The icon "Crucifixion with the upcoming"

The crucifixion of Christ on the cross is the central image of Christian art. It first appeared in the sixth century, but remained a fairly rare image until the Carolingian era. Since the last quarter of the 8th century, many images of the Crucified Lord have appeared — in ivory carvings, metal coinage, and illuminated manuscripts. For many centuries, the West, under the influence of Byzantium, by virtue of the prevailing artistic tradition, depicted Christ alive and with his eyes open — a triumphant Savior in a royal crown. In the 11th century, a new type of image appeared — an emaciated figure with his head bowed on his shoulder. Since then, this image has become dominant in art. The plot of the Crucifixion with the upcoming ones was originally conceived in order to convey in visual images a fragment from the Gospel of John (John 19:26-27), in which Christ, while still alive, entrusted the Virgin Mary to his beloved disciple, the apostle John: Jesus, seeing His Mother and the disciple standing there, whom he loved, says to His Mother: Wife! Behold, Your son. Then he says to the disciple, "Behold your mother! And from that time on, this disciple took her in. The type of image of this motif was established in the 9th century in the art of the Carolingian Renaissance. The Virgin Mary stands to the right of Christ, Saint John to the left. The Mother of God is depicted with her head bowed and her hand raised to her cheek, a mournful gesture that was known even in the art of the Hellenistic era. The Evangelist John is depicted with a book in his hand, which is an allusion to his literary works. An eight-pointed cross stands on Mount Golgotha, under which is Adam's skull. According to legend, Christ was crucified on the mountain in the cave of which Adam was buried, which symbolizes the overcoming of death, which came into the world with Adam through the feat of Jesus Christ. There are numerous and varied correlations between Adam and Christ. "As death entered the world through man, so through man is the resurrection of the dead; as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life" (1 Cor., 15:21-22). The arched frame of the entire icon hints at the temple space covered by the dome. Above the crucifixion is a small horizontal crossbar, with the inscription of the guilt of Christ, written by Pontius Pilate — INZI — Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. On the crescent halo of the Savior, you can see three Greek letters — OWN, forming the word I Am. This spelling has a fundamental character, since it points to the Deity of Jesus Christ. Who is is one of the names of God (Exodus 3:14). On the middle crossbar, the name of the Savior is IX — Jesus Christ, above the name are inscriptions — Son of God, Son of Glory, King of Glory. On the frame of the icon in the form of petals, one can see the inscriptions: next to the Virgin Mary — ΜΡ ΘΥ (Greek. Mother of God), next to John the Theologian there is a Greek inscription — Saint John. For the first time, Vladimir Mikhailov carved this icon from a mammoth tusk, and later embodied the plot in a noble metal. The back of the icon retains the natural texture of the original material.