Apparition of the Mother of God to the elder St. Dorotheus
Iconography: Apparition of the Mother of God to the elder St. Dorotheus
Date: XVIII century. First half of the 18th century.
Iconographic school/art center: Pskov icon-painting school ?
Origin: From the collection of the Pskov merchant I.I.Zhiglevich
Material: Wood, canvas, tempera, oil-paint
Dimensions: height 61 cm, width 70 cm
The centre of the icon depicts the removal of the wonderworking icon “The Dormition of Our Lady” from the monastery of Pechersky monastery to the town. To the right is represented the scene that happened after the removal: on the eve of the crucial battle the Mother of God appeared to the elder Dorotheus the blacksmith. She appeared near the Pokrovsky monastery in place where the stone wall of the Pskov fortress was broken, the place the enemies decided to start their next assault from. The Mother of God appeared surrounded by Russian saints among which were Grand Prince St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, reverend Antony of Pechersk, saint Niphontus (?), archbishop of Novgorod and locally venerated Vsevolod-Gavriil, Domvont-Timophey, Kornily of Pskovo-Pechersk, Euphrosyn, Sabbas of Kryletsk and blessed Nicholas Salos. The icon depicts conventionalized but accurate version of the main churches and monasteries of Pskov and the plan of the town itself is also represented, with the main rivers of Pskov shown there – Velikaya, Pskova and Mirozha dividing the territory of the town into “Zavelitchye” and “Zapskovye”, they are surrounded by the external and internal circle of the walls “Town of Dovmont” and Krom with the Holy Trinity cathedral. The depiction of the Old Testament Trinity is represented above in the centre and to the right and to the left of it are shown saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and prince Alexander Nevsky.
General view