Beginning of the 13th century
Tempera on wood
155 õ 128
The iconography of the «Assumption» was formed in Byzantine art on the basis of apocryphal and folkloric texts.
At the centre of the composition there is a depiction of the loge of Our Lady diseased. Around the loge of Our Lady are apostles and holy saints. The Apostle Paul is bent over towards the feet of Our Lady. The Apostle John has nestled close to the head of the bed. Before the loge is the Apostle Peter with a censer.
The holy saint Ierofei is depicted with a hand incensory. Alongside him is the author of the «Song of the Assumption» Dionysus Areopagit. To the right is the holy saint Jacob of Jerusalem (Iakov Ierusalimsky).
Beyond the loge, in the centre of the composition rises the figure of Christ with the soul of Our Lady swaddled in a shroud. In front of the loge, at its base are red slippers as a symbol of the earthly path left behind (a rare iconographic detail in the composition).
In the upper part of the icon we see angels bearing the soul of Our Lady to the heavens and apostles flying in the clouds accompanied by angels. The «Assumption» with depiction of flying apostles is usually called «cloudy» (oblachny).
at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 56
