Syzran Old Believer Icon Queen and D. Andrey Kirikov: Syzran Icons are a Great Treasure of Russian Culture. Chapter I. Features of Syzran icon painting

A little-known trend in icon painting of the 18th-19th centuries is dedicated to the new art album "The Syzran Icon". The book contains more than 60 icons of writing by Syzran Old Believers. All these icons belong to the collection of the well-known Moscow collector A.A. Kirikov, who has been studying, collecting and promoting the works of Syzran Old Believers-icon painters for many years.

The researchers note that despite the belonging of most of the icons to the period of the 18th-19th centuries, Syzran icon painting is completely alien to the academic style. Academic ecclesiastical painting, with its typical attempts at portrait painting, voluminous presentation of figures, bright colors and the special value of icons painted on gold leaf, was typical of Russia of that period. The iconography of the Simbirsk province as a whole was no exception. As for the Syzran icons, there is every reason to state that although they were painted in a period when the academic style prevailed, freeing painting from all those conditions that the Eastern Church demanded, Syzran icon painting still preserved and conveyed to the 20th century icons made in classical manner of ancient icons. Moreover, unlike the Paleshans, who worked a lot and fruitfully in different styles, who survived as a bright case, as an episode of “Greek writing”, the Syzran people understood Greek writing in a completely different way. The latter for them was the only possible meaning and essence of the icon. “The science of antiquities and the art of the Orthodox East is indispensable for Russian archaeological science, not only as the environment closest to it, related and therefore understandable, but also as historically inherited,” writes N.P. Kondakov about the genesis of monuments of Orthodox artistic culture. Greek writing had its purpose, it was based on the observance of general and unshakable rules that were passed down from generation to generation and created universality and unity of style.

Having studied many archival documents, the collector of the collection A. A. Kirikov was convinced that only all Syzran icon painters belonged to the Stroverian. In this light, we understand the commitment of Syzran icon painters to canonical writing, where the icon itself was a reflection of the attitude of the Old Believers, their desire for collective integrity in opposition to the surrounding society. There is reason to believe that it is the icon that becomes one of the tools for spreading the influence of the Syzran Old Believer communities is fair.

It is known from archival materials that already in the second quarter of the 19th century, the merchant Sidelnikov had his own shop in Syzran, where icons of local production were sold, and they were expensive - from 5 to 15 silver rubles. Icons could also be bought or ordered from single masters, or from icon painting and iconostasis establishments. There are at least 70 such craftsmen and institutions, directly or indirectly connected with the Syzran district, according to archival information for the second half of the 19th century.

The icon trade flourished, the annual tax for icon-painting production from the master was small and amounted to 1 ruble. 70 kopecks, for the maintenance of a worker or apprentice by a master, the tax was 1 rub. 15 kopecks, student maintenance - 57 kopecks. (from the “Book of the Syzran craft council on a note of the income and expenditure of the sums of city incomes for the carriage and carpentry shop”). At that time, work on the iconostasis, “with its painting and gilding in some places of carvings and cornices with gold on Gulfarba” cost 300 rubles. And a three-year contract for training a student with maintenance cost from 100 to 150 rubles.

In general, icon painting in Syzran uyezd was custom-made, as evidenced by the images of patronal (named) saints on the margins of most icons. The overwhelming majority of craftsmen of the county belonged to the community of Pomorts-bespriests who accepted marriages, but Syzran icon painting in itself was not an intra-confessional phenomenon. Icon painters also carried out orders for the Old Believers accepting the priesthood, for co-religionists and for representatives of the dominant church who gravitate towards the canonical icon.

Sometimes Old Believer icon painters carried out orders from synodal churches, which often led to all sorts of misunderstandings. So in a report dated October 2, 1886, Dean L. Pavpertov to the New Believer Bishop of Simbirsk and Syzran Varsonofy about the newly rebuilt Church of Our Lady of Kazan in the village. The laborers of the Syzran district pointed out that the new iconostasis does not fully correspond to the “Orthodox” look: “The faces in the icons are not written according to the icons presented by the contractor in the sample, but much darker with a reddish tint, like those of fellow believers. On three icons of Christ the Savior: on a high place in the altar, on the right side of the royal doors, above the archway in the refectory, and on two icons of saints on the kliros in the lower tier of the iconostasis, the sign of the blessing hand is not entirely Orthodox, the thumb is attached to the ends of two small fingers and does not express CS. When I examined the temple and the iconostasis, there were more than fifty Orthodox parishioners and several schismatics, and they all unanimously expressed that the icons were painted this way according to their desire and seem very good to them, and asked me to intercede with Your Eminence to leave the iconostasis in this form. If it pleases Your Eminence to indulge them, then the church is completely ready for consecration.” The resolution of Bishop Barsanuphius read: "To consecrate the temple at the time desired by the parishioners."

