Keywords
icon, The Last Judgment, Vetka, Vetka school of icon painting, Old Believers-Beglopopovtsy, Maryino settlement, connections between Vetka and the Transnistrian region,
How to Cite
Afanasyeva O. V. “The Image of the Last Judgment” as an example of a multi-figure composition in the “soft landscape” of the Vetka icon-painting tradition // The Art of Eurasia, 2026. № 3 (42). P. 14–29. URL: https://doi.org/10.46748/ARTEURAS.2026.03.001.
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Abstract
The article provides a description and comparative analysis of two monuments of the Vetka icon-painting tradition depicting the theme of Judgement Day. The study aims to identify common and distinctive iconographical features that reflect both the integrity of Old Believer culture in the Vetka region and the unique, diverse nature of this local school of painting. One of the monuments (from the collection of the “Drevnerusskaya Knizhnitsa” Cultural and Educational Center and Museum in Bender, Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) is being introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time, while the other (from the Vetka Museum) is examined through a novel analytical lens. The study traces the influence of theological texts (specifically, The Life of Basil the Younger) and folklore on the formation of iconographic versions (izvody). Particular attention is paid to the defining characteristics of the Vetka school, such as the ‘soft’ (recessive) landscape that unifies the compositional registers, the life-affirming depiction of Paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven, and the dialogic nature of the imagery that is directly addressed to the viewer. The author concludes that, despite adhering to the canon, Vetka masters created varied and emotionally resonant compositions that served as a cohesive link for the wider Old Believer world and retained their relevance within Vetka migrant communities.
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