Elijah the Prophet
Iconography: Elijah the Prophet
Date: XV century.
Iconographic school/art center: Novgorod school, the Northern province.
Origin: From the Elijah the Prophet Chapel in the village of Pyalma, Pudozdhsky district, the Republic of Karelia.
Material: Wood, tempera
Dimensions: height 53 cm, width 34 cm
The half-figure the saint is beautifully painted on a vertical board. The painting of the face, combining liquid ochre and reddening with bluish shading, was done by a very experienced iconographer. The ornamentality of the prophet’s beard locks, noted by the scholars, given some simplicity of the painting, indicates provincialism of its style, however, the elaborated details are so rhythmically perfect that the meaningfulness of this art method raises no doubts. And yet the icon was executed outside stationary workshop conditions, which can be seen from specific features of the board. The kovcheg is not deep, with one thin connected cut in the reverse side.
Inv. № И-312. © Republic of Karelia Museum of Fine Arts
Bibliography: СD ROM «Иконопись Карелии». Музей изобразительных искусств Республики Карелия. 2002
General view
The saint’s face