Cases of persecution of Old Believer icon painters were registered in Syzran. True, the reason for the arrests was not the icon-painting, but the religious activities of the latter. So the most famous Syzran icon painter David Vasilievich Popov was convicted in 1869 for maintaining a "schismatic" prayer room.

The album "Syzran Icon" contains more than 60 illustrations with images of icons, as well as an introductory article by A. A. Kirikov. You can buy this rare edition in the bookstore of the Moscow Metropolis, Old Believer churches Moscow and Samara.

In the early spring of 2016, we made a short trip to the city of Syzran. Syzran is the second (1683) city in our region. Initially, it was created as another fortress city on the banks of the Volga. The places here were steppe, restless, the Samara fortress, built a hundred years before Syzran, was repeatedly besieged by nomadic tribes. The Syzran fortress was built to strengthen these places. A few decades later, another fortress was built on the Middle Volga - Stavropol.

Syzran, like other Volga fortresses, was built on a hill at the confluence of two rivers, the Syzranka and the Krymza, not far from the confluence of the Syzranka and the Volga. Unlike Samara, the stone Kremlin has been preserved here, now it is one of the main attractions of the city. Here is also the oldest monastery in our area, the Holy Ascension Monastery. In general, there is something to see in Syzran.

Ascension Monastery - Syzran Kremlin - Museum of Local Lore - Orlovs-Davydovs - Syzran school of icon painting - Walk through the historical center

We started our journey through Syzran from the Ascension Monastery, having arrived here by taxi from the railway station. After visiting the monastery, we walked along the banks of the Syzranka River to the Kremlin, then walked along the main historical street of Syzran - Sovetskaya, and returned to the station. It turned out to be a compact, but rich one-day walk.

As already mentioned, the Ascension Monastery is the oldest monastery in the Samara region, it was founded at the end of the 17th century, almost immediately after the construction of the Syzran fortress. The surviving stone buildings in the monastery belong mainly to the middle of the 19th century, except for the church in honor of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, built in the 18th century. Restoration work in the monastery is still ongoing.

The history of the Holy Ascension Monastery is closely connected with the miraculous Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God of Kashpir. This is one of the main shrines of the Samara region. The icon was found at the beginning of the 18th century at a spring near the village of Kashpir in the Syzran district and stayed in the Ascension Monastery for two centuries. Later, it was transferred to the Syzran Kazan Cathedral, where it is currently located, and its list is kept in the monastery.

On the way to the Kremlin, we looked into another ancient Syzran temple - the Church of Elijah the Prophet. The stone building of the church that has survived to this day dates back to the end of the 18th century. The church is beautiful, very calm and harmonious inside. Unfortunately, photography is hindered by dense buildings around it.

But finally we came to the Syzran Kremlin - the historical heart of the city. For our regions, this is a great attraction, since no other Kremlin fortresses have been preserved in the middle and lower reaches of the Volga.

Inside the Syzran Kremlin. On the left is the Spasskaya Tower, on the right is the Church of the Nativity of Christ. In the center - Kazan Cathedral, already outside the Kremlin

The walls and towers of the Kremlin were wooden and only the main gate tower was built of stone; it has survived to this day. In the middle of the 18th century, with the loss of the military significance of the Syzran Kremlin, the gate tower was rebuilt into a church in the name of the Savior Not Made by Hands and, accordingly, became known as the Spasskaya Tower. Initially, the tower was two-tiered; when it was rebuilt into a church, two more tiers and a hipped roof were added to it. The church turned out pretty unusual shape, two "octagon" on two "four".

The second ancient church in the Kremlin is the Church of the Nativity, built in the early 18th century. For a long time it was the cathedral of Syzran, until a new Kazan Cathedral was built in the middle of the 19th century.

Under the Kremlin hill there is a rather large embankment, as they say, "a favorite vacation spot for citizens" ...

Naturally, walking around Syzran, we could not pass by the local history museum, located in an old merchant's mansion not far from the Kremlin.

The museum made a good impression on us. Along with local history materials, there is a good art collection. This is not surprising, since it is part of the Orlov-Davydov collection, which was transferred here after the revolution from the Orlov estate in Usolye (I once talked about it).

As true lovers of museums, we tried to visit another Syzran museum, but, unfortunately, this attempt failed. The fact is that before my trip to Syzran, to my surprise, I learned that here in the 19th century there was an icon-painting school with its own special style. A search on the Internet showed that Syzran has its own icon museum. It was him that we tried unsuccessfully to find, but at the indicated address there were some outbuildings. The employees of the local history museum also did not know about the existence of the museum of the Syzran icon. All in all, a confusing story...
Nevertheless, the topic interested us, and we tried to make some efforts in this direction. It turned out that a small collection of Syzran icons is presented in the Samara Art Museum. Naturally, we went to the museum, and, as it turned out, our efforts were not in vain. Indeed, the Syzran icon has its own rather interesting style.

