Icons for SALE

The Nativity. Click the icon for bigger view.

1870, the church in the village of Srem, Yambol region; Strandja school; tempera on wood; 95 x 70 cm., National History Museum, invt. No 16018.

The icon's frame is decorated in dark brown and gilt. The inscriptions are mixed - the main one with the name is in Bulgarian and the patron one with the year of depiction (bottom right), as well as the additional one on the open scroll at the top above the Star of Bethlehem, are in Greek.

The icon features at the foreground Joseph and the Virgin Mary kneeling in Front of the Infant's crib. Behind Joseph, a crude, naivistic painting of a cow indicates the place of the event. Behind the cave, up in the distance, the three Magi appear. Near them a shepherd tends his flock.

Although in general terms the icon follows the traditional iconography pattern as described in the Hermenias, it comes closer to the West European interpretation of the topic. It is a detailed story, full of everyday reality, devoid of the schematic, firmly defined iconography pat-tern of the earlier centuries. The figures have volume; the composition is multiplane, developed in depth. The images of the protagonists have emotional and psychological characteristics of their own. All human images are full of life and good humor.