THE STROGANOV OR OLD BELIEVERS’ ICON PAINTING TRADITION IN THE WORKS OF N.S. LESKOV

N.S. Leskov is known to have been a collector of icons and a connoisseur of history and techniques of icon painting. In his work as a writer he made use of his visual impression of icons painted in the old believers' tradition. Unlike modern scholars, when acting as an iconographer, Leskov did not classify old believers' icon painting as a separate trend, subsuming it within the “Stroganov school”. In the 19th century, the Stroganov school icons were distinguished by the mark of the Stroganov family name on the icon's reverse side. Such icons were believed to have been painted in the workshops officially set up by the Stroganov family. “An old believers' school icon” would be the one painted by at a workshop owned by old believers for the use in their prayer rooms or churches. Leskov's opinion on the insoluble link between the Stroganov and old believers' school of icon painting well agreed with the works of I.P. Sakharov the writer was quite familiar with, as well as with the ideas old believers themselves expressed concerning the history and traditions of icon painting. Leskov knew these opinions through communication with icon painters who professed the old belief version of Orthodox Christianity.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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