Our Lady of the Burning Bush. Late XIX - early. XX centuries From the collection of the Samara Art Museum

The peculiarities of the Syzran icon-painting school, of course, are connected with the fact that it was created by the Old Believers. In the 19th century, the pictorial, academic style of depiction almost completely triumphed in the Russian icon. The Old Believers, however, retained a connection with the canonical Byzantine school, which is clearly seen from the Syzran icons. However, there was not just some kind of mechanical repetition of patterns; the Syzran icon obviously has its own special pictorial synthesis. The Syzran icon painters are characterized by a fine elaboration of details, which was not typical for the canonical Russian and Byzantine icon painting, but at the same time, the Syzran masters also avoided the naturalism inherent in the academic style. The guide in the museum spoke about the influence of Palekh on the Syzran icon, but experts rather deny such a connection, and we are inclined to agree with them based on our impressions. Palekh masters went into bright decorativeness and external beauty, while the best examples of the Syzran icon are characterized by restraint in colors and inner depth. This is such an interesting phenomenon...

Our Lady of the Three Hands. Late XIX - early. XX centuries From the collection of the Samara Art Museum. Most likely, patronal saints are depicted in the side stamps, the namesake of the icon to the customer and patronizing him and his household. This is a characteristic feature of the Old Believer icons, and, in particular, those of Syzran.

St. John the Baptist. Late XIX - early. XX centuries From the collection of the Samara Art Museum

Our Lady of All Who Sorrow Joy. Late XIX - early. XX centuries From the collection of the Samara Art Museum

Seven Youths of Ephesus. Late XIX - early. XX centuries From the collection of the Samara Art Museum

Meeting of the Lord. Late XIX - early. XX centuries From the collection of the Samara Art Museum

Crucifixion with forthcoming and four icons of the Mother of God. Late XIX - early. XX centuries From the collection of the Samara Art Museum

So, having spent some time looking for the museum of the Syzran icon that we never found, we returned to the Kremlin and walked along the main shopping street of the merchant Syzran - Bolshaya, now Sovietskaya. Sovetskaya Street is an example of provincial architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. You could say it's an open-air museum. There is even modern. Currently, most of the houses have been restored, put in order and look quite decent. It's a pity there are too many wires, they interfere with photography, but this is a problem for all provincial cities.

Syzran inhabitant

However, our day in Syzran is ending, it's time to return home ...

On June 25, 1713, the copy of the icon was miraculously found near the village of Kashpir near Syzran. This happened under the following circumstances.

Local shepherds began to notice a certain radiance over a water source not far from the banks of the Volga. It disappeared as soon as people came closer. But one night the radiance was brighter than usual and did not go out when the shepherds approached. Astonished, they saw the icon of the Queen of Heaven, standing on a stone.

The next day, the Kashpir people, having invited the clergy, transferred the icon to the parish church, but at night it was miraculously transferred to its original place. After the prayer service, the image was returned to the temple, and then delivered to the Nativity Cathedral in Syzran in a procession. And again, a few days later, the shrine was seen at the source. Filled with reverence, the people of Syzran made another religious procession with the icon to the Ascension Monastery. At the same time, there were two signs: the leper girl was healed, having washed herself with water from the spring, and, through the prayers of the Lady, the storm on the Volga calmed down - many people who decided to get to Syzran by boat were saved. Pious donors decorated the icon with a precious riza.

The icon was in the monastery until it was destroyed after the October Revolution. Not defiled by the atheists, it was hidden by the faithful.

In 1944, the Syzran Kazan Cathedral was reopened. The saved image was transferred here. And it is kept there to this day. With the holy image of Feodorovskaya Mother of God connected 15 great miracles.

The holy spring, until recently covered up, has been cleared. A log house was placed on it. Resumed here religious processions. The restoration of the chapel is planned.

Every year, on June 25 and March 14 (according to the old style, July 8 and March 27 - according to the new one), solemn services are held in the Kazan Cathedral in Syzran in honor of the miraculous appearance of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God - the great shrine of the city.

In the village of Novokashpirsky, the construction of a church in the name of the miraculous image began.

Troparion (tone 4):

Today, the famous city of Kostroma and the whole Russian country are brightly flaunting, convening all the God-loving peoples of Christianity to rejoicing, to the glorious triumph of the Mother of God, the coming for the sake of Her miraculous and multi-healing image, today for the bright great sun has appeared to us, come, all God-chosen people, new Israel, to the well-bearing source, exudes for us inexhaustible mercy Holy Mother of God and delivers all the cities and countries of Christianity unharmed from all the slander of the enemy. But, O All-Merciful Lady, Virgin Mother of God, Lady, save our country, and as a bishop, and all the people of Your property from all troubles, by Your great mercy, let us call You: rejoice, virgin, Christian praise.

