St. Nicholas

Painting

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

St. Nicholas

Entry/Object ID

2005.02.066

Description

Flat painted wood panel with computer paper description taped on the back describing St. Nicholas's life and death, also dating the painting to 1889. The painting depicts a man's face with brown eyes and a [deteriorating] white hair and beard. His painted hands are held in the three finger blessing symbol and hold a gospel book engraved into the silver riza. The riza is bordered with floral motifs in the four corners and along the border sporadically. Cyrillic script captions are on either side of the figure, who wears a rounded miter crown and full robes with floral motifs on a plain background save for his halo.

Type of Painting

Panel

Collection

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2005.02

Source or Donor

Betsy Scheuring

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Made/Created

Artist

Sergey Shebanov

Date made

1889

Place

* Untyped Place

Kazan, Russia

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Makers Mark

Location

1. Left side of the figure within the halo 2. bottom edge of the riza (where it attaches to the wood panel)

Transcription

1. С.Ш, 1889, 84, Small winged dragon symbol 2. Впсу 55 3/8 3p no, С.Ш, 1889, 84, Small winged dragon symbol

Language

Cyrillic

Translation

SSh (Artist Sergey Shebanov), City of Kazan (Zilant/winged dragon) Brcy? 55 3/8 3p no

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Icon

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Symbol, Religious

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Religious Objects

Nomenclature Class

Ceremonial Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

10-1/4 in

Width

8-1/8 in

Depth

1-1/8 in

Exhibition

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

"St. Nicholas was born at Patara in Asia Minor at a time when Christians were persecuted under the rule of Diocletian in the late 3rd century. He became bishop of Myra and was imprisoned until Constantine came to power. He then attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the miracles attributed to him during his lifetime and afterward secured him a position as one of the most beloved saints in the Orthodox tradition. The silver riza frames the bishop with a floral border that nicely complements his decorative halo. Under the riza, St. Nicholas is depicted with subtle details: his mitre bears an oval with a cross on top that is surrounded by stars rather than the usual oval with a cross inside. The Bible he holds has a large green jewel on the front instead of the customary tri-bar cross, and his clothes are less ornate than usual. The figure’s halo consists of the outline of two circles unlike the detailed design for this feature on the riza. Moreover, the painting lacks a border. Western European artistic influence is evident in the saint’s well modeled features."