Traditions and innovations of Russian wooden carving in modern Orthodox art (a case study of the interior of the belfry church in honor of the Addition of Mind icon in Barnaul)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of modern Russian Orthodox carving in case of the creation of the temple decoration of the city church of Barnaul, which includes the manufacture of a wooden carved iconostasis inside and a sculptural image of the Mother of God “Addition of Mind” in the portal outside. The study examines the entire process of creating an interior: from drawing up an iconographic program, searching for plots, ornamental decor to the technical embodiment of an artistic image according to the laws of the Orthodox canon. Currently, there is a resurgent interest in carved icons that have an ancient history in Russia. Such solutions in the temple art are not often found yet, since wood carving requires high professional skill and an indispensable knowledge of the iconographic canon from specialists. A detailed art criticism analysis of the iconography works in the church under consideration, using iconological, historical-comparative and stylistic methods of studying Orthodox art, allows us to highly appreciate the design of the temple, which harmoniously combines with the appearance of the structure and gives a reference to the Russian tradition of Orthodox temple carving. Also, based on it, it became possible to evaluate the implementation of the conceived iconographic decoration program and understand its concept.