September 10 in Moscow, in the Central Museum of Old Russian Art and Culture named after A. Rublev, the exhibition "Art Centers of the Old Believers: Icon of Syzran and the Middle Volga" was opened.
The collection contains more than two hundred images, made mainly by the masters of our city, to this letter in the second half of the 18th - early 20th centuries. The exhibition was a significant event in the cultural and museum life of the capital.
The Syzran icon is a powerful spiritual component of the image of our city, along with the preserved buildings of the Kremlin and Orthodox churches. However, not everyone knows that such a phenomenon as the Syzran school of icon painting has been hushed up for a long time. The images painted by the masters of the city are not in museum collections and temples. Moreover, quite recently, the Syzran icon was attributed to Palekh, Mstera, or, in general, to the Volga region.
What's the matter? Why did such a remarkable phenomenon of Russian artistic culture as the Syzran icon remain anonymous for a long time?
For an answer, we turned to the greatest connoisseur of the Syzran icon, Andrei Aleksandrovich Kirikov. And this is what he said:
- The fact is that Syzran was one of the Old Believer centers of the Volga region. It had a significant impact on the spiritual life of the entire region. Most likely, it was the icon that became one of the tools for spreading the influence of the Old Believer communities of the city on neighbors. That is why at the official level there was no recognition of the Syzran icon-painting school.
Andrei Aleksandrovich is a native of Ulyanovsk (formerly Simbirsk was the center of the province, which included Syzran until 1928). He acquired the first Syzran icon when he did not yet have a passport. And for more than 30 years, he has been giving all his free time to his favorite pastime. And there were not so many of them in the past, when Andrei Alexandrovich served as an officer in the missile forces. Even now, when he is in business, it is not enough. Nevertheless, Kirikov not only collects images of Syzran writing (and even copper-cast plastic), but also gives it to a very good hands for restoration. Including - the artist of our city Natalya Pyatkova. Andrey Aleksandrovich does not get tired of proving that the Syzran school should take its rightful place in the iconographic geography of Russia. The crowning achievement of his 30 years of collecting was the exhibition "Art Centers of the Old Believers: Icon of Syzran and the Middle Volga", organized by the Andrei Rublev Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art (Moscow) under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
It should be noted that this museum is located on the territory of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery, which has the oldest surviving building of the capital - the temple in the name of the Savior Not Made by Hands (XV century). And in the casemates of the monastery, Archpriest Avvakum was once imprisoned, who did not accept the innovations of Patriarch Nikon.
For the first time, the collection of the Syzran icon - more than 200 images in total - is on public display. Moreover, it was originally planned to open the exposition at the end of May. But the organizers abandoned this idea and moved the exhibition to September. In order to open the season with this significant exposition. And they were not mistaken: the success was stunning! Numerous metropolitan connoisseurs of Russian art culture were shocked by the Syzran collection!
The artistic, historical and spiritual value of the Syzran icon lies in the fact that in the Old Believer environment (in contrast to the iconography of the dominant church, which focuses on Western European painting), the “Greek” tradition was preserved with its characteristic spiritualization, restrained coloring, laconic composition, elongated proportions of figures, exquisite symmetry of the architectural scenes. It can be definitely asserted that the decor elements of the Syzran icon are original. They are not found in any other schools and industries. It is by them that we can unmistakably identify the images as Syzran.
The Syzran icon was executed on an ark board, as a rule, from a cypress. The surface was carefully processed, pasted over with a veil and covered with gesso (gesso is the name of the soil in medieval Russian painting).
The icon was painted in tempera, that is, paints in which the binder is an emulsion of water and egg yolk. Substances of organic origin were used as a pigment - clay, soot, chalk, cherry twigs, etc. Tempera technology does not allow for the correction of errors, therefore the art of an icon painter (unlike a painter) requires a long learning and a lot of practice. A skillful hand, a faithful eye and the deepest loving knowledge passed down from father to son, from generation to generation - that's what makes the icon painter the creator of Russian art.
The Syzran icons have a wide sloping husk descending from the field of the icon board into the ark. Most of the works are equipped with ornamental painting. It is an alternating image of a stylized chamomile flower, petal and shamrock. The pattern in detail corresponds to the widespread embossed ornament from the covers of early printed books. On some icons, the husk ornament has been replaced with a gold border. The Syzran image is also characterized by a double edge (border) along the fields. Almost every icon has hallmarks depicting patronal saints, named after the customer and patronizing him and his household. By the way, the latter testifies to the prevailing custom-made nature of the work. The font with which the Syzran icon was signed is an elongated semi-ustav. This is how the old books were written.
So, the Syzran icon has character traits, inherent in the Old Believer image in general, and their own, original, elements. Her “visiting card” is a pattern on the husk in the form of chamomile and trefoil; the image of the Guardian Angel, which is predominantly present, as well as a special color scheme - it is more diverse than it seems at first. Not uncommon on the Syzran icon - a white background and multicolor. This image is bright, festive. There is no "disappointment" here. The coloring of the Syzran school is close to the modern perception of decor.
The icons of the Syzran script are by no means provincial. They meet the most demanding taste of connoisseurs of icon painting.
A.A. Kirikov revealed that the geography of the Syzran icon was also represented by masters (about 70 people in total) from various nearby settlements. In addition to Syzran, these are Terenga, Old Tukshum, Sengiley, Karsun (Simbirsk province), Khvalynsk (Saratov), ​​Kuznetsk (Penza). The ideas put forward among the Syzran masters were so significant that icon painters in Kazan and on the Upper Volga were guided by them.
Unfortunately, in the local museum of local lore, the Syzran icon is represented only by single copies. It’s true: what we have, we don’t store ...
The exhibition of the Syzran Icon at the Andrei Rublev Central Museum of Old Russian Art and Culture will be on display for 3 months. Many Syzran residents who make business trips or private trips to the capital have the opportunity to get acquainted with the spiritual creativity of their fellow countrymen-predecessors.

