Saint Nicholas was a Byzantine archbishop venerated in Russia on a par with the Mother of God and Jesus Christ. The Christian people came to love him for the miracles he performed, his kindness and compassion. Some legends even claim that it was Saint Nicholas who was to be God, but he turned it down. He was shown in numerous icons and was believed to be the patron saint and defender of the wrongfully convicted and vilified, as well as sailors and travellers.
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Creation period
Late 19th – early 20th century
Dimensions
29,5x25 cm
29.5 х 25 х 6 cm
29.5 х 25 х 6 cm
Technique
Wood, tempera, repoussé work
Collection
Exhibition
1
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St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
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This icon, from the late 19th – early 20th century, was painted on a wood panel with tempera, an egg-based paint, and covered with riza with openings for the hands and the face of the saint. The riza is embossed with a floral ornament. For added safety, the icon was put in a kyot, a wooden box with a glass front, which protected the icon against direct sun light and humidity.
Icons of St. Nicholas had two iconographic types, that of summer and of winter. They were both named after the memorable events associated with the saint. St. Nikolas of the summer (or St. Nikolas of the spring), had its feast day on 22 May, the date on which the saint’s relics were moved to Italy.
Icons of St. Nicholas had two iconographic types, that of summer and of winter. They were both named after the memorable events associated with the saint. St. Nikolas of the summer (or St. Nikolas of the spring), had its feast day on 22 May, the date on which the saint’s relics were moved to Italy.
The Summer St. Nicholas is depicted with a bare head. Here the artist painted an icon belonging to the second type, that of the Winter St. Nicholas, established in connection with the date of the Wonderworker’s death on 19 December. He looks different here, wearing a bishop’s headdress, or the mitre.
The miracles that are ascribed to St. Nicholas bring him close to several important figures in Christianity. Slavic people compare the saint with Michael the Archangel as both hold keys to the heavenly gates and have a connection with the after world. Southern Slavs believe that, like St George the Victorious, Saint Nicholas slayed serpents.
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The saint’s hagiography recounts an event due to which in the western church the Winter St. Nicholas became a prototype for Santa Claus. It states that St. Nicholas the Wonderworker saved three maidens from poverty and dishonour. To become married they needed dowry that his father could not provide. Three nights in a row St. Nicholas would come to their house, throw a bag of gold into it and leave unnoticed: as he was doing it out of charity, he did not want it to become known. On the third night the girls’ father, having divined about the mysterious benefactor, was waiting for him at the door. He recognized Saint Nicholas and thanked him ardently, but the saint made him swear to keep silent. The Catholic legend has it that the purse thrown by Nicholas fell into a sock which was drying by the fire, hence the tradition of putting gifts into specially prepared socks over the fireplace. In 1425, the Italian Gothic painter Gentile da Fabriano painted The dowry for the three virgins and immortalized this hagiographic episode.
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Iskitim Municipal Museum of Arts and History
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St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Creation period
Late 19th – early 20th century
Dimensions
29,5x25 cm
29.5 х 25 х 6 cm
29.5 х 25 х 6 cm
Technique
Wood, tempera, repoussé work
Collection
Exhibition
1
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