International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Mirosław Piotr Kruk
National Museum in Krakow, Krakow, Poland; 
[e-mail]
The Corpus of Icons from the 14
th 
– 16
th
Century in the Collection 
of the National Museum in Krakow
The grant from the National Programme for the Development of Humanities, obtained in 
2015, enabled the preparation of the corpus of the oldest icons from the collection of the National 
Museum in Krakow. It is one of the oldest collections in Europe, accumulated since the 1880s. The 
research field concerns a collection of about forty icons which – thanks to the allotted resources – are 
currently being subjected to comprehensive technological testing combined with an iconographic 
and comparative analysis, which determines the milieu, time and circumstances of creation of each 
of the listed works. The oldest item is the Greek icon of Saints Anargyroi, whose origin dates back 
to the second half of the 14
th
century. It was acquired only a few years ago by means of bequest and 
represents a high level of the Palaeologian style. The overwhelming majority comprises, however, 
local works from the 15
th
- 16
th
century, originating from the Ruthenian lands of the former Polish 
Republic, diverse in terms of iconography. Among them are icons depicting the Mandylion, 
Hodegetria in various representational varieties (with prophets, apostles), Pantocrator, St. Nicholas 
and St. Paraskeva,, surrounded by scenes from their life and martyrdom, as well as monumental 
icons illustrating The Last Judgement. On the one hand, the collected material represents a high 
level of post-Byzantine art, and on the other, it constitutes an example of a gradual adaptation of 
Western iconography models and styles through printed ephemera. The publication, planned for 
2017, aims to present the splendour of this collection, using the widest possible research methods 
(photographs in various wave ranges, analysis of pigments and wood) with particular attention to 
the impressive content of the Orthodox Church and Slavic inscriptions.