Russian Icon

Dmitry Igorevich Antonov – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at RGGU, Director of the Center for Visual Studies of the Middle Ages and Modern Times at the Faculty of Cultural Studies of RGGU, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Theoretical Folkloristics at RANHIGS. Author of the books "Nimbus and Cross: How to Read Russian Icons", "Tsars and Pretenders: The Struggle of Ideas in Russia During the Time of Troubles", "Icons of the Soviet Era: Faces of Tradition" (co-authored with D. Yu. Doronin), "Anatomy of Hell: A Guide to Ancient Russian Visual Demonology" (co-authored with M. R. Maizuls), "Demons and Sinners in Ancient Russian Iconography: Semiotics of the Image" (co-authored with M. R. Maizuls). What you have before you is not an ordinary encyclopedia of Russian iconography. The main goal of this book is to provide readers with keys that will allow them to navigate the world of icons and wall paintings. To understand the logic of images and to see the information hidden in the details. The author step by step shows how to "read" icons and how to understand the interesting nuances hidden in each plot. The first chapter describes the geometric principles that allow icon painters to narrate about space and depicted objects. The following chapters discuss signs – subtle elements from which any visual narrative is built – and motifs that recur in different compositions. Finally, in the last chapter, the author examines unusual variations of some plots. The book will be of interest to both those who want to gain general knowledge about Russian iconography and those who professionally engage in the history of culture, art, and religion.