The key facts
- Vasily Nesterenko's painting
- The canvas is dedicated to the appearance of the Mother of God to Russian soldiers on the night of September 1, 1914, in the area of Augustów
- The exhibition of 524 works by 216 authors is open free of charge until December 8, daily from 10:00 to 20:00
A painting about a 1914 event on display at an exhibition at the Manege
The painting reports a correspondent of RIA Novosti (according to Life.ru). The canvas, painted in 2017, is dedicated to the appearance of the Mother of God to Russian soldiers during the First World War.
The subject of the painting
The painting refers to the events of September 1914. According to Orthodox tradition, on the night of September 1 (Old Style), servicemen of the Russian army saw the image of the Most Holy Mother of God near the town of Augustów in the Suwałki Governorate of the Russian Empire — on the territory of present-day Poland. In the painting, the Mother of God points her hand to the west — a gesture mentioned in accounts of the alleged apparition. In religious tradition, the event is linked to the subsequent victory of Russian troops in battles with the German army in the area of the Augustów Forests.
Scale of the exhibition and practical information
Nesterenko's work was included in an exhibition devoted to Orthodox art and its connection with the history of Russia: the organizers selected 524 works by 216 authors from more than three thousand submitted works. The exhibition brings together painting, graphic art, icon painting, sculpture, jewelry and items of decorative and applied art; the exhibits are distributed across four thematic halls — on the history of the Fatherland, the Christian faith, the preservation of cultural heritage, and spiritual beauty.
Context of the exhibition and Putin's visit
The exhibition was timed to the 80th birthday of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'; it is held as part of the church-society forum placed a candle before the icon of the holy right-believing Prince Dmitry Donskoy and the Venerable Euphrosyne of Moscow and venerated the icon. The head of state was accompanied by Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Tikhon of Simferopol and Crimea.
