Christianity gave a powerful civilizational boost to the ancient Kyivan state, raising it to a high cultural level in the community of European nations. Thanks to the adoption of Christianity at the end of the 10th century, Byzantine architects and artists came to Russia. Kyiv becomes the main center of church and artistic life. This is where the Christianization of other lands of Russia begins, along with which the cultural influence of Byzantine-Kiev art spreads. The first art workshops also appeared on the territory of Kyiv already in the 11th century. Local craftsmen who studied with Byzantine professionals mastered not only the techniques of mosaics and frescoes, but also skillfully painted icons and miniatures.
A relatively small number of icons of the 11th – 13th centuries have reached us. The icons and manuscripts created in Kyiv workshops had a high professional level, and besides, they came from the Christian center of Rus, where there were the most authoritative and revered churches and monasteries, where the first Russian saints were buried and which was the heart of the Russian land. Therefore, they were highly valued far beyond Kyiv.
At the lecture, we will talk about the concept of an icon and the technology of its creation, as well as consider beautiful examples of Russian icon painting and their artistic features.
🔸 Lecturer: Oleksandra Shevlyuga, senior research associate of the Department of Ancient Art of NAMU, candidate of art history. Ms. Oleksandra’s scientific and teaching activities are focused on Ukrainian art of the late 10th – 18th centuries, she taught art history courses at NAOMA, and organized interdisciplinary seminars “Kyiv and Kyiv lands in the second half of the 13th-14th centuries” at our museum. and “New archaeological research on the territory of Sofia of Kyiv”, which were of great importance for the study and popularization of the ancient art of Kyiv. This year, Oleksandra Shevlyuga completed research on the Kyiv miniatures of Gertrude’s Prayer Book (last quarter of the 11th century) at the University of Göttingen (Germany).
🔸 October 27 at 4:00 p.m
🔸 Cost: full ticket – 180 UAH, discounted ticket (schoolchildren, students, pensioners) – 90 UAH.
🔸 Registration here.
📌 Unfortunately, for technical reasons, payment by card is temporarily unavailable at the museum. Currently, payment is possible in cash or by card transfer.
📌 In the event of an air alert, we ask all visitors to immediately go to the shelter. The nearest shelters are located at street Khreschatyk, 4 (underpass near the Dnipro Hotel) and at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station.
📌 If less than 60 minutes of the event have passed at the time of the announcement of the air alert, we will continue the lecture after the end of the alert or another day. If the event lasted 60 minutes or more, it is considered to have taken place.
You can get to the museum through the service entrance located at the back of the building.
🖼 The cover features a fragment of the icon of the Virgin of Kholm, kin. XI – beginning 12th century (Constantinople, Byzantium) from the collection of the Volyn Icon Museum, Lutsk.
