The icon of simon ushakov "the savior not made by hands" comes from the trinity church in nikitniki in moscow (built and painted in 1628-1653). At the bottom of the icon, under the cloth, there is an inscription: "painted by the sovereign's icon painter in the year [7166 (1658)] simon fedorov ushakov. " the cloth and the inscription were restored in the 19th century. The icon from the trinity church in nikitniki is the earliest of the many surviving images of the savior not made by hands, which were executed by simon ushakov and the masters of his circle. Already in this icon, those new painting techniques that determined the originality of his work were fully manifested. The icon is distinguished not only by a more natural rendering of facial features, but also by the chiaroscuro modeling of the volume, created with the help of a complex system of melts, in which darker and lighter tones alternate. In order to soften the transitions at the final stage of the work, they are additionally adjusted, "shaded" to each other. At the same time, the illumination of the face here (unlike european painting) is not motivated by any real light source. In addition, the very arrangement of the highlights follows a tradition that can be traced back to the 14th century. Simon ushakov and his contemporaries found certain ideological and aesthetic guidelines in the history of the holy face. This image is repeatedly mentioned in the aesthetic treatise of the icon painter joseph vladimirov, a friend and associate of simon ushakov. According to joseph vladimirov, "not described according to the divinity" christ "is described according to the carnal look, as if he himself showed the image of his likeness, for previously the zographer could not personally copy the image of christ for the sake of illumination and brightness. " it is this "carnal" appearance of christ, imprinted in the holy face, that becomes the main subject of icon painting. It must be conveyed as accurately as possible, that is, "bright and ruddy, dark and lifelike. " sanctified by tradition, the image of the savior not made by hands represented the most authoritative model for any icon painter. The need to accurately follow models, clearly formulated in the culture of the 17th century, was combined in ushakov's icons with the desire to convey "lifelikeness" in order to preserve the accuracy of the testimony. This combination predetermined the search for the ideal type of christ's face, a kind of new canon, which was laid at the basis of a whole series of later images. Object Type: painting. Date: 1658. Dimensions: height: 53 cm (20.8 in); width: 42 cm (16.5 in). Medium: tempera on wood. Collection: Tretyakov Gallery. Simon Ushakov - Спас Нерукотворный - Google Art Project
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