Semenova Yu.S.

Introduction

Syzran is one of the developed centers of icon painting of the 19th century. In order to clarify, we will add - the center of the Old Believer icon painting. Syzran masters, relying on the traditions of Byzantine and Old Russian art, created a unique, their own small world of Old Believer icons.

Syzran is one of the Old Believer centers of the Volga region, closely connected not only with the Old Believer communities of the adjacent lands of Syzran (periphery), but also influencing the spiritual life of the entire region. There is reason to believe that the statement is fair that it is the icon that becomes one of the tools for spreading the influence of the Syzran Old Believer communities.

Stormy the economic growth Syzran in the 19th century leads to the emergence of estates capable of supporting the icon painting industry with their orders, which in turn becomes an integral part of the county's economy.

It is known from archival materials that already in the second quarter of the 19th century, the merchant Sidelnikov had his own shop in Syzran, where icons of local production were sold, and they were expensive - from 5 to 15 silver rubles. Icons could also be bought or ordered from single masters, or from icon painting and iconostasis establishments. There are at least 70 such craftsmen and institutions directly or indirectly connected with the Syzran district, according to archival information for the second half of the 19th century.

The icon business flourished, the annual tax for icon-painting production from the master was small and amounted to 1 ruble. 70 kopecks, for the maintenance of a worker or apprentice by a master, the tax was 1 rub. 15 kopecks, student maintenance 57 kopecks. (from the “Book of the Syzran craft council on a note of income and expenditure of the amounts of city income for the carriage and carpentry workshop”). At that time, work on the iconostasis, “with its painting and gilding in some places of carvings and cornices with gold on Gulfarba” cost 300 rubles. And a three-year contract for training a student with maintenance cost from 100 to 150 rubles.

In general, icon painting in the Syzran district was custom-made, as evidenced by the images of patronal (named) saints on the margins of most icons. The vast majority of masters of the county belonged to the community of Pomorts-bespriests who accepted marriages, however, Syzran icon painting in itself was not an intra-confessional phenomenon. Icon painters also carried out orders for the Old Believers of the Austrian consent, for fellow believers and for the dominant church.

Chapter I. Features of Syzran icon painting

Syzran icon painting of the late 18th and 19th centuries is marked primarily by its original style, which among the Old Believers of the Volga region received the name "Greek", with its characteristic restrained coloring, laconic composition, elongated proportions of figures, exquisite symmetry of architectural scenes. Icons of Syzran writing are not provincial, they meet the most demanding taste of connoisseurs of icon painting. At the same time, they have the typical features of an Old Believer icon for their time - an ark, a double edge along the margins, among the patronal saints in the margins there is an image of the Guardian Angel, the end sides of the icon board are gessoed and painted in cinnabar or cherry tones. For small-format icons, boards were often made of cypress.

The most important formal sign of the Syzran icon is a wide sloping husk. In the overwhelming majority of cases, on the black background of the husk, limited at the edges by thin white lines, an ornament is applied in gold or silver, consisting of alternating stylized chamomile flowers and curls in the form of a shamrock. In some cases, a gold strip 3-4 mm wide is applied to a gentle husk, limited along the edges by thin whitening lines. On the icon “Our Lady of the Sign of Novgorod”, which, according to the family, is the last of those painted by Alexander Arkhipovich Bochkarev, there is no decoration of the flat husk at all.

It seems that the masters who prepared the icon boards, in the process of work, implied a certain typical decor for applying to the husk, namely “chamomile-curl”, while the icon painter occasionally deviated from the set standard.

The elongated font used to sign the icons is also very typical - in it we find similarities with the semi-typology of early printed books. In the story about the Syzran icon, a series of names of various settlements attracts attention: Syzran, Terenga, Old Tukshum, Sengiley, Korsun (Simbirsk province), Khvalynsk (Saratov province), Kuznetsk (Penza province) - all these settlements are not only the place of existence of large storochite communities, which in itself is an important fact. The main thing is that during the second half of the 19th century, remarkable masters from among those 70 single masters and icon-painting institutions lived and painted icons in these places. And the point is not that all these settlements neighbored geographically, the main thing is that they all represent the geography of the Syzran icon.

