SAINT SERGE AND SAINT GERMAIN DE VALAAM in front of the Mona - Lot 79

SAINT SERGE AND SAINT GERMAIN DE VALAAM in front of the Monastery of the Transfiguration Russia, early 20th c. Tempera on full leaf gilded panel covered with a silver and vermeil okhlad embossed and engraved with the icon motif in a pilaster frame decorated with foliage and a three-lobed vault, bearing the Saint Petersburg city hallmark (α kokochnik 84) with the title 84z, 1908/1917. And an unidentified И.В master mark. The two holy monks, Sergius and his disciple Germain (Hermann or Герман) are depicted in front of the Valaam monastic enclosure of which they were the founders in the 11th c. These two monks, originally from Greece, were evangelizers of the peoples of Karelia and the region north of Lake Ladoga. The monastery's largest church is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior, and an iconic representation of Christ on the Mount of Olives dominates the scene in a radiant mise en abyme. The icon is painted in a decorative style with shimmering colors, blending the monastery's Western contribution of realistic perspective with the Byzantine tradition of the monumentality of the two saints in the foreground, and the geometric decorative ornamentation evoking the interlacing cloisonné enamels so dear to the Slavonic Revival style. Excellent structural state of preservation, however, the icon shows some chips and missing parts on the faces and hands, visible under the okhlad, probably due to an attempt to clean the latter. Original varnish oxidized. The okhlad is intact, in perfect condition and of remarkable quality. 27 x 22 cm 800/1500 € This icon was described by Madame Lydia Manic