Russian icon painting

The medieval phase of Russian icon painting ended in the early 18th century, when Western European style became dominant in both secular and ecclesiastical art. However, traditional icon painting continued to exist in folk art and among the faithful. In the second half of the 19th century, the rediscovery of old Russian icons took place. The restoration of the icons made visible again the special purity and vividness of the colors, the harmony of colors and lines, the deepened spiritual background, the diversity of artistic styles. The meaning of this art is revealed not only in the stories depicted on the icons, but also in the artistic forms themselves, by which a secret inconceivable to rational cognition, the secret of the incarnation of God and the transformation of man, appears in the world. Lofty religious ideas and dogmatic depth relate the icon to theology, presenting it as a contemplation of colors.