165 Jefferson J. A. Gatrall and Douglas Greenfield, eds. Alter Icons: The Russian Icon and Modernity (Studies of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. Notes. Index. 278. $74.95 (cloth: alk. paper). ISBN 978-0-271-03677-9. James Billington referred to the icon as Russia s most revered form of theological expression (The Icon and the Axe, 8), a kind of theology in images (IA, 29). He typed the icon s regional characteristics: icons from Novgorod region were noted for their bright colors, particularly red; the use of light blue was characteristic of Tver icons; gold highlighting was peculiar to icons from Pskov; icons of the northern school, or Yaroslavl areas, displayed elongated figures; and icons of the Moscow School of Vladimir-Suzdal exhibited richer colors and more graceful figures. Categorization has become much more complex in modern times. The authors of Alter Icons: The Russian Icon and Modernity trace the icon s journey beyond its traditional composition and meaning to stress its alterability and multiple meanings, to chronicle how the Russian icon has adapted to a living culture, as Jefferson J. A. Gatrall points out in his Introduction. According to Gatrall, the Renaissance marked the Russian icon s tragic fall into modernity (9). Not only have the meanings associated with icons been changed, but, since the seventeenth century, icons have been treated additionally as works of art. They have been restored, rather than painted over as was the custom. After becoming black boards darkened beyond recognition, they have been preserved, rather than being relegated traditionally for use as firewood. Historically, icons have played a role in the formation of Russia s national identity. Part I: Empire of Icons consists of articles by Elena Boeck, Vera Shevzov, and Robert L. Nichols. In Strength in Numbers or Unity in Diversity?: Compilations of Miracle-Working Virgin Icons, Elena Boeck discusses the popularity of Marian compendia in pre-revolutionary Russia. The compendia, a series of small images, transitioned from paper to panel and from the margins to the mainstream of popular esteem. Compendia became
166 highly collectible and featured the Mother of God as a symbol of identity and protector of the Russian nation. The first Russian compendium of Mary was created by Grigory Tepchegorsky, a Moscow engraver influenced by western prints, in the seventeenth century. Images displaying a western influence diverged from the images of the church approved pattern books (podlinniki). Vera Shevzov, in Between Purity and Pluralism: Icon and Anathema in Modern Russia, 1860-1917), examines how the Orthodox Church officially regarded icons via the church s observance of the Sunday of Great Lent, or the Sunday of Orthodoxy (Nedelia Pravoslaviia), also known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy (Torzhestvo Pravoslaviia). This observance marked the deathblow of iconoclasm (51) and connected the concept of victory with icons, thereby becoming the context for understanding modern Orthodox views of the icon. Robert L. Nichols explores the contribution of Nicholas II, who became an icon himself (75), to the promotion and preservation of icons. Devout and conservative, Nicholas II protected the tradition of icon painting and believed in the miraculous power of icons. He regarded the icon as a symbol representing the people, the autocracy, and God, and upholding faith, the military, and the established order (77). The tsar was a patron of icon painting and regarded icons as holy objects, rather than works of art. He created a commission supporting the tradition of icon painting and even supported secular painters of religious themes, such as Nestorov, Vrubel, and Vasnetsov. In addition, Nicholas II supported the collection and restoration of icons. Part II: Curators and Commissars contains articles by Shirley A. Glade, John-Paul Himka, and Wendy R. Salmond. In Anisimov and the Rediscovery of Old Russian Icons, Shirley A. Glade relates the biography of the amazing Alexander Anisimov who was scholar, curator, collector, teacher, and restorer of icons. Anisimov attempted to save old icons that had become black boards by uncovering them, rather than altering them. In 1930 Anisimov lost his institutional positions and was arrested, sentenced to ten years in a prison camp in 1931, and transferred to
167 the Solovetsky Islands, where he catalogued and restored Solovetsky Monastery icons. From there, he was sent to a camp in Karelia, after which he was sentenced to death in 1937. Anisimov was rehabilitated in 1989. The history of The National Museum in Independent Ukraine (1991-2005), under present and past names, is related in John-Paul Himka s Moments in the History of an Icon Collection: The National Museum in Lviv, 1905-2005. The Museum displays the icon painting traditions of the Carpathian area. This region passed through many hands over time, including Galicia, Poland, and Ukraine. The people of this area were Orthodox until becoming Catholic in 1700 when they became known as Greek Catholics. Their icons understandably display a western influence. The Museum was founded by Archbishop of Lviv and Greek Catholic Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky. In How America Discovered Russian Icons: The Soviet Loan Exhibition of 1930-1932, Wendy R. Salmond describes the first exhibition of Russian icons held in the United States. It took place in 1930 at Boston s Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibit was a success, and Americans were impressed by the quality of Soviet restoration techniques. However, the Soviet hope to create a market in the West for icons failed with some exceptions, such as the department store and gallery sales of imperial Romanov memorabilia art, arranged by Armand and Victor Hammer. Part III: Intermedial Icon consists of articles by Jefferson J. A. Gatrall and Sarah Pratt. In Polenov, Merezhkovsky, Ainalov: Archeology of the Christ Image, Jefferson J. A. Gatrall traces and types the historical likeness of Christ as it appears in the works of novelist Dmitri Merezhkovsky, painter Vasily Polenov, and archeologist Dmitri Ainalov. For greater reader comprehension, this article would have benefited by offering more background information about the works analyzed. It helps, for example, to know that The Death of the Gods: Julian the Apostate, the first part of Merezkovsky s Christ and Antichrist trilogy, was considered the first Symbolist novel and therefore holds a place of importance in Russian culture.
