Інтерпретація іконографії Покрову Богородиці у творчості риботицьких майстрів 1680–1740-х років

Abstract

У статті розглянуто сцени Покрову Богородиці та Богородиці Матері Милосердя у творчості майстрів з містечка Риботичі біля Перемишля (Надсяння, тепер – Польща), які були активними у 1680–1740-х рр. Простежено, що обидва варіанти мали однакове поширення на іконах цих майстрів. Образ Богородиці Матері Милосердя відомий також на церковних хоругвах. Більшу увагу відведено персонажам нижнього ярусу сцени, в чиїх образах представлено реалії тогочасного суспільства.

В статье рассмотрены сцены Покрова Богородицы и Богородицы Матери Милосердия в творчестве мастеров из города Рыботичи около Перемышля (Надсянье, теперь – Польша), которые были активными в 1680–1740-х гг. Прослежено, что оба варианта имели одинаковое распространение на иконах этих мастеров. Образ Богородицы Матери Милосердия известный также на церковных хоругвях. Большее внимание отведено персонажам нижнего яруса сцены, в чьих образах представлены реалии тогдашнего общества.

The article deals with the scenes of the Protection of the Virgin Mary and the Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy painted by the masters from the town of Rybotychi near Przemysl. The Rybotychi iconpainting center was active mostly in the 1680–1740’s. It was traced that both scenes were quite popular among these masters. The image of the Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy is also known on church banners. They introduced the Protection of the Virgin Mary scene to the feast tier of the iconostasis, where it replaced one of the 12 major holidays of the church year. More attention is paid to the characters on the icons’ lower tier, whose images represent social realities of the time. It is important to note that at the time of the Rybotychi masters, a separate Akathist for the Protection of the Mother of God developed, where the intercession of the Virgin Mary over the faithful is sung in the context of the vision of St. Andrew the Blessed Fool-for-Christ. There is a manuscript of the Akathists of the 17-th century from the monastery church of St. Onuphrii in the neighboring to Rybotychi Posada Rybotytska (the collection of the Andriy Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv), which includes, besides the traditional Akathists of Christ and the Virgin, also the Akathist to the Virgin’s Protection. On some icons of the Rybotychi masters we can trace the combination of iconography of the Protection of the Virgin and the Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy. Such a combination happens in the works of the iconpainters who were active at that time in Lemko and Boyko region. The Rybotychi masters painted the image of the Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy in the version of All the Suffering Virgin. This iconography was especially popular among the Ukrainian masters who worked in the Boyko and Lemko region and Transcarpathia in the second half of the 17-th – the first half of the 18-th century. On the icons of the Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy by the Rybotychi masters the composition emphasizes on people of various society levels and those in special needs: from cripples, those who could not walk lying on their beds, elders, orphans and those in despair, prisoners to persons in power: archbishops and a king, which emphasizes that before God all are equal “kings and the poor”. The Rybotychi masters used a compositional scheme, known from the older Ukrainian iconpainters of this region, where people were depicted in two groups on both sides of the Virgin. In this iconography, there were usually white ribbons with the inscriptions of prayers to the Virgin, which were partly taken from the Prayer service to the Mother of God and Akathist to the Virgin’s Protection, but the Rybotychi masters rarely used such ribbons. On the older icons from the 1680–1700’s, the figure of the archbishop in liturgical vestment dominate on the foreground, which obviously represents the hierarch of the Przemysl diocese. His image, however, was not endowed with individual portraiture, unlike the secular ruler. On some icons, the secular ruler has the features of king Jan III Sobieski (1674–1696), who was a patron of art, a patron of some Basilian monasteries and active promoter of the Ukrainian (Rus’) Orthodox Church union with the Roman Church. (Under his rule Innokentiy Vynnytsky bishop of the Przemysl diocese signed the union in 1691). On some icons we see the king or a royal couple depicted in the clothes of the time, which is also the source for the works dating. In the scene of the Protection of the Virgin Mary on the works of Rybotychi masters, the emphasis is placed on persons of the lower tier, which are larger than the Virgin in the upper one. There are no people with special needs, and the key figures of the Earthly Church are the king and the high priest. This tendency characterizes the Ukrainian iconography of the Protection of the Virgin Mary of that time.