Divine Reflections (Exhibit)

                          

DIVINE REFLECTIONS: Russian icons and artifacts (17th C to 20th C)

October 10, 2010 – January 9, 2011

Overview

The sacred images on view in this exhibition are of a kind once readily found in even the humblest homes of Russia, as well as its churches and public shrines. Centuries-old artistic conventions are juxtaposed with new, Westernized formal elements and vernacular interpretations of these new forms. For Orthodox Russians, icons served as more than just religious paintings; they were relic-like objects directly linked to the holy figures they depicted. They were seen as comforters and powerful guardians. Icons were the direct line from the real world to the spiritual and appeared everywhere in pre-Soviet Russia.