File:Saint Alexandra (Russia, 1883, priv.coll).jpg
Original file (1,329 × 2,500 pixels, file size: 1.26 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
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Summary
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Description |
ST ALEXANDRA, THE EMPRESS, IN A SILVER-GILT OKLAD
This valuable commissioned icon depicts St. Alexandra (commemorated on 23rd April), wife of the Emperor Diocletian (or according to some sources, widow of one of his predecessors), who suffered together with the Great Martyr St. George, the Bringer of Victory, during the persecutions of Christians at the beginning of the 4th century. In the 19th century, this royal martyr was regarded a s the Protectress of Russian Empresses, which explains the popularity of her icons at that time, as opposed to previous centuries. The Empresses Alexandra Fyodorovna (1798–1860), wife of Nicholas I, and Alexandra Fyodorovna (1872–1918), wife of Nicholas II, both received the name Alexandra in honour of this saint upon their conversion to Orthodoxy. In the 1830s–1860s and 1890s, there were churches and chapels consecrated to the Blessed Tsarina Alexandra in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. The 1883 date on the oklad links the icon to the events of the Coronation of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Fyodorovna on the 15th May 1883 at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin, two years after Alexander III’s accession to the throne. A thanksgiving offering could be made to the church by those honoured with the monarch’s favour, and also by those who had taken part in the Coronation ceremonies (these cases are well known). The slightly larger dimensions of the icon indicate that it was intended for a church, rather than a domestic setting. It is also entirely possible that another icon was commissioned to go with it, depicting the princely saint Alexander Nevsky, Protector of Russian Emperors and patron to Emperor’s ascending the throne. The icon, with its highly professional quality of production, is a brilliant example of icon-painting from this revivalist era. The saint’s apparel is richly decorated and painted in great detail with gemstones and pearls at the neck and hem of the embroidered tunic. The precious cloak is further enriched with a jewelled breast-piece, the headdress has grand additional ornamentation, all of which are rendered in the traditions of “archaeological painting”, a genre founded by the eminent Russian graphic artist, Fyodor Grigoryevich Solntsev (1801–1892). The portrayal of the Tsarina Alexandra is surprisingly reminiscent of the drawings he made of the frescoes in St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kiev and the manuscript miniatures from the collections of the Princes Obolensky and Gagarin, as recorded in Ancient Depictions, Portraits and Dress of Grand Princes, Tsars, Boyars and Common Folk (Antiquities of the Russian State, Moscow, 1851, Section 4, Fig. 4–18). The richness of the saint’s apparel is echoed in the silver foliate ornamentation on the gilded background and the silver oklad, seemingly studded with fine stones, which was made in the workshop of the court jeweller, Pavel Akimovich Ovchinnikov. This icon of Saint Tsarina Alexandra makes an important contribution to the appraisal of Russian icon-painting and the life of the church community in Russia in the last quarter of the 19th century. |
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Date |
1883 date QS:P571,+1883-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 |
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Source/Photographer | http://macdougallauction.com/Indexx0512.asp?id=327&lx=a |
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.
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This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. |
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/PDMCreative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0falsefalse
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Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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current | 16:57, 25 September 2014 | 1,329 × 2,500 (1.26 MB) | Shakko (talk | contribs) | {{Information |Description=ST ALEXANDRA, THE EMPRESS, IN A SILVER-GILT OKLAD OIL AND TEMPERA ON PANEL, OKLAD STAMPED WITH MARK OF PAVEL OVCHINNIKOV IN CYRILLIC UNDER IMPERIAL WARRANT, MOSCOW, 1883, 84 STANDARD. 52 by 26.5 cm. This valuable commiss... |
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Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
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Camera manufacturer | Hasselblad |
Camera model | Hasselblad H3DII-39MS - Hasselblad H Series |
Author | Todd-White Art Photography |
Copyright holder |
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Exposure time | 4/5 sec (0.8) |
F-number | f/14 |
ISO speed rating | 50 |
Date and time of data generation | 15:40, 20 March 2012 |
Lens focal length | 120 mm |
Width | 3,800 px |
Height | 7,190 px |
Bits per component |
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Compression scheme | Uncompressed |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 20:50, 21 March 2012 |
Exposure Program | Manual |
Exif version | 2.1 |
Date and time of digitizing | 15:40, 20 March 2012 |
APEX shutter speed | 0.32192809320986 |
APEX aperture | 7.6147098392248 |
Maximum land aperture | 4 APEX (f/4) |
Subject distance | 1.874 meters |
Metering mode | Center weighted average |
Flash | Flash did not fire |
Color space | Uncalibrated |
Focal plane X resolution | 1,470.59 |
Focal plane Y resolution | 1,470.59 |
Focal plane resolution unit | 3 |
Focal length in 35 mm film | 84 mm |
Lens used | HC 120 |
Serial number of camera | DM58204077 |
Image width | 1,329 px |
Image height | 2,500 px |
Original transmission location code | MacDougalls |
Date metadata was last modified | 22:37, 21 March 2012 |
Unique ID of original document | xmp.did:841B2F7221206811B1EE98AB1AE255C0 |
Contact information | [email protected]
3 Clifford Street London, , W1S 2LF UK |
IIM version | 2 |