Lot 0173
Signed Mikhail Yudin Russian Icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and Saint Alexander Nevsky
Estimate: 20000-25000€
Signed Russian Icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and Saint Alexander Nevsky
Russia, 1876
Tempera and gold leaf on wood
Signed by the icon painter Mikhail Yudin
Dimensions: 44.7 x 37.5 x 3.6 cm.
This exceptional icon depicts Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, the merciful bishop of Myra, and Saint Alexander Nevsky, the revered Russian prince and defender of St. Petersburg. Above them, Christ Pantocrator appears in a radiant mandorla, bestowing blessing upon the saints below. The background is richly gilded with a finely tooled ornamental repoussé pattern immitating the prescious riza.
An inscription along the lower border identifies the artist and the date:
“Written by icon painter Mikhail Yudin in St. Petersburg, on the 10th day of 1876.”
Mikhail Iudin (1818–1900) was one of the most renowned Russian icon painters of the second half of the 19th century. Born in Palekh, a historic center of iconography, he began his career in the workshop of Sofronov, another famed Palekh master, before moving to St. Petersburg. There he worked in the celebrated workshop of Imperial Court Supplier Mikhail Peshekhonov, later establishing his own studio near the Semenovsky Bridge on the Fontanka River. His workshop became one of the leading centers of Petersburg icon painting, known for its refined execution and luminous coloring.
Yudin was considered a “lichnik”, a title reserved for master painters responsible for the most delicate and spiritually significant part of the icon—the faces (liks) of the saints. His work represents the high Petersburg style of the late 19th century, blending traditional iconographic precision with the painterly elegance and decorative opulence characteristic of Russian Empire capital fine art.
Starting price: 15000€
Estimate: 20000-25000€
Hammer Price: UNSOLD€
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