Russian Icon Painting Tradition

Timeline

1. 1500–1598Moscow Kremlin · MoscowUnder the patronage of the metropolitan and the tsar, the Moscow school painted church iconostases and royal liturgical images in tempera, gold leaf, and canonical iconographic compositions, forming the authoritative paradigm of Russian icon painting.
2. 1613–1660Moscow · RussiaIn the early Romanov dynasty, large-scale restoration of churches and monasteries led to icon painting workshops throughout Moscow and its surroundings; demand for iconostases, lintel paintings, and royal votive images was strong, further enriching techniques and subject matter.
3. c. 1666–1700Patriarchate of Moscow · MoscowIn the 1660s Patriarch Nikon's liturgical reforms sparked fierce disputes between the Old Believers and the official church over icon painting methods, the sign of the cross, and other details, making icon painting a visual battleground of Russia's religious schism and cultural identity conflict.