The Cross Year of Russia and Greece completes a cultural project that starts today at the Tretyakov Gallery - the exhibition "Masterpieces Byzantine art". Unique monuments of the X-XV centuries, collected from Greek museums and private collections. Visitors will be able to submit a story great empire, trace the mutual influence of the traditions of Eastern and Western Christian art.
Artifacts of the Disappeared Byzantine Empire. The earliest is a church cross of the 10th century. A contemporary of the Baptism of Rus'. In the center - another metal, not original. The insert appeared when a relic was torn out of here - a particle of the Cross of the Lord.
“You and I see the two hands of the great martyr, which are raised to Christ. And his figure is clearly visible here, voluminous. It almost seems to emerge from the surface of the icon, from the plane of the icon to us, to those who pray,” says Elena Saenkova, curator of the exhibition.
The curator of the exhibition at the "volumetric" icon - such appeared in the XIII century, after the arrival of the crusaders. Two collided Christian world: western and eastern. The carving technique, robes, even the shield at the feet of St. George are European, and the painting technique is Byzantine.
And this is far from all the surprises from the Byzantine masters. Double-sided icons are a rarity. For example, this one, from the end of the 14th century, depicts the crucifixion of Christ on one side, and the Mother of God on the other. Such icons are also called processional, that is, they participated in church services, celebrations, religious processions. But the most interesting thing is different - art historians suggest that they were located inside the temple in a special way. One side was turned to the worshipers, that is, here. And the other side - inside the altar, to the clergy.
Withered edges, lost colors in some places, and somewhere deliberately knocked down faces of saints shock more than the restored images. These icons breathe time, live in every crack, in spite of all the conquerors of Byzantium.
“When the Turks took Constantinople, they began to destroy the decoration of temples, disfigure icons: they gouged out the eyes, the faces of saints,” says Fedra Kalafati, an employee of the Byzantine and Christian Museum.
18 unique exhibits came from museums and private collections in Greece. This visit is a return one: in the fall of 2016, an exhibition of Russian icons was held in Athens. The cross year of Russia-Greece has already ended, but in fact it is closing now.
Manuscript of the Gospel of the XIV century - in a precious frame, with rich miniatures, perfectly preserved text and marginal notes. Basis - veal skin of the thinnest dressing.
Nearby is even less familiar to the ear "air" - an embroidered cover on the Holy Gifts. It was used during the Liturgy. Judging by the pattern, wine was covered. Even the threads retain their brightness from the Byzantine masters, because the dyes were created from natural pigments. Cinnabar - red, lapis lazuli - blue, ocher - flesh-orange. The palette is small, but how skillfully the artists mastered it.
“Looking at these icons is a great pleasure for the eye, because this is the finest painting, the finest work with paint, with color, with gold,” says the director of the State Tretyakov Gallery Zelfira Tregulova.
And also the details. It would seem that the canonical image of the Mother of God with the baby, but how humanly playfully a sandal slides off one of Christ's feet.
It happens, after all, and you, probably, too - you expect something unusual from the event, you go with such a mood that you will touch the beautiful or at least interesting. This is how it turned out for me with the exhibition “Masterpieces of Byzantium”, an article about which I read on the Arnamik Inform website, and I was impressed.
Maybe the association worked with the exhibition “Masterpieces of the Vatican” taking place at the same time in the Tretyakov Gallery, which was so publicized that it was impossible to buy tickets for it long before the end.
Whatever it was, we got together. We visit the Tretyakov Gallery from time to time, so the exhibits of the permanent exhibitions are familiar to us. We went to the “Masterpieces of Byzantium”.
The exhibition is located in Hall 38.
You can, passing through the many halls that precede it, take a look at the paintings of your favorite artists, nodding to them, as if welcoming good friends. Repin, Surikov, Perov, Ivanov, Vrubel, Kuindzhi, Vereshchagin - all in the field.
And here is the "Masterpieces of Byzantium." Let's see…
The exhibition has a total of 18 exhibits representing works of Byzantine and post-Byzantine art brought as part of a cultural exchange from museums and private collections in Greece. 
Icons, katsei, air, copies of the Bible - all this should show the unity of Russian and Byzantine culture. And designate Byzantine objects of worship as a source of inspiration for Russian masters.
