The icon Resurrection – Descent into Hell was in the church of Nikola Mokry – tradespeople’s temple of Yaroslavl. It was painted by a Yaroslavl master in the last third of the XVI century. In the image, there were reflected features typical for the Yaroslavl icon painting of that epoch: solemnity, abundance of figures, complexity of the composition, carefully depicted details. The icon is made with tempera paints on a lime board, which consists of a few parts. Dark tones are prevalent in the colouring. The image is combined with multiple inscriptions: the artist wrote them with vermilion – the paint from a red mineral- on golden and ochrous fragments of the background, and on dark ones – with whitewash.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the main event of the New Testament. For a long time this plot was depicted symbolically or in the composition Descent into Hell, which formed by the end of XI century. It told about Christ descending after death into hell and leading the righteous out of it, as well as progenitors Adam and Eve. Their salvation became possible because Christ by His suffering and poignant death atoned for the original sin, which had lain upon the mankind.

The plot of Resurrection – Descent into Hell was depicted in the icon painting in various ways: in the base of it there were texts of Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, some psalms and prophecies. On the Yaroslavl image there is hell itself presented in many details, such composition became prevailing from XVI century.

In the centre of the icon, there is the image of Jesus. He holds Adam’s hand helping him to rise from the coffin, and Eve falls down to the feet of Christ. The dead rise from coffins in white shrouds following Adam. On the sides of Jesus there are prophets, forefathers and the righteous, which ascend to the paradise - it is depicted in the upper part of the icon board and separated with a wall with ledges. At the gate of paradise, there is the Good Thief – the penitent criminal, who was crucifixed together with Christ on the Golgotha.