ICON «SAINT HEALER PANTELEIMON WITH SCENES OF LIFE».

ICON «SAINT HEALER PANTELEIMON WITH SCENES OF LIFE».
Rural areas of Vladimir (?), the late XIXth century.
Icon «Saint healer Panteleimon with scenes of life». Wood, gesso ground, tempera.
Size: 36X31 cm. Safety: generally in good condition, minor losses of the paint
layer. Saint Panteleimon (d. 305) always occupied a special place in Orthodox
veneration among the healing Saints. Young healer from Nicomedia, who became
famous for numerous miracles of healing performed in the name of Christ.
The cult of St. Panteleimon was especially significant in Byzantium and on Mount
Athos, where the Russian Panteleimon monastery has existed since ancient times.
During the Imperial era, the cult of the Saint was deeply anchored in Russia.
According to tradition, the Saint is depicted frontally, in full height. The Saint
holds in his hands a spoon and a box with medicines. The centerpiece of the icon
is framed by 14 hagiographic stamps. All the scenes of the life have descriptions.
An energetic and simplified scheme of positioning, arrangement, movings,
bright, multi – color and simple palette, decorativeness, graphic and smartness
put the icon on a par with numerous works of workshops of the XIX century,
whose products in a generalized form convey the main technical and stylistic
canons formed over the centuries of icon painting development.