Item 78
Saint Nicholas
Circa 1900
Oil, gold leaf on wood panel
11” x 9”
James and Tatiana Jackson Collection

This icon clearly illustrates the new and popular “Pan Slavic” style that was born at the end of the 19th century and continued up until the revolution. Somewhat similar to the Art Nouveau movement in Western Europe, much of the inspiration for this new Russian style came from antique Russian decorative arts that had recently been cataloged and exhibited. Nicholas appears here very much in the style depicted by contemporary Russian painters such as Nesterov. The borders are incised and then painted to simulate cloisonné and champleve enamel. The inscription identifies the subject as “The Holy Nicholas Wonderworker of Myra.”