This issue No. 2 (25) of “The Art of Eurasia” Journal is dedicated to icon painting in museum collections. It presents the materials of a major scientific conference, that took place on the basis of the State Art Museum of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug — Yugra. This significant layer of artistic creativity was largely unknown and rarely covered on the pages of scientific journals. The geographical coverage is very extensive — from Luhansk and a number of museums of the Republic of Belarus to numerous Siberian collections. Studies tell about before unknown masters or famous artists who also began their career in art as icon painters, and now their works of the early period have become known. Art critics show how deep the knowledge of icon painters was both in terms of technology, but also in the field of theology and dogmatics of the icon.
The article from the section “On the Storerooms and Expositions of Museums and Art Galleries” remarkably complements the main ideas of the articles in the “Forum” and is dedicated to one of the most poignant images in Orthodox iconography — the “Grieving Saviour”.
The section “Art of the 20th — 21st centuries” includes research on contemporary painting. The first is about the complex process of integrating the two great traditions of Eastern and Western art in oil painting in China. The second article is devoted to the work of Vera and Sergey Kondulukov, artists who sensitively accepted the traditions of the Russian school of art, were able to find their own way, ideological and plot lines and artistic style.
The article in “Dictionary of Buddhist Iconography by Lokesh Chandra” section tells about Garuda — a bird-headed creature that can often be seen in the paintings of the walls of temples, on tank icons, amulets. “Academy News” section presents an overview of the most representative exhibitions in the halls of the Russian Academy of Arts. Acquaintance with them gives an idea of the widest range of artistic trends in contemporary art.