MINSK, 12 August (BelTA) - An exhibition featuring meticulously reproduced copies of twelve 13th - 16th century icons from the Novgorod Museum Reserve titled "Silent Sermon: Novgorod Icons of the 13th - 16th Centuries” has opened at the Minsk Town Hall, BelTA learned.
The exhibition showcases masterpieces of Old Russian sacred art, offering visitors a comprehensive immersion into the Novgorod School's distinctive iconography. Through these works, one experiences the school's characteristic northern austerity and monumental grace, along with the striking expressive power of local masters' visual language.
The exhibition showcases masterpieces of Old Russian sacred art, offering visitors a comprehensive immersion into the Novgorod School's distinctive iconography. Through these works, one experiences the school's characteristic northern austerity and monumental grace, along with the striking expressive power of local masters' visual language.
According to Isak Freidman, Advisor to the Director General of the Novgorod Museum Reserve, the exhibition arrives in Belarus during its 10th anniversary year. Among the highlights is Russia's oldest signed icon - the 1294 St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker' by master Aleksa Petrov from St. Nicholas Church on Lipnya, The Protection of the Mother of God (late 14th c.) from Zverin Monastery. On display are the 15th-century masterpieces: The Presentation of Christ, The Transfiguration, The Raising of Lazarus and The Battle of Novgorodians with Suzdalians (Miracle of the Our Lady of the Sign Icon).
"The Novgorod museum ranks among Russia's largest and oldest cultural institutions, housing diverse collections. Its most prized holding is the Old Russian sacred art collection, which includes artifacts too precious to ever leave Veliky Novgorod. Their historical and artistic value makes them irreplaceable. We long cherished the ambition to share these treasures with wider audiences,” Isak Freidman explained. "In 2015, through collaboration with Moscow's Sofiyskaya Naberezhnaya art collective, by employing cutting-edge technologies, we produced unparalleled full-scale replicas on traditional wooden panels.”
“Creating these replicas is an exceptionally demanding process. First specialists photograph each section of the icon separately. The digital images are then carefully scaled and stitched together according to the original's dimensions. This is followed by test printing, with art historians meticulously adjusting the color reproduction to achieve museum-grade accuracy. This is an extraordinarily complex process," Isak Freidman explained. "When we adjust, say, the red pigments, it inevitably alters the entire color balance. We await final approval from art historians certifying the replica's authenticity. Only then begins the production phase: preparing the icon panel with a specialty varnish that mimics traditional gesso, followed by large-format printing using museum-grade equipment.”
He emphasized that the exhibition celebrates the shared cultural heritage uniting Belarus and Russia. The title "Silent Sermon" reflects the Orthodox values that form the foundation of our civilization - preached not through words, but through sacred art. The exhibition has already toured multiple countries and this year arrived at the Minsk City History Museum through a partnership between the administrations of Veliky Novgorod and Minsk's Tsentralny District. Following its Minsk showing, the collection will continue its Belarusian tour with a stop in Polotsk.
Yet Belarus-Novgorod cooperation extends further. Currently, Veliky Novgorod is hosting an exhibition from Belarus' National Art Museum, while next April will see a reciprocal Novgorod exhibition arrive in Minsk.
Olga Vasilyeva, the chairwoman of the tourism and foreign relations committee of the Veliky Novgorod administration, noted that the cooperation agreement with Minsk's Tsentralny District Administration was signed two years ago. Since then, numerous joint projects across various sectors have been implemented. The parties are planning to continue collaboration, including in the cultural dimension.
"The Novgorod museum ranks among Russia's largest and oldest cultural institutions, housing diverse collections. Its most prized holding is the Old Russian sacred art collection, which includes artifacts too precious to ever leave Veliky Novgorod. Their historical and artistic value makes them irreplaceable. We long cherished the ambition to share these treasures with wider audiences,” Isak Freidman explained. "In 2015, through collaboration with Moscow's Sofiyskaya Naberezhnaya art collective, by employing cutting-edge technologies, we produced unparalleled full-scale replicas on traditional wooden panels.”
“Creating these replicas is an exceptionally demanding process. First specialists photograph each section of the icon separately. The digital images are then carefully scaled and stitched together according to the original's dimensions. This is followed by test printing, with art historians meticulously adjusting the color reproduction to achieve museum-grade accuracy. This is an extraordinarily complex process," Isak Freidman explained. "When we adjust, say, the red pigments, it inevitably alters the entire color balance. We await final approval from art historians certifying the replica's authenticity. Only then begins the production phase: preparing the icon panel with a specialty varnish that mimics traditional gesso, followed by large-format printing using museum-grade equipment.”
He emphasized that the exhibition celebrates the shared cultural heritage uniting Belarus and Russia. The title "Silent Sermon" reflects the Orthodox values that form the foundation of our civilization - preached not through words, but through sacred art. The exhibition has already toured multiple countries and this year arrived at the Minsk City History Museum through a partnership between the administrations of Veliky Novgorod and Minsk's Tsentralny District. Following its Minsk showing, the collection will continue its Belarusian tour with a stop in Polotsk.
Yet Belarus-Novgorod cooperation extends further. Currently, Veliky Novgorod is hosting an exhibition from Belarus' National Art Museum, while next April will see a reciprocal Novgorod exhibition arrive in Minsk.
Olga Vasilyeva, the chairwoman of the tourism and foreign relations committee of the Veliky Novgorod administration, noted that the cooperation agreement with Minsk's Tsentralny District Administration was signed two years ago. Since then, numerous joint projects across various sectors have been implemented. The parties are planning to continue collaboration, including in the cultural dimension.
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