Chapter II. "Bochkarevskaya" icon painting

2.1. Judgments about the existence of “Bochkarevskaya” icon painting

Among collectors, there is such a definition as a “barrel”, which until now has been worn for icons painted in the Syzran icon-painting workshop of certain Bochkarevs, as well as for icons painted in best traditions this workshop, which became a school and became famous for its works throughout Russia.

To the question whether there really was a large icon-painting workshop of the Bochkarevs in the city of Syzran, Simbirsk province, or whether it was the work of one master, for a long time no one could give an exact answer. It's just that no one took it seriously. And only in recent times articles and other publications about the “Bochkarevskaya” icon began to appear more and more often.

Due to the fact that there is very little reliable and specific information about the workshop, all hitherto published works for the most part seem to be a kind of fiction.

Research by some researchers recent years were not successful. As such, the “workshop of the Bochkarevs” was not found. For example, in 1994 O.I. Radchenko (head of the Samara Diocesan Museum), only information about a certain merchant A.I. Bochkarev and his real estate: a house with a shop on the street. Sovetsky, 28 (formerly Bolshaya St.) and the house and land ownership in the lane. Dostoevsky, 19 (Kazansky per.)

For ten years of service in Samara Old Believer community The DPTs, which also takes care of the Syzran society of Pomortsy, repeatedly encountered the name of the Bochkarevs. The first is the memories of believers about the “Bochkareva Prayer” in Syzran, the second is the icons ordered somewhere on the eve of the revolution of 1917 by the Samara petty bourgeois Pelagia Ivanova Markina (married Ushanova) from the icon painter Bochkarev in Syzran. And, finally, an icon with the image of three saints “Reverend Paisius the Great, Martyr Uar and Equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla”, with the stamp of the “notorious” master: “A.A. Bochkarev, icon painter in Syzran. 1893"

The daughter of P. I. Markina-Ushakova said that the icons with the image of the Virgin “It is worthy to eat, with the brands of the Guardian Angel and the Monk Pelagia” and “Crucifixion” (or “Weep at the Cross”) were ordered by the mother from the icon painter Bochkarev from Syzran about one personal and fateful tragedy. In the early 30s, he visited their house in Samara, and either his name was Arkhip, or his patronymic was Arkhipovich.

The mistress of the icon of "Reverend Paisius" was told that she personally knew one Syzran icon painter Bochkarev, but Nikolai Alexandrovich. He was born into a family of hereditary icon painters and, having inherited this skill from his grandfather and father, he also painted icons in his youth. But then there were repressions and exile, upon returning from which he no longer touched his grandfather's craft. He worked as an accountant in production, served in a Pomeranian prayer house as a laborer and died in the early 80s of the twentieth century. His children live in the capital, and there is no connection with them.

So, according to indirect facts, some points were placed: for about a century in the city of Syzran, Simbirsk province, at least a dynasty (not to mention a large workshop or school) of icon painters-Old Believers of Pomeranian consent Bochkarevs lived and worked - Nikolai Alexandrovich, his father Alexander Arkhipovich and grandfather Arkhip.

Further searches on this topic were suspended for some time, since all the information received earlier turned out to be fragmentary, inaccurate, and sometimes dead ends.

The events of recent times have once again prompted historians to undertake research work. Namely, this is the activity of the Renaissance Foundation, which worked under the name of the icon painter A.A. Bochkarev, who belonged to the Old Believers of the Pomeranian consent.

It was the “well-wishers” from the cultural and educational public organization “Vozrozhdeniye” who managed to find the daughter of Alexander Arkhipovich Bochkarev, eighty-five-year-old Valentina Alexandrovna (married Zelenkova), who, as it turned out, is alive, well and has a clear mind and bright memory.

At the end of the 18th century, a new craft for this area was born in Syzran, which received the name "Syzran icon painting".

The Syzran icon is one of the least known phenomena of Russian artistic culture of the 18th-20th centuries.

This is a certain type of icons that arose in the city of Syzran, Simbirsk province, among the Old Believers of the Pomeranian consent.

2.2. Biography of A.A. Bochkareva

One of the outstanding and last icon painters who worked in Syzran was Alexander Arkhipovich Bochkarev (January 15, 1866 - May 31, 1935).

The father of Alexander Arkhipovich - Arkhip Afanasevich - was married to the daughter of the already mentioned D.V. Popov - Alexandra. It is not known for certain whether Arkhip Afanasyevich was engaged in icon painting. In one of the documents about his professional activities, it is said that he is a singer. Kinship with D. V. Popov explains the continuity in the icon-painting craft of Alexander Arkhipovich. Alexander Arkhipovich lived in a house on the street. Chapaeva, 5 (former Kanatnaya street).

