The double icon from the exhibition of the Andrei Rublev Museum features two scenes placed one above the other. The artist named the top scene “Image of the Laudation of the Virgin”, and the bottom one — “The Last Judgment”.

Although the upper composition is titled this way, it does not exactly correspond to the traditional iconography of “Laudation of the Virgin”. The Saturday of the Akathist, also known as the Laudation of the Virgin, is a Christian feast established to celebrate the intercession of the Mother of God. In such icons, the Virgin Mary is usually surrounded by Old Testament prophets with their attributes indicating their predictions about the Incarnation. For example, Jacob is depicted with a ladder and Moses with the unburnt bush. The icon depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a throne with the Child and surrounded by a host of angels arranged according to their ranks in the heavenly hierarchy. It closely follows the lyrics in “The Song of Mary” (“More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim”). In this prayer, the Virgin Mary is praised, and it is said that Her honor and glory surpass those of the cherubim and seraphim — the highest angels in the hierarchy.

The bottom image “The Last Judgment” is mostly in line with traditional iconography. The composition is based on the text of the Book of Revelation by John the Apostle. At the top, in the center, Christ is seated on a throne, surrounded by angels and symbols of the Evangelists. The Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and the saints stand before Him, praying for the human race. Below is the “prepared throne” (a throne prepared for judgment, representing both a king’s throne and a priest’s altar), with a book placed on it and a cross standing behind it. Angels with the Instruments of the Passion stand around the throne. On the left, Peter the Apostle leads the procession of the righteous to paradise. On the right, the prophet Moses looks at people while pointing at Christ, and trumpeting angels fly. Below the throne, there are the scales that angels and demons use to weigh human deeds. At the bottom right, there is the fire of hell where sinners suffer, and on the left, the earth and the sea release the dead for judgment.

Images of the Last Judgment have been known for centuries, mainly in church painting. Many Russian artists became acquainted with the Western iconography of the Last Judgment from Piskator’s Bible. This illustrated edition with prints served as an important source of iconographic information for Russian artists who created miniatures, icons, and mural paintings.