October 2, 2015 — January 10, 2016
Saints and Dragons: Icons from Byzantium to Russia
When an icon of the Mother of God was carried into Moscow in 1395, marauding Mongols stopped dead in their tracks, leaving the city unharmed. After Duke Vasili Ill of Russia blessed his soldiers with an icon of Christ in 1514, his army laid waste to enemy troops occupying the city of Smolensk.
Adolf Hitler's Nazi forces began to retreat from Moscow in 1942 after Joseph Stalin, an avowed atheist, reportedly flew an icon in a plane over the city.
These stories convey the power of the art on view in Saints and Dragons: Icons from Byzantium to Russia. The show presents more than 120 extraordinary objects from the collections of The British Museum, London, and the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts. These icons seldom travel and some have never visited America due to their fragility and rarity.
Their power, however, is unquestionable.
At once historical, artistic, and religious, the icons on view explore the sacred power of Orthodox Christianity. They trace its origins in ancient Byzantium, through its storied history in Russia, and into churches and homes throughout the world today. Each icon also has its own powerful story to tell. Some have worked miracles, healing the sick or saving a city from annihilation, while others have themselves been saved by the faithful during times of political conflict. Though all icons exist in this physical world, they open onto the divine. They simultaneously tell stories about the historic past, but also reveal the mysteries of the holy today.
This exhibition comprises 160 extraordinary works of religious, historical, and artistic importance—rare
icons and extraordinary artifacts that rarely leave the collections of The British Museum, London, and the Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, Mass.
An icon is an image of a holy person or event, created by an iconographer who follows the strict standards of the Orthodox Church. They are typically sanctified and blessed by a priest. To the Orthodox believer, icons are more than religious art. They are holy objects.
These icons of Orthodox Christianity have powerful stories to tell. Some are believed to have worked miracles—healing the sick or saving a city from annihilation—while others have themselves been saved by the faithful during times of political conflict. They tell stories of the past while illuminating the holy of today.
One term you’ll see numerous times in this exhibition is “Mother of God,” the name given to The Virgin Mary in the Orthodox Church. She is not a mother in the sense that she is older than God or the source of her Son’s divinity. Think of it as a logical syllogism: If Mary is the mother of Jesus, and if Jesus is God, then Mary is the Mother of God.
If the Mother of God is the most common image in the exhibition, the most popular saint would be Saint George. He was a young Roman soldier who rose quickly through ranks and used his military travels to spread Christianity. This was illegal in the early 300s AD, and generals and the governor used both bribes and torture to get him to renounce his faith. Saint George’s refusal—and subsequent execution—made him a venerated paragon of faith and strength for centuries. The legend of his slaying a dragon did not appear until centuries after his death.
Saints and Dragons: Icons from Byzantium to Russia is organized by The Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, Mass., in cooperation with The British Museum, London.
The show ran from Oct. 2, 2015, to Jan. 10, 2016.
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