27. Saint Nicholas with vita

Details

Russian, second half 19th century
35.5 x 30.7 cms

Provenance:
Private collection, The Netherlands.

Description:
Saint Nicholas is depicted in half-length. His high forehead, a sign of his goodness and wisdom, his short hair and his full round beard are all characteristic of him. He is dressed in bishop’s vestments with the attributes of episcopal office, the Bible and the omophorion.

Saint Nicholas is well-known both in the East and in the West. The histories and legends relating to St Nicholas are a mixture of Christian and pagan traditions. They appeal to people’s imagination. Nicholas does not judge people, but he understands their situation better than anyone else.

Around the centre image of St Nicholas are sixteen scenes of his life depicted.

The first row shows the birth of Nicholas, his baptism, Nicholas healing a woman’s paralyzed hand, Nicholas’s first day at school, and his ordination as a priest.

In the second row, the ordination of Nicholas as a bishop is depicted on the left, and on the right, Nicholas throws a bag of money through the window. He saves the three daughters of a poor man without a dowry from prostitution.

The third row shows the appearance of Nicholas in a dream to Emperor Constantine and his army commander. On the right, Nicholas prevents an unjust execution.

In the fourth row, Patriarch Athanasius refuses to bless a Nicholas icon, but Nicholas saves him from drowning on the right and forgives him.

The bottom row begins with the rescue of a shipwrecked man, Nicholas brings the abducted Basil back to his parents, and the last three scenes show his death and the transfer of his relics to Bari.

The Orthodox Church celebrates the feast day of Saint Nicholas on December 6.