Although in general I have an even attitude towards icon painting, without reverent worship, there were exhibits at the exhibition that struck my imagination.
This is not even an image of the Great Martyr George of the 13th century from Athens carved from wood (he is on the left in the photo, the young man is intently examining him) - already carved icons and carved wooden sculptures I have seen enough while traveling the world.
I was surprised by the two-sided icons. There were two of them. One "pair" with the image on one side of the same Great Martyr George with scenes from his life, and on the other - the Great Martyrs Marina and Irina. The second - with an image from different parties The Virgin and Child and the Crucifixion on the other side. 
The most ancient exhibit of the exhibition is considered to be a processional cross of the 10th century, created during the reign of the Macedonian dynasty.
On it are engraved images of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, some saints.
In general, the exhibits of the exhibition "Masterpieces of Byzantium" - yes, inspire respect ... But culture shock I have not experienced.
I repeat, I am not a connoisseur and not a connoisseur of temple painting. The stories sounded familiar to me. Yes, she looked around. You can try to force yourself to feel the "dust of the ages" by looking at the images, but it didn't work out.
To be honest, the exhibition left me indifferent. Looks like my cultural level is not sufficiently developed.
I regret that I could not convey and convey to you, dear readers, the beautiful and sublime that the organizers of the exhibition probably hoped to evoke. I suggest you go and see for yourself. The exhibition will last approximately until April 9, if not extended, as it happens. It's better if you make your own impression.
The Cross Year of Russia and Greece is completed by a cultural project that starts today at the Tretyakov Gallery - the exhibition "Masterpieces of Byzantine Art". Unique monuments of the X-XV centuries, collected from Greek museums and private collections. Visitors will be able to imagine the history of the great empire, trace the mutual influence of the traditions of Eastern and Western Christian art.
Artifacts of the vanished Byzantine Empire. The earliest is a church cross of the 10th century. A contemporary of the Baptism of Rus'. In the center - another metal, not original. The insert appeared when a relic was torn out of here - a particle of the Cross of the Lord.
“You and I see the two hands of the great martyr, which are raised to Christ. And his figure is clearly visible here, voluminous. It almost seems to emerge from the surface of the icon, from the plane of the icon to us, to those who pray,” says Elena Saenkova, curator of the exhibition.
The curator of the exhibition at the "volumetric" icon - such appeared in the XIII century, after the arrival of the crusaders. Two Christian worlds collided: Western and Eastern. The carving technique, robes, even the shield at the feet of St. George are European, and the painting technique is Byzantine.
And this is far from all the surprises from the Byzantine masters. Double-sided icons are a rarity. For example, this one, from the end of the 14th century, depicts the crucifixion of Christ on one side, and the Mother of God on the other. Such icons are also called processional, that is, they participated in church services, celebrations, religious processions. But the most interesting thing is that art historians suggest that they were located inside the temple in a special way. One side was turned to the worshipers, that is, here. And the other side - inside the altar, to the clergy.
Withered edges, lost colors in some places, and somewhere deliberately knocked down faces of saints shock more than the restored images. These icons breathe time, live in every crack, in spite of all the conquerors of Byzantium.
“When the Turks took Constantinople, they began to destroy the decoration of temples, disfigure icons: they gouged out the eyes, the faces of saints,” says Fedra Kalafati, an employee of the Byzantine and Christian Museum.
18 unique exhibits came from museums and private collections in Greece. This visit is a return one: in the fall of 2016, an exhibition of Russian icons was held in Athens. The cross year of Russia-Greece has already ended, but in fact it is closing now.
Manuscript of the Gospel of the XIV century - in a precious frame, with rich miniatures, perfectly preserved text and marginal notes. Basis - veal skin of the thinnest dressing.
Nearby is even less familiar to the ear "air" - an embroidered cover on the Holy Gifts. It was used during the Liturgy. Judging by the pattern, wine was covered. Even the threads retain their brightness from the Byzantine masters, because the dyes were created from natural pigments. Cinnabar - red, lapis lazuli - blue, ocher - flesh-orange. The palette is small, but how skillfully the artists mastered it.
“To look at these icons is a great pleasure for the eye, because this is the finest painting, the finest work with paint, with color, with gold,” says Zelfira Tregulova, director of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
And also the details. It would seem that the canonical image of the Mother of God with the baby, but how humanly playfully a sandal slides off one of Christ's feet.
