The "Voskresenie", or
Resurrection, is the most important festival of the Eastern Orthodox
Church.
It is also the Russian word both for "Sunday", a left
leaning, quasi-Masonic sect which existed in
Petrograd between 1918 and 1928, and Russia's most popular contemporary
rock group.
Originally Orthodox icons did not depict the actual resurrection
but used "The Descent into Hell"
to symbolize it. Western artists depicted the moment when the
tomb was opened as the Roman soldiers
slept more often. As the centurions realize their dereliction
of duty and the nature of the miraculous event they
become horrified.
This particular Greek icon portrays two of the soldiers awakening
while one still sleeps. The linen
grave clothes lie empty within the tomb. An angel witnesses the
scene while the women who were
the first to report on Christ's return are seen coming from town
in the background. The three
crosses on Golgotha can also be seen in the distance.
It is painted with oil paint on a gold ground with deeply engraved
lines emanating from Christ's halo.
There is some restoration at the bottom but is in good shape otherwise.
There are two "Shponki",
the wooden wedges that prevent expansion and contraction of the
wood, on the back.
At 13 1/4 by 18 3/4 inches, it is larger than the typical household
icon.
The Western influences are evident in the modeling of the figures,
the use of oil paint and the
composition's diagonal thrust.
