The image of Sophia the Divine Wisdom was popular in the Russian icon painting of the 15th –16th centuries. Sophia in Greek means wisdom, also the word can be translated as knowledge and mastery. By Sophia the Divine Wisdom, the Orthodox tradition means God the Logos – the second person of the Holy Trinity embodied in Jesus Christ.

The composition of the icon is based on the texts of the Old Testament books, such as the Books of Proverbs, the Book of Isaiah the Prophet and others. The image incorporated a whole complex of medieval views that combined the ideas of the universe, the city, the church and man.

In traditional Russian iconography, there were several types of Sophia images. The icon presented at the exhibition belongs to the Novgorod type, which took shape in the 15th century. The centre of the composition is occupied by the image of Sophia the Divine Wisdom in the form of an angel with fiery wings and a face surrounded by glory – a halo of radiance. The angel sits on the throne, his right hand is raised in a blessing gesture, in the left hand he holds a sceptre. He is flanked by the figures of the prophet John the Forerunner and the Theotokos with a scroll. The Prophet and the Virgin Mary are depicted solemn and majestic, in crowns and with wings.

To the left of the Theotokos there is a figure of John the Theologian; he stands with an open book in his hands, like John Chrysostom – the last one in the row. Above Sophia there is an image of Christ in Majesty: Jesus Christ appears as the Heavenly King and Judge. At the top of the icon is a figure of the God of Sabaoth with a scroll. In the same place is the scroll of heaven with the sun and the moon; it is supported by angels.

The colour scheme of the image is dominated by the combination of bright, saturated colours: red and emerald with warm ochre shades characteristic of Yaroslavl icon painting. Gold is used to decorate the clothes of the saints and the background of the icon. In complex multi-figured compositions, the upper part, which personifies the heavenly world, is usually decorated with gold.

The icon Sophia the Divine Wisdom was in the Yaroslavl Church of Elijah the Prophet. Presumably, the famous Ustyug master Fyodor Zubov took part in the creation of the image: he worked in Yaroslavl in the middle of the 17th century.