How to educate “enlightened” icon painters? Educational icon-painting workshops of the Committee of Care on Russian icon painting (1901-1918)

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to highlight the organisation and activities of the training icon-painting workshops of the Committee of Care on Russian icon painting (1901-1918) in Mstera, Palekh, Kholuy and Borisovka. The author provides a detailed analysis of the minutes of meetings and other documents of the Committee. On their basis the author reproduces the chronology and training programme in icon painting schools and attempts to reconstruct the ideal of an enlightened icon painter that was created in the Committee’s circle. The results of the activities of educational icon painting workshops are summarised.

Keywords

• Committee of Care on Russian icon painting
• educational icon-painting workshops
• Mstera
• Palekh
• Kholuy
• Borisovka
• icon-painting schools
• Vasily Georgiyevsky