This set of twelve icons is a unique in American museum collections. It is part of a Festival row of an iconostasis, or wall of icons. We believe that in fact this long lost iconostasis was so important and large that it contained two tiers of Festival icons, rather than the one that is typical. One row may have been exclusively devoted to depicting the chronological Feast or Festival days associated with Mary, the Mother of God. The other row would have possibly contained the twelve main feasts of the liturgical calendar, also installed chronologically, beginning with the conception of the Mother of God (Joachim and Anna at the Gate). Here, we see an unusual mix of Marian and main Feast Day icons. This is just one of the many interesting mysteries that one encounters in museum collections.

Look at these icons carefully and you will probably notice that some appear more refined than others. This is an indication that different artists painted these icons for a single commission. The icons have a uniform coloration of muted browns and soft contours and earthen colors. The absence of precious and expensive pigments would lead us to guess that these icons were created in a provincial location like Pskov rather than an important urban and governmental center such as Moscow.

Note also that, as you would expect, these icons closely follow the sacred texts that they depict. Icons are often described as visual text and as liturgy in paint. See how the icon of the Resurrection shows two separate cloths that have been left in the coffin vacated by Jesus. This follows the exact text of Luke, Chapter 24, Verses 1 to 12 in the New Testament, who talks of the discovery of “strips of linen,” not just one garment.