St Charalambious,St Onuphrius,St Marina-under p.
ntury, Melnik, Bulgaria
Tempera on wood
Size of original: 27 x 21 cm
Size of copy: 24 x 20 cm
The three saints are shown standing in a frontal position with their characteristic accessories:
St Charalambious, a bishop in Magnesia ( Asia Minor ) punished for his Christian faith in 202 – with sakkos, stole and epigonation; St Onuphrius is shown as a hermit and desert dweller; St Marina, martyr from Antiochia, victim of the persecution against the Christians during the 3rd century bears the martyr’s cross. The finely painted border with plant ornaments lends elegance to the whole icon.
Three Saints - under painting - 1
Heritage: Bulgarian
17 th Century, from the Veliko Turnovo region
Tempera on wood,
Now in Sofia , Chrypt Alexander Nevski
Original : 92 x 58,2 cm
Replica ….
Judging by the iconographic features, the saints depicted here are St Gregory the Theologian, St Jоhn Chrysostom and St Basil, the Great. The saints are shown full-face, standing in an attitude of blessing, holding closed Gospels in their left hаnds. To avoid the monotony of three identical figures, the painter has enlivened their garments by way of different colours. All three of them wear bishops’ vestments. St Gregory’s chiton is darkgrey and his polystaurion is in reddish-brown and white squares, arranged in a chess –board pattern, forming crosses. St John wears a red hiton and a white sakkos on which small grey encircled crosses are barely noticeable.
St Basil’s hiton is pale blue and his white phelonian is decorated with large black crosses. The three faces are of the same type with small, closed eyes and wrinkled foreheads. The faces are painted dark ochre which is slightely paler on the prominent parts. The back ground is in two colors – gold above and blue, imitating marble bellow.
Cat. No 1.28
