Susimąsčiusio Kristaus atvaizdas Rusijoje: vieno paveikslo analizė

ENThe article presents a not-investigated painting from a private collection. The painting entered the collection from another private collector. To date, the origin of the work is unknown, nor is the painting known to a wider circle of persons. Although the painting depicts an image of Western origin, ‘The Christ in Distress’, taking into account the nature of the painting and the modelling of the body of Christ, the search for the origins of the work began in Russian painting. The study demonstrates that the painting dates to the late eighteenth–the first third of the nineteenth century and belongs to the region of religious painting in Northern Russia. In addition, it should be noted that the painting of the image, the overall central composition, the earthy colour scheme, local colours, brownish tones and halftones, the Saviour’s clothing, the treatment of shallow and static folds of clothing, and the details of depiction of specific anatomy (faces, hair, etc.) evidence the aesthetic influence of the Neoclassicism on the artist. The image is cosy, ascetic, restrained by an uncluttered background, in which only a few compositional details (column, seat, and window) are highlighted and the bold figure of Jesus with scattered yellowish-brown tones of light behind it and a crown of yellow light rays around his head. yellow light rays around his head. It should be noted that the painting is an atypical work in the context of religious art in both Russia and Central and Eastern Europe in several aspects. First, it is an example of a rare expression of the image of the Christ in Distress in painted works, in which several episodes from the life of Jesus are intertwined. The painting stands out and is valuable because of the developed rare iconography of the Christ in Distress-Jesus in Prison, which depicts a generalised symbolic story of Christ’s suffering.The work depicts Jesus in prison after being mocked (stripped off and clothed with a scarlet cloak, flagellated at the pillar, and thrown into a prison). The iconography source of the painting is based on a series of painted derivations dated to the third quarter of the eighteenth century–1900. Second, the painting was created using an atypical technique. It is painted in oil on canvas, while other works of this iconography are painted on boards and are closer to the painting tradition of Russian icons. Dated to the late eighteenth–the first third of the nineteenth century, the painting The Christ in Distress (Jesus in Prison) can be considered as an excellent and illustrative example of the influence of European Catholic religious culture on Russian Orthodox art. [From the publication]