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"The Raising of Lazarus"
written by Ustinian Tilov
Catalog # 1.38
Medium: tempera on wood.
Hand-made according to the
Bulgarian Iconographic tradition and
techniques.
Possible heights:
A) 19 - 21 cm
B) 25 - 27 cm
C) 38 - 40 cm
As for the width, the proportions of the original icon will
be kept.
The Raising of Lazarus
17th C., from the village of Prissovo, Veliko Turnovo district. Tempera on wood, 40 x 35 cm. Now at the Old Bulgarian Art department of the National Art Gallery
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The figure of Christ, in an attitude of blessing, is in the centre. He wears a dark red chiton and a light blue himation. Behind him are the apostles, led by Peter, holding a scroll. Dressed in their traditional garments, they are arranged in an ascending perspective. Lazarus' two sisters are on their knees before Christ in an attitude of supplication. The servant, holding the door of the tomb, is on the right, and above him, swathed as a mummy, is Lazarus, brought back to life. Another servant holds the end of the wrappings.
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The landscape represents brown hills, their tops crowned by terraced formations. Two Pharisees are standing in the cleft between between the two hills in front of a grey building, their hands raised towards Christ.
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The faces are painted in light ochre on the prominent parts, and in dark ochre for the shadows. The lips are touched with crimson.
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Though they may appear less skilled, the Prissovo masters, who are difficult to identify because of the great similarity in the manner of their work, kept strictly to the established iconographic schemes. Here the figure of the servant, bent under the weight of the tomb's door, and the seated Lazarus, his eyes fixed on Christ, are rather interesting. The artist has lent a sense of space to the scene by way of intersecting surfaces, and his efforts have had a modicum of success.