Stepan Korotkov, a People’s Artist of the Republic of Mordovia, was born in 1956. After graduating from the Saransk Art College, the painter oftentimes displayed his artworks in republican, all-Russian and international exhibitions. Nowadays, the artist’s works are kept in many public and private collections in Russia and the world: the Volgograd Art Museum, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Institute of Russian Realist Art in Moscow, the City Museum in Sarov, private collections in Russia, the USA, Italy, France, Bulgaria, and Finland.
Creating canvases on biblical themes, Stepan Korotkov organically combines a theological interpretation of a plot and his own vision of it. Stepan Korotkov uses recognizable artistic means and carefully follows the Orthodox iconographic tradition in depicting the Mother of God, Jesus Christ and saints.
The canvas “John the Baptist” is the right part of the triptych “In Memory of Andrei Rublev”. The triptych also includes the left and central parts: “Virgin” and “Christ in Majesty”. This work was inspired by Andrei Rublev’s icons.
The artist preserves the iconographic order in the triptych: the image of Christ is in the center, the Mother of God is on the right side of Christ, while John the Baptist is on the left. In general, the figure of John the Baptist, who prophesied the birth of the Messiah, is canonically depicted. The hermit is depicted full-length, slightly bending and facing Christ.
Despite the reference to the Orthodox tradition in the depiction of saints, this is not an icon, but a painting. This is evidenced by details: for example, the absence of a halo over the head of the saint or the symbolic image of a scroll in the left hand of John the Baptist. All these are features of the artist’s unique manner of painting and individual style.
Having considerable experience in art conservation, Stepan Korotkov skillfully imitates the features of an ancient icon using various pictorial means.
The vertically-oriented composition with three monumental figures is coherent in style and creates a comprehensive image of the Orthodox faith and spiritual light.
Creating canvases on biblical themes, Stepan Korotkov organically combines a theological interpretation of a plot and his own vision of it. Stepan Korotkov uses recognizable artistic means and carefully follows the Orthodox iconographic tradition in depicting the Mother of God, Jesus Christ and saints.
The canvas “John the Baptist” is the right part of the triptych “In Memory of Andrei Rublev”. The triptych also includes the left and central parts: “Virgin” and “Christ in Majesty”. This work was inspired by Andrei Rublev’s icons.
The artist preserves the iconographic order in the triptych: the image of Christ is in the center, the Mother of God is on the right side of Christ, while John the Baptist is on the left. In general, the figure of John the Baptist, who prophesied the birth of the Messiah, is canonically depicted. The hermit is depicted full-length, slightly bending and facing Christ.
Despite the reference to the Orthodox tradition in the depiction of saints, this is not an icon, but a painting. This is evidenced by details: for example, the absence of a halo over the head of the saint or the symbolic image of a scroll in the left hand of John the Baptist. All these are features of the artist’s unique manner of painting and individual style.
Having considerable experience in art conservation, Stepan Korotkov skillfully imitates the features of an ancient icon using various pictorial means.
The vertically-oriented composition with three monumental figures is coherent in style and creates a comprehensive image of the Orthodox faith and spiritual light.
