Example of Architecture for Iconography

This small, unassuming panel provides fascinating insight into the study of emerging iconographers. The board itself is a standard size and shape for vertical images, such as a portrait of a saint, but it has been flipped for this horizontal composition. It was stamped on the back with the name Aleksei Sivkov and the date 1904. Sivkov was most likely the manufacturer who supplied artistic materials to the workshop.

The panel was painted and signed by Nicholas Nikonov in 1916, likely to demonstrate skills he had learned. The title inscribed at the bottom reads “Palaces in the Novgorodian Style,” indicating that students were exposed to a variety of techniques and styles from a range of periods and artistic centers.