The artwork, titled “The Virgin Holidays,” is a religious painting completed in 1907 by the artist Nicholas Roerich. It is executed in oil on wood, adhering to the aesthetic principles of the Byzantine art movement. This piece is part of the “Perm iconostasis” series and is currently housed in the Perm State Art Gallery located in Perm, Russia.
The artwork depicts a central panel featuring the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus, a traditional subject in Christian iconography, particularly within the context of Byzantine religious art. This central icon is framed by smaller panels, each illustrating various biblical events and figures that are significant within the Christian liturgical calendar, relating to the life of the Virgin Mary and the infancy of Christ. The composition’s seemingly hierarchical structure places the most sacred scene in the center, while the events encapsulate it, creating a narrative sequence. The use of gilding and traditional iconographic forms suggests a reverence for the historical and spiritual traditions that this artwork seeks to embody. The predominant use of gold and earthy hues, along with the stylized representation of the figures, aligns with the aesthetics typical to Byzantine art, which emphasizes the spiritual and transcendent nature of its subjects rather than their corporeal reality. The specific scenes depicted and their arrangement may reflect theological themes and interpretations characteristic of the era and the cultural context in which the artwork was created.
