Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Great Deesis with Prophets
(Byzantium and Early Russia)
These panels reproduce the upper two tiers of the screen (known as the iconostasis) that separates the nave from the altar in Orthodox churches. Such sets, of which this is one of the earliest known, were used by priests for makeshift altars and by lay people for personal prayer. In the upper row, the Virgin and Child are surrounded by Old Testament prophets who hold scrolls with passages foretelling Christ's birth: Habakkuk (?), Micah, Jeremiah, Moses, Daniel, David, Solomon, Jonah, Jacob, Isaiah (?), Gedeon, and Zechariah. Below, the adult Christ is seated on the throne of judgment, flanked by holy persons who entreat him to forgive our sins. On his right are the Virgin, St. Peter, Metropolitan Peter of Moscow, St. Sergius of Radonezh (a famous Russian hermit), and St. George. On his left stand John the Baptist, St. Paul, Metropolitan Alexis of Moscow, St. Cyril of Belozersk (another renowned Russian monk), and St. Demetrius.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Alexandre Polovtsoff (Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Polovtsov), Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, July 10, 1930, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2008-2009 | Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Museum of Biblical Art, New York; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. |
| 2002-2005 | Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. |
| 2001-2002 | Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. |
| 1988-1989 | A Millennium of Christianity: Russian Art from The Walters Art Gallery. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1959-1960 | Russian Art: Icons and Decorative Arts from the Origin to the Twentieth Century. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 9/23/1959 | Treatment | other; repaired |
| 9/23/1959 | Treatment | inpainted; other; repaired |
| 2/27/1964 | Treatment | other |
| 1/1/1975 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 9/16/1975 | Treatment | stabilized; loss compensation |
| 8/24/1984 | Treatment | cleaned; examined for condition; inpainted; other |
| 9/1/2000 | Treatment | cleaned; other |
| 8/16/2006 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
Russia (Place of Origin)
Measurements
In Frame H: 13 1/4 × W: 32 × D: 1 1/4 in. (33.7 × 81.3 × 3.2 cm); Small Side Panels W: 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm); Central Panel W: 5 5/16 in. (13.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1930
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.625