Late 12th – early 13th century
Tempera on wood
145 х 94

This is the earliest of the surviving Russian icons with waist-length depiction of St Nikola. In the centre of the upper field, there is the Etimasia (prepared throne) with red vermillion cushion; beyond it is the Gospel. On the sides of the Etimasia are waist length depictions of the health-restoring saints Kosma and Damian. On the side fields are full-length saints in pairs distributed in three rows: above – Princes Boris (to the left) and Gleb (to the right); in the middle – the martyrs Flor (to the left) and Lavr (to the right); below – Evdokia (to the left) and Domna? (to the right). In the lower field are shoulder length depictions of the saintly women – Paraskeva? (to the left) and Fotinia (to the right). Nearly all researchers remark the difference in the painting style between the depiction of Nikola in the srednik and the depictions of the saints in the fields. Here we are dealing with the essential Novgorod icon painting of the pre-Mongol period joined together with various painterly styles in a single monument.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 56