Return of shrines: Vladimir and Don icons have found a new home

   The Vladimir and Don Icons of the Mother of God left the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery and were solemnly transferred to the main cathedral of the country. The agreement on the transfer of icons was concluded for 49 years — behind this period there is not a bureaucratic formality, but a living history of the reconciliation of the museum and church worlds.

 

     Two images — two paths through the centuries

 

   The Vladimir icon appeared in Rus’ around 1130 — it was brought from Constantinople as a gift to Prince Mstislav. The image wandered from place to place: first it was in Vyshgorod near Kiev, then — by the will of Andrei Bogolyubsky — in Vladimir, where the Assumption Cathedral was built for it. It was there that the icon became famous for its miracles, and the name stuck. In the 15th century, the shrine ended up in the Moscow Kremlin, becoming the spiritual shield of the young state.

 

 The Don Icon is about two and a half centuries younger. It is associated with the Battle of Kulikovo: according to legend, the Don Cossacks presented the image to Prince Dmitry before the decisive battle. The author of the icon is considered to be Theophanes the Greek or masters from his circle — in every stroke one can feel a hand that knows the value of both beauty and prayer. Later, under Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, it was in front of the Don Icon that people prayed during the raid of the Crimean Khan, and in gratitude for the intercession of the Mother of God, the Donskoy Monastery was founded on this site.

 

 After the revolution, both icons ended up in the hands of restorers and museum workers.
The Tretyakov Gallery became their custodian for a whole century — and, I must admit, she kept them with dignity.

 

   The transfer of icons is not removal from the museum. The state remains the owner of both images, the Tretyakov Gallery retains them in its register, and gallery specialists receive unhindered access for regular inspections. The icons are placed in special display cases with a controlled microclimate — temperature, humidity and lighting are adjusted to a fraction of a percent.

 

   The Don Icon will stay in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior temporarily: after restoration work is completed, it will be installed in the iconostasis of the Great Church of the Donskoy Monastery — where it should have been located historically. The Vladimir icon will remain here for the entire duration of the contract.