Depicting the Beginning of the World’s End: Iconography and Development of the “Rolling Up the Sky” Scene in the Ukrainian Icons of “the Last Judgment” of the 15th–17th Centuries

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the iconography, development and symbolism of the “Rolling up the Sky” scene – a fragment of the complex multi-scene composition of “The Last Judgment” icons. The study based on selected icons of “The Last Judgment” from the 15th–17th centuries originating from the territory of Halychyna (Galicia) in the West of Ukraine and from the modern territories of Poland and Slovakia. Evolution of the “Rolling up the Sky” motif and traced changes in the compositions of the “Last Judgment” icons from 15th and 16th–17th centuries determine the novelty of the article. The motif’s composition in the icons of the 15th century is characterised by its simplicity and minimalism, on the other hand, since the 16th century, the scene has been actively developed, and new elements appear in it. An important new feature of the “Rolling up the Sky” scene from 16th century is depiction of the zodiac symbols: four Ukrainian icons of “The Last Judgment” dated to the 16th century with depictions of the zodiac symbols are analysed. Evolution of the symbolic image of God the Father, or Ancient of Days from the formal symbolic depiction as shining disc to the image of grey-haired old man is traced.

Keywords

• iconography
• ukrainian icons
• last judgment
• celestial luminaries
• zodiac signs