The icon, presented in the collection, is an icon of the Feast of the Transfiguration. It was created by an unknown master of the Moscow school of icon painting in the 18th century. This school was distinguished by using smooth lines for writing faces and contrasting color schemes.

The icon is based on an event described in all four Gospels. According to religious texts, Jesus prophesized that he was going to be killed and that after three days he would rise again. His disciples were saddened; however, they could not give credence to the words of the Teacher about the resurrection, as everyone considered him a prophet, the Messiah, but did not know of his divine nature.

A few days after this prophecy, Christ led three of his most beloved disciples — John, Peter and James — to a mountain to pray. The Evangelists do not name the mountain in the texts, but the Sacred Tradition points to Mount Tabor, which was located six kilometers southeast of Nazareth. Here occurred the event, which an unknown master depicted on the icon ‘Transfiguration’:

Old Testament prophets Elijah and Moses appeared to Jesus and talked to him, and a voice from the clouds was heard: ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him’. When Jesus assumed his former appearance and was alone with the disciples, he forbade them to tell anything about what they had seen until his resurrection.

In the center of the icon, Jesus Christ is depicted in a bright light, on both sides of him stand prophets Elijah and Moses. John Chrysostom explained their presence:

Their depiction on the icon is symbolic: the prophets indicate that Christ combines the divine and the human in himself and that he has power over life and death.

The lower part of the icon depicts three apostles: Peter and James on the left and right sides, the youngest of them, John, is in the middle. Half of the icon’s space is occupied by rocks, although there only were in the area where the Transfiguration took place. Rocks or stones in iconography have their own spiritual load: they serve as a symbol of strong faith and the spiritual path that the believer must complete in order to achieve eternity.

The composition of the icon is extended upwards. In addition, the master divided the upper and lower zones: the ‘upper’, heavenly world and the ‘lower’, earthly world. According to mystical interpretations, the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor showed people the way to Divine glory.