168 Sarah Pratt uses semiotics to explore the signs, symbols, and icons in the works of Vladimir Mayakovsky ( The King of Light Bulbs ), Velimir Khlebnikov ( Bobeobi ), and Nikolai Zabolotsky ( I Do Not Seek Harmony in Nature ). In Avant- Garde Poets and Imagined Icons, Sarah Pratt states that Church Fathers were semioticians and unrecognized forefathers of the avant-garde (174). In a thoughtful analysis, she posits that Mayakovsky portrayed himself as Christ in The King of Light Bulbs ; Khlebnikov evoked through zaum, trans-sense language, an icon of Christ Not Made by Human Hands; and Pratt demonstrates that Nikolai Zabolotsky s poetic manifesto (in the words of Yury Lotman), I Do Not Seek Harmony in Nature, far from being a Soviet poem, is subversive and evokes the Icon of the Dormition. The final section is titled Part IV: Projections. It contains articles by Douglas Greenfield, John Anthony McGuckin, and Robert Bird. Douglas Greenfield and John Anthony McGuckin discuss iconic images in the theories and works of Florensky, and Robert Bird explores Tarkovsky s use of iconic images in the cinema. For ease of reading, the articles about Florensky are better read in reverse (no pun intended) order with McGuckin s Florensky and Icon Dreaming preceding Greenfield s Florensky and the Binocular Body. The reason for so doing is that McGuckin gives a good biography of Pavel Florensky, whom he presents as a Renaissance Man. Like so many others involved with the collection, restoration, and scholarship related to icons, Florensky was sent to labor camps and in 1937 eventually executed. McGuckin writes about Florenky s belief that dreaming was connected to another spiritual world and that art thus materializes dream. (221), so that the icon is an outline of spiritual vision. Greenfield delves deeper into Florensky s icon theology as explained in Florensky s essay titled Reverse Perspective (1920). Greenfield explains that Florensky thought the scientific and spiritual were linked and that both tools (i.e., icons) and organs have their origin in the soul. The icon is a projection of our organs of vision, a type of holy stereopticon that reflects Truth (197).
169 Greenfield also delves into Markovets (name of Florensky s literary group) realism (198-204) and the idea that all cultures have a binary choice of world-view, either a medieval unified vision or a Renaissance fragmented view. Florensky s Realist can see from many perspectives, but Naturalists have tunnel vision. The author s rather thorough article ends with an explanation of Florensky s Permafrost Realism (204-207). Greenfield does a fine job of explaining a complex philosophy. The last article is entitled Tarkovsky and the Celluloid Icon by Robert Bird. He discusses Andrei Tarkovsky s Andrei Rublev and demonstrates the use of film as icon, referring to Tarkovsky s devices, such as the static pose and his use of film as a search for spirituality. Tarkovsky brought the art of cinema to the level of the icon (234), and Bird discusses how much was achieved through freezing the image, which then reveals a secret. Vera Shevzov wrote the Afterword, in which she outlines the points made in the volume articles, which demonstrate how the icon has found new life in modern times. She updates the role of the icon in contemporary life. According to Shevzov, icons have made history sacred. They contribute to Russian nationalism even today, both as a unifying and discordant force. Icons have taken on dual roles in the church and in the museum. People with differing views, both traditional and secular, have had to make compromises as western influences and film iconicity have added to the eclectic mix. Bonnie Marshall Museum of New Hampshire History Concord, New Hampshire, USA