
time, there are features placing this
icon in the Novgorod region, namely
both stylistic qualities and, for
example, dialectal ones, the latter
occurring in the Bible passage quoted.3
This icon was probably commission -
ed by an individual or group in Nov -
gorod. It may have been executed as a
commemorative icon, in the tradition
of the funeral Deesis; the idea of the
vanity of riches expressed in the
parable had long been popular in Novgorod.
4 It may have been hung separately
on one of the walls of the church
or chapel or included in the iconostasis.
The content of the iconostasis had
not yet been finalised at this time, and
examples occur of this type of patronal
figure in the Deesis tier.

1 Boris D. Titov (1902–1981), officer in the Russian
army who left Russia in connection with the
revolution, living mainly in Germany, Trieste
and Sweden, where he died. Painter and icon
restorer. Working in the NM restauration studio
between 1957 – 1976.
2 Smirnova 1984, p 79.
3 ibid., p 72.
4 ibid.
[slut]