This house was built for him at the expense of the community and was located next to the prayer room, where Alexander Arkhipovich was the leader of the choir. Most of the icons for the iconostasis were also painted by him.

As his daughter said, Alexander Arkhipovich went to the Perezhoginsky prayer house very rarely, only on eminent holidays. Here everything was native, simple, comfortable, without pomposity - at home.

The wife of Alexander Arkhipovich - Daria Nikolaevna, nee Spirina - from a poor family, an orphan, lived with her brothers before marriage. A. A. Bochkarev had eight children: six daughters - Zoya, Ekaterina, Zinaida, Miropia, Evfalia and Anna, and two sons - Nikolai and Alexei. At the birth of the latter, Alexander Arkhipovich wrote a small wooden cross - "Crucifixion" - supposedly "everything, I lay the cross, and there will be no more children on this." The icon-painting business brought little income, and it was hard to feed such a large family.

In relation to children, Alexander Arkhipovich was kind and affectionate, but demanding, he strictly monitored that they would pray to God. All the children were taught church reading and stood on the kliros in the prayer room.

The workshop was in the same house, with three workbenches, a bed, and a hanging oil lamp in the back room. Natural light was created by four windows.

Three of the brothers of Alexander Arkhipovich - Ivan, Fedor and Peter - were also trained in icon painting. But Alexander Arkhipovich loved (according to his daughter) to work alone.

For some reason, the work of the brothers did not suit him, and when Fyodor Arkhipovich came to help him in the workshop, he was entrusted only with auxiliary work (paint the background, bring the border).

The brothers of Alexander Arkhipovich, apparently, like himself, learned the icon-painting craft from D.V. Popov. This is evidenced by the inscription on the brand, which F.A. put on his icons. Bochkarev: "The icon-painting workshop of Fyodor Arkhipovich Bochkarev, the successor of David Vasilyevich Porfirov." But Alexander Arkhipovich already taught his son Nikolai himself.

The master also had other students, but they did not stay long because the work of an icon painter requires spiritual endurance, as well as great perseverance, attention and patience. As an apprentice, Alexander Arkhipovich had an orphan Ivanushka, a boy of 14-15 years old, who lived in the Bochkarev family for a long time.

Valentina Alexandrovna still has one trial work of one of his students. This is a small, slightly larger than a matchbox plate, with the image of the Virgin. There is no ark on it, the gesso is badly placed and, it seems, there is not even a wire. Due to unprofessional work, it has a very poor preservation.

Boards for writing icons were ordered. As Valentina Aleksandrovna recalls, "some surprisingly pleasant, fragrant smell emanated from them - cypress."

On some of his icons, Alexander Arkhipovich Bochkarev, as mentioned above, put personal stamps on the back side, which are now of particular value.

Two types of his author's hallmarks are known. The first is a clearly drawn circle with a diameter of two centimeters, inside of which there were inscriptions: “Icon painter in Syzran. A.A. Bochkarev ... ". This hallmark was written by hand on gold leaf placed directly on the board. The jagged edges of the gold protruded slightly beyond the edges of the circle. Such a stamp was placed on the back of the icon, just above the bottom dowel, to the right of the center. The second stamp is a rectangle with a similar inscription inside. It is also written by hand on gold leaf and was placed in the lower right corner on the back of the icon.

The stigma is F.A. Bochkarev, the text from which was mentioned above, was a standard stamp.

In principle, all icons in terms of the style of writing can be safely attributed to one or another icon painting school, but most of these creations are nameless. Only highly eminent icon painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries stigmatized them. Thus, not only declaring his copyright, but also full responsibility for the craftsmanship.

Alexander Arkhipovich Bochkarev took part in the Nizhny Novgorod Exhibition of 1896, as described in the “Detailed Index to the Departments of the All-Russian Industrial and Handicraft Exhibition of 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod. Department X. Artistic and industrial. About A.A. Bochkarev for participation in the exhibition is not noted in the book, but allegedly there is evidence that he was awarded a commendable diploma there.

Later, his skill was recognized in his native city. This is evidenced by the “Commendation Sheet”, stored in the local Museum of Local Lore, with the following text: “The Administrative Committee of the Syzran Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition awarded Alexander Arkhipovich Bochkarev for providing them with two icons painted in oil paints, this meritorious sheet. September 9, 1902. Chairman of the Committee, signature. Authorized person, signature. Members, signatures.

In the scribe of the Samara Pomeranian community there is a handwritten book "A legend from sacred rules, and from church teachers, as if it is not befitting to have communion with a heretic." This book contains notes, apparently to whom it was supposed to be sent. There are addresses and names (in the dative case) of well-known teachers of the Pomeranian church of the late 19th - early 20th centuries: Ivan Ivanovich Zykov, Ivan Mikhailovich Tsvetkov and Andrey Alexandrovich Nadezhdin. Among others, there is a record (with slight losses) of the following content: “to the city of Syzran (Simbirsk. Guber ... beyond Krymza, to the soldier’s street ... to the icon painter Alexander Arkhipovich Bochkarev.”

