“By the Grace of God” and “With Common Funds”: Iconographic Program and Style of Two Icons Commissioned by Kaluga Merchant M.A. Makarov

The article is devoted to two unique icons commissioned by the Kaluga merchant Mikhail Makarov to commemorate the water pipe with a fountain built with his efforts in Kaluga. The first icon was executed in 1829 and solemnly installed in the City Duma of Kaluga. In 1837, M. Makarov ordered to paint its copy, which was kept in the family of his descendants until 1937. Unfortunately, only the last icon has survived and is now reposited in the State Museum of the History of Religion (St. Petersburg). The iconographic analysis and historical evidence of veneration of the lost original allow establishing the intent of the customer. The composition of the icons has no direct protographs, although some icon pieces influenced its formation (for example, Marian iconography of “Joy of all Who Sorrow” and “The Life-Giving Spring”). The non-typical iconographic idea of the customer forced the icon painter to resort to a set of artistic means unusual for icon painting. On the one hand, the masterpiece demonstrates the traditional methods of Kaluga icon painting of the late Nicholas I Empire era, but on the other hand, the influence of the provincial pictorial primitive is clearly noticeable. The icon executed by the merchant Makarov’s order in 1837 is a unique artwork in terms of its iconographic program and artistic performance. Due to the reliable date of creation and the confirmed Kaluga origin, the icon from the State Museum of the History of Religion occupies an important place in the history of Kaluga icon painting.