‘The Exaltation of the Holy Cross’ icon was created in late 18th century It’s stylistically consistent with the murals on the walls of the summer chapel of the local Holy Cross Church.
The church in Palekh is dedicated to the same event as the icon — the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The holiday is dedicated to the finding of the True Cross on which the Saviour was crucified. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, was the one who started looking for the relic. Her image thus appeared on the icons dedicated to Exaltation. Constantine is often portrayed next to her, although he did not witness that event: the recovered shrine was shown to the people by Macariusб the bishop of Jerusalem.
Emperor of Byzantine, Constantine and his mother Helena appear to be fairytale characters on this icon. It’s quite interesting that the main characters on Palekh icons are often portrayed generically. The visages of the saints in the artworks of Palekh artists do not have any distinct personal traits: they are mostly uniform, often only differing in age. For that reason, local artists were occasionally accused of lacking craftsmanship. This artistic choice, however, preserves the unity and integrity of the image — which is what Palekh artists always strive for.
Local artists have a unique technique of paint application. Multi-layered fusions of color create the perceived three-dimensionality of the images. Tonal shifts appear to be inconsistent with the traditional iconographic portrayal of play of light and shade. Local artist creates very fine — almost imperceptible — transitions between the gap and the main color spot, as well as between the shadows and the public places. The paint color is glimmering wonderfully — it’s an artistic element of its own right. This technique creates internal movement within the images, making the icon imagery really expressive. It is impossible, however, to define the Palekh technique of layering the paints — each artist does it slightly differently.
What’s remarkable is that the residents of Palekh are painting the secondary details more intricately than the visages. For example, on the Exaltation of the Cross icon, the architecture and the clothes are richly ornamented. The floral pattern on the vestment is painted so finely that it doesn’t clash with the perception of the icon as a whole, which is important.
The church in Palekh is dedicated to the same event as the icon — the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The holiday is dedicated to the finding of the True Cross on which the Saviour was crucified. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, was the one who started looking for the relic. Her image thus appeared on the icons dedicated to Exaltation. Constantine is often portrayed next to her, although he did not witness that event: the recovered shrine was shown to the people by Macariusб the bishop of Jerusalem.
Emperor of Byzantine, Constantine and his mother Helena appear to be fairytale characters on this icon. It’s quite interesting that the main characters on Palekh icons are often portrayed generically. The visages of the saints in the artworks of Palekh artists do not have any distinct personal traits: they are mostly uniform, often only differing in age. For that reason, local artists were occasionally accused of lacking craftsmanship. This artistic choice, however, preserves the unity and integrity of the image — which is what Palekh artists always strive for.
Local artists have a unique technique of paint application. Multi-layered fusions of color create the perceived three-dimensionality of the images. Tonal shifts appear to be inconsistent with the traditional iconographic portrayal of play of light and shade. Local artist creates very fine — almost imperceptible — transitions between the gap and the main color spot, as well as between the shadows and the public places. The paint color is glimmering wonderfully — it’s an artistic element of its own right. This technique creates internal movement within the images, making the icon imagery really expressive. It is impossible, however, to define the Palekh technique of layering the paints — each artist does it slightly differently.
What’s remarkable is that the residents of Palekh are painting the secondary details more intricately than the visages. For example, on the Exaltation of the Cross icon, the architecture and the clothes are richly ornamented. The floral pattern on the vestment is painted so finely that it doesn’t clash with the perception of the icon as a whole, which is important.
