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The Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa

Creation period

Early XVII century. Repaints in the lower part of the icon date from the XIX century. Russian North. Province. Karelia.

Dimensions

79x59 cm
79х59х2,5 cm

Technique

Wood (three-piece panel with a cut-back centre portion), two penetrating sunk keys. No canvas visible. Levkas, tempera, gilding

Collection

Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts

Exhibition

Permanent collection

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The Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa

In the Byzantine-Slavic world, there were four holy martyrs known as Paraskeva. In Russia, the martyrs from Byzantine Iconium and Rome were venerated to a greater extent. Their lives and great deeds were mixed up and finally combined into a single image, which became popular in the Russian art.

One of the main aspects of the veneration of Paraskeva is associated with her name: in Greek it means Friday (same as Pyatnitsa in Russian). Legend has it that she was born on this day of the week. Her parents, who were for a long time unable to conceive a child, decided to name their daughter accordingly. In peoples’ minds, her martyrdom in the name of Christianity was often combined with the idea of Good Friday and the sacrifice of Christ.

Saint_Nikolas_XIII_c.jpg

The icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker of the early XIII century. Source: wikipedia.org

One of the oldest examples of the image of Paraskeva in the Russian church art is the figure in the lower margin of the icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker of the early XIII century, which is housed in the Novodevichy Convent.[1] At the same time, images of Paraskeva are most often found in the Pskov and the Novgorod artworks. The icon from Orenburg Museum of Fine Arts was painted by a provincial Karelian artist at the beginning of the XVII century, and its lower part has repaints of the XIX century.

The icon is a full-length representation of Paraskeva. In her right hand she holds an eight-pointed cross, and in the left hand she has a scroll with the Creed, a brief summary of the principles of Christianity.

Paraskeva is dressed in a dark chiton, which in some places has its folds illuminated with two or three lighter tints. The enveloping robe is accentuated by dark and light lines. The rounded earth (pozyom) in the lower part of the icon is painted with three tones of one colour. The selection of colours is modest: this way the artist gave prominence to the shapes, which became the key element of the formula.

This icon shows the Great Martyr in accordance with the typical image of Paraskeva that was formed by the Russian art of the XVI-XVII centuries. Researchers believe that the icon was painted neither in Moscow nor in St. Petersburg: this is indicated by the large size of the figure of the Saint compared to the general size of the panel, and her aureola that extends to the top margin of the icon.

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In Russia, the Feast of Paraskeva of Iconium was celebrated on October 28 (Old Style), and it often merged with another important autumn feast, the Intercession, where girls prayed to get married quickly and happily. For this reason, Paraskeva was considered the patroness of weddings, home, women’s work, and fertility.

People regraded Paraskeva’s place among the holy wives as important as that of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker among the saints. In some areas of Russia, it was partially forbidden for women to work on Fridays: for instance, it was prohibited to spin and weave due to the popular belief that it would dust Paraskeva’s eyes. Some believed that she could punish a woman by covering her hands with hangnails or even peeling her skin off.

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Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts

The Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa

Creation period

Early XVII century. Repaints in the lower part of the icon date from the XIX century. Russian North. Province. Karelia.

Dimensions

79x59 cm
79х59х2,5 cm

Technique

Wood (three-piece panel with a cut-back centre portion), two penetrating sunk keys. No canvas visible. Levkas, tempera, gilding

Collection

Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts

Exhibition

Permanent collection

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