This icon of Saint Nicholas is a hagiographic or vita icon—one that illustrates the life of a saint. Each of the squares around the perimeter of the icon shows a scene from Nicholas’s life. The scenes are read from left to right across the icon; the top and bottom rows have five scenes each, and the four middle rows each have two scenes. The narrative starts in the upper left hand corner with the birth of Nicholas, and ending in the lower right hand corner with the transfer of Nicholas’s relics (remains) from Myra to Bari. Because of the icon’s size and the skill of the iconographer, these scenes are particularly clear and spare, and therefore easy to read. One notable scene is number 10, which shows Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, saving a ship. This scene and two others, number 9 and number 16, show the devil represented as a small black—almost birdlike—figure. Note that demons and devils are often shown in profile and in outline rather than in detail as humans would be depicted. This is an artistic convention associated with the art of the icon.

Large vita icons are rare, given the expense of creating them. This icon was likely commissioned by a very wealthy patron with sophisticated tastes. One indication of this icon’s importance is the extensive use of lapis lazuli, (or ultramarine blue,) an extremely expensive blue mineral sourced from Afghanistan. Lapis lazuli is used in the focal areas of the icons, including the images of Mary, who gives Nicholas a stole, and Christ, who gives Nicholas the Gospel.