Icons for SALE

St. Nicholas.Click the icon for bigger view

1895, the Church of St. George, the village of Sestrimo, Pazardjik region; painted by Borislav Dospevski; Samokov school, tempera on wood, oil; 86 x 63 cm., National History Museum, invt. No in RTS. 1457.

Formally speaking, the icon follows the classical iconography for the Saint's portrait.

St. Nicholas is painted in knee-length, full face, in archbishop's vestments and crown, He is blessing with one hand and holding a richly decorated Gospel in the other. The halo around his head is represented as a multi-colored radiant aureole, which infiltrates the background and is painted in the Russian manner.

The abundance of gilt, the traditional image and vestments of the Saint formally relate the work to the icon. Its stylistic features, how-ever, bring it much closer to a portrait, attempting an individualized characterization.

The signature of Borislav Dospevski - Stanislav Dospevski's son - was found on the icon. He painted at the end of the 19-century, much in his father's style, finishing the faces in oil and applying the principles of portrait painting. This technique leaves icons quite estranged from the profoundly mystical impact and transcendental content of classical icon painting and brings them closer to secular art.