Tomorrow, an exhibition of unique exhibits from the collections of Greek museums will open in Lavrushinsky Lane
State Tretyakov Gallery
February 7 - April 9, 2017
Moscow, Lavrushinsky lane, 10, room 38
The exhibition is organized within the framework of the cross year of culture of Russia and Greece. In 2016, the Ascension icon by Andrei Rublev and a whole exhibition of Russian icons and sculptures of the 15th-19th centuries from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery were shown in Athens. The return exhibition in Moscow will present 18 exhibits (12 icons, 2 illustrated manuscripts, liturgical items - a processional cross, air, 2 katsei) from the collections of the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, the Benaki Museum, the collection of E. Velimesis - H. Margaritis.
The exhibits date back to the end of the 10th - beginning of the 16th century and give an idea of the various periods of Byzantine art and different art centers. The exhibition allows you to evaluate the perfection of the work of the masters, as well as understand the ways of comprehending spiritual world in the Middle Ages, revealing the nuances in the exquisite coloring of icons, in luxurious miniatures of manuscripts, on the pages of which the artists of Byzantium sought to recreate the beauty of the mountain world.
At the exhibition, each of the works - unique monument of his era. Exhibits provide an opportunity to present history Byzantine culture and trace the mutual influence of the traditions of Eastern and Western Christian art. Most early monument on display is a silver processional cross of the end of the 10th century with images of Christ, the Mother of God and saints engraved on it.
The art of the 12th century is represented by the icon "The Resurrection of Lazarus", which embodies the refined, refined style of painting of this time. The collection of the Tretyakov Gallery contains an icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir of the same era, created in Constantinople in the first third of the 12th century and then brought to Rus'.
One of the most striking exhibits of the exhibition is a relief with the image of the Great Martyr George with scenes from his life. It serves as an example of the interaction between Byzantine and Western European masters, which laid the foundation for the phenomenon of master crusaders - most interesting page V History XIII century. The wood carving technique in which the figure of St. George was made is not typical for Byzantine art and was obviously borrowed from Western tradition, while the splendid frame of stamps was created in accordance with the canons of Byzantine painting.
Icon of the Mother of God with the Child, painted in early XIII century, presumably by a Cypriot master, demonstrates a different way mutual influence medieval art East and West. IN artistic culture During this period, associated with the revival of the empire and the Palaiologos dynasty, the movement towards ancient traditions was perceived as a search for one's cultural identity.
The mature style of art of the Palaiologos era belongs to the two-sided image “Odegetria the Mother of God, with the Twelve Feasts. The Throne Prepared” at the end of the 14th century. This icon is a contemporary of the works of Theophanes the Greek. Both masters use the same artistic techniques- in particular, thin lines penetrating the faces of the Mother of God and the Child, symbolizing the energies of divine light. This image, obviously, is a list from the miraculous icon of Constantinople Hodegetria.
Several objects tell about the richness of the decorative and applied arts of Byzantium, among which are a katseya (censer) depicting the great martyrs Theodore and Demetrius and an embroidered air (veil) on the Holy Gifts.
The technique of the artists was especially virtuosic, decorating the manuscripts with complex exquisite ornaments in headpieces, initials and miniatures with images of the evangelists. The level of their mastery is demonstrated by two gospel codes - the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century.
The post-Byzantine period is represented by three icons of Greek masters who left for Crete after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. These works allow us to trace the synthesis of creative finds European art and the traditional Byzantine canon.
Byzantine artistic tradition stood at the origins of the formation of the art of many peoples. From the beginning of the spread of Christianity in Kievan Rus Greek artists and architects passed on the skills of temple construction to Russian masters, fresco painting, icon painting, book design, jewelry art. This cultural interaction continued for many centuries. From the 10th to the 15th century Russian art passed the way from apprenticeship to high skill, keeping the memory of Byzantium as a fertile source, long years spiritually nourishing Russian culture.
The exhibition "Masterpieces of Byzantium" is located next to the halls of the permanent exhibition ancient Russian art XI-XVII centuries, which allows the viewer to trace the parallels and see the features of the works of Russian and Greek artists.
Project curator E. M. Saenkova.
Source: State Tretyakov Gallery press release