This record testifies, if not to Alexander Arkhipovich's personal acquaintance with the indicated persons, then to his respect and spiritual authority in Pomor society throughout Russia.

On November 6, 1929, Alexander Arkhipovich was arrested, and on February 7, 1930, by a troika at the OTPU PP in the Middle Volga Territory, he was sentenced under Art. 58-10 to three years in a concentration camp. In 1931, as a result of repression, A. A. Bochkarev was exiled to the Arkhangelsk province, the village of Kholmogory, to a free settlement, where he lived with an old woman and looked after cattle.

At the same time, the nearby prayer house was also closed, the icons were loaded into a car and taken away. During loading, someone said that the floors of the stables should be covered, perhaps as a blasphemous mockery, or perhaps the truth: after all, this often happened. Later, there were sewing workshops in this room, and women at work sometimes sang obscene songs. Also at different times there was elementary School and repair shops. The desecrated building burned down in the 80s and was soon dismantled.

Upon his return from exile, Alexander Arkhipovich was under constant surveillance by the authorities. Icons were not allowed to be painted, and there were no customers. The family needed something to feed, and in order to somehow earn a living, he had to get a job at the Art Workshops on the street. Soviet, where he worked for six months, until his death. He painted posters and slogans, painted a sickle and a hammer on red flags. In this biography of A.A. Bochkareva is similar to the biographies of many icon painters whose life activity took place in the first years of Soviet power.

2.3. Characteristic differences and features of the “Bochkarevskaya” icon

One of the evidence of the high skill of the Syzran icon painters is the excellent preservation of their creations to this day.

When considering their icons, one gets the impression that there is not a single icon-painting technique or technique that they would not master perfectly.

However, there are characteristic differences and features of the “Syzran icon”, which we will try to highlight on the example of the existing icons of A.A. Bochkarev, presented as illustrative material for this article:

The icon board is made of ark, carefully crafted, in most cases made of cypress;

The back side of the board is often also covered with gesso and painted;

The dowels on the back side of the board are profiled in the form of a dovetail;

The surface of the paint layer is covered with a thick layer of colorless shiny varnish;

Husk (descent from the field to the ark) is wide, sloping;

In most of the works there is an ornamental painting on the husk. In other words, this technique is called melting for gold or silver. This ornament is an alternating image of a stylized chamomile flower, petal and shamrock. Here and in other cases, the ornament in detail corresponds to the widespread embossed ornament from the covers of early printed books. On which icons the husk ornament has been replaced with a gold border;

Double edge (border) along the fields;

The faces of the saints are strict and spiritual;

The face of the Virgin, with the seeming simplicity of the drawing, is full of warmth and tenderness;

Graceful drawing;

The elongation and plasticity of the figures, creating a feeling of frozen movement;

The thinnest, calligraphic development of clothes;

Filigree miniature technique;

The clarity and conciseness of the composition;

In some icons, dense and restrained colors, a general dark color are observed, in others, on the contrary, an exquisite "multi-color";

On the margins of the overwhelming majority of icons there are stamps with selected patronal (family) saints and a very common image of the Guardian Angel, testifying to the prevailing custom character of icon painting in Syzran.

Conclusion

Research on this topic and the publication of the book "Syzran Icon" is an attempt to introduce into scientific circulation a circle of icons representing the Syzran Icon Painting Center. Museum workers have previously correctly indicated the origin of such icons as those painted on the Middle Volga. Of course, the “Syzran Icon” is included in the circle of Old Believer icons of the Volga region, retaining their formal features. However, on the Middle Volga one can also find icons of the so-called "provincial" letters in sufficient quantities. Most likely, their beginning was laid in the Irgiz (priestly) monasteries. The Syzran masters-painters of the Pomeranian consent - formed a bright, original, different style in icon painting.

Syzran icons were made both to order and for free sale, and for the most part prevailed in the iconostasis of churches and prayer houses in the Simbirsk and Samara provinces.

Literature

1. Calendar of the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church. Edition of the Unified Council of the Ancient Orthodox Pomeranian Church, 2003
2. Syzran icon. Exhibition catalog - Samara, 2007
3. N.P. Kondakov. Byzantine figures and monuments of Constantinople. M. Indrik, 2006
4. Personal Fund (B-27) A.A. Bochkareva MBU "Syzran Museum of Local Lore"
5. http://pomnipro.ru/memorypage12436/biography - Electronic memorial.
6. http://samstar-biblio.ucoz.ru/photo/20 - Scribe of the Samara Old Believers.

Appendix

• Russian local history

Funds used in the implementation of the project state support allocated as a grant in accordance with the order of the President Russian Federation No. 11-rp dated January 17, 2014 and on the basis of a competition held by the All-Russian public organization "Russian Union of Youth"