05/18/09Old Russian Painting Exhibition was opened again for visitors
The Old Russian Painting exhibition is located in the western part of the Archbishop's Palace in three halls of the Annunciation Church. The exhibition consists of 56 icons dating back to the 15th–17th centuries. The icons came from the churches and monasteries of Vladimir, Suzdal and the whole of the Vladimir land.
The visit begins in the refectory hall of the church. Icons from the early 15th to the mid 16th centuries including the Intercession, the Annunciation, Mother of God Hodegetria, the icons donated by Basil III (the Procession of the Holy Cross and the Holy Maccabee Brothers, Their Teacher Eleasar and Their Mother Solomonia). The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God opens the exhibition.
You can see icons of the 16th–17th centuries in the second hall of the exhibition. There are tablet icons in the center of the hall, in a separate show-case. Created in the second half of the 16th century, a unique complex of double-sided tablet icons depicting the New Testament feasts and Christian saints was used as a kind of a church calendar.
 The exhibition ends in the altar part of the church by the icons of the 17th century. The icon showing the Holy Princes Vladimir, Boris and Gleb with Scenes of the Lives of Sts Boris and Gleb is a characteristic specimen of the pictorial decorativeness typical of the 17th century. The features of the new manner of chiaroscuro were reflected in the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God with the Select Saints (1660) created by Simon Ushakov, a leading icon-painter of the Armory. So the beginning and the end of the exhibition is marked by the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God, especially significant for the Vladimir and Suzdal land.
 Icons on display are the main part of the museum’s collection. They were created in the area of Vladimir or brought from other artistic centers of Russia (mainly Moscow and Novgorod) and reflect the peculiarities of Russian painting within the period of three hundred years. Exhibited icons characterize the collection of Old Russian painting in the Vladimir and Suzdal museum as the rich and diverse one.
The first exhibition of icons was opened in Suzdal in 1971 after a complex restoration of our icons in the Moscow Restoration Center named after Igor Grabar. With some insignificant changes the museum had existed till July 1, 2008, when it was closed for a total renovation of the building and restructuring of the exhibition.
On May 1, 2009 the museum was opened again for visitors who can appreciate its new and bright appearance.
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