Icon Gallery

Laid out in three rooms around Andronnikov Monastery, the Andrei Rublyov Museum is a veritable history of the Russian icon, tracing this art form’s religious and artistic significance through the centuries.

Two galleries, silent but for the creaking of the wood floor under visitors’ feet, feature rows of glass cases filled with icons. The third room, really one huge gallery divided into three, features icons so huge that they must hang on the white stone walls, their history and materials described underneath in both English and Russian. Whether the visitor is drawn by a love of art, history, or religion, the galleries are a source of endless wonder. How many thousands of people have crossed themselves before this image of Mary, holding the Holy Infant to her cheek? How many generations of worshippers has that depiction of Jesus thanked for their love? How many hours did this artist take setting the pearls in Mary's crown?

Although all the icons are beautiful, several stand out from the rest, because of the attention to detail evident in their production, or because of their visual power in spite of apparent simplicity. One room contains The Almighty Savior, not more than twelve inches high, showing Jesus looking out from his silver background, his solemn features carefully painted in 1908 and as vivid today as then. Across the room hangs The Entry into Jerusalem, where Jesus enters Jerusalem, the faces of the cheering crowd beautifully defined. This depiction, dating to the middle of the eighteenth century, is impressive because not only is the art somewhat different from the others--more detailed and expressive--but also because it illustrates a scene from the Bible, instead of the more typical portrait. The biggest gallery has icons of several saints, including St. George and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The Virgin Iverskaia, one of the most delicate and elaborate of all the museum's holy images, features an extraordinary portrait of Mary (created in 1889), crowned with pearls and teal and blue enamel, staring back from underneath a glass counter. Many of the larger icons date back to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

The museum, due to its location in a monastery, offers the traveler a chance to observe these holy images in their natural environment, and further appreciate their dignity and grace. Although Andrey Rublyov's icons are displayed at the Kremlin and Tretyakov Gallery, the museum at the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery contains an incredible collection of works. Foreign visitors are charged 95 roubles (just under $3) to view all three rooms of icons, and the museum is open every day from 11 AM to 5:30 PM, except for Wednesdays and the last Friday of the month, when the museum is closed. It is located off Ploshchad Ilyicha metro station on the yellow line, and the administration may be reached at 278-1467.