Holy Gates

Iconography:  Half-doors of Holy Gates

Date: XVI century.

Iconographic school/art center:  Novgorod school

Origin: The icon comes from the collection of A.A.Shirinsky-Shikhmatov that was kept in his Tver estate Ostrovki before the Bolshevik revolution. After the revolution and until 1964 the icon was kept in the museum of the Kalinigrad region.

Material: Wood, levkas, tempera

Dimensions:  height 160 cm, width 74 cm

The icon of the The Holy Gates is composed of two connected halfdoors each representing left and right parts of the four scenes: Panel 1 – the Annunciation (the left halfdoor shows the Archangel Gabriel, the right halfdoor depicts the Holy Virgin), Panel 2 –the Eucharist (on the left halfdoor the apostles are shown taking communion of bread, on the right halfdoor they are depicted taking communion of wine), Panel 3 – images of the Evangelists (John on the left halfdoor and Matthew on the right door), Panel 4 - images of the Evangelists (Luke on the left halfdoor, and Mark on the right door). Lower borders (left and right halfdoord) bear the inscription: Restored by V.P.Guryanov, 1902.

Inv. № 16. © The Andrey Rublyov Museum of Medieval Russian Culture and Art


  • General view
  • The Annunciation. The Archangel Gabriel. Left halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • The Annunciation. The Holy Virgin. Right halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • The Eucharist. Left halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • The Eucharist. Communion of the apostles. Right halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • Evangelist John the Theologist with St. Prochoros. Left halfdoor of the The Beautiful Gates
  • Matthew the Evangelist . Right halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • Luke the Evangelist. Left halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • Mark the Evangelist. Right halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • The renovator’s inscription. Left halfdoor of the Beautiful gates
  • The renovator’s inscription. Right halfdoor of the Beautiful gates