St. Antipas lived in the 1st century and was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. At the time of the rule of Emperor Nero, Antipas became a Bishop of Pergamon in Asia Minor. As punishment for his preaching Christianity, he was burned in a bronze bull-shaped altar on an open fire in the temple of Artemis. As the legend goes, when Antipas’ followers opened the torture device, they found the body of their teacher untouched by fire. 

The icon from the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts of Khanty-Mansiysk shows St. Antipas chest-high. He is holding closed Gospels book in one hand; his other hand is raised as a blessing gesture. His index and middle finger symbolize the first letters in the name ‘Jesus’, his ring finger crossed with the thumb symbolizes the first letter in the word ‘Christ’. St. Antipas is wearing a red cloak (called ‘phelonion’) and an ‘omophorion’, a special white scarf with dark crosses to be worn by bishops.

Scientists attribute the painting to the primitive icons called ‘krasnushki’, created by folk craftsmen. The ‘krasnushki’ used to be also called ‘striped’, ‘chernushki’, ‘shingled’ or ‘colored woodcuts’. The background of icons and the garments of Saints were painted with auburn sienna. To get such color, rust was added to the pigment. Patterns were drawn by contrasting lampblack.

The icon was kept in a northern church, and in 1980s was acquired by the philanthropist and antiquarian Viktor Samsonov. In 1996 the icon was transferred to the Generations Fund of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, and 15 years later it was handed over to the State Museum of Fine Arts of Khanty-Mansiysk.