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Icon nb 93
Size : 57 x 39 cm.
Linden board
Gilded haloes and background. Egg tempera.
An interpretation of a 16th-century Novgorod icon, this piece represents all the elements of the biblical scene. Christ arrives with his apostles in the mountainous landscape of Bethany. He is received by the sisters Martha and Mary, their friends, and the Pharisees. Through his all-powerful word, Lazarus comes out from his tomb, helped by servants. The movement starts from the right side of the icon, and Jesus, dressed as the Pantocrator, firmly extends his arm and his blessing hand expressing Christ's power over death. In the group of apostles behind the Lord, one recognizes Saint Peter by his ochre cloak and white hair.
Martha and Mary, the two sisters of Lazarus, prostrated themselves at Jesus' feet. They are clothed with the maphorion, the veil worn by women in the East, and raise their open hands in a sign of deep respect.
Against the mountain backdrop, a compact group of people stands out, some wearing the striated white veil of the Jews of that time. They look neither at Christ nor at the resurrected Lazarus, but their piercing and fixed gaze is directed towards the spectator. While the composition is dominated by the line of force emanating from Christ and leading to Lazarus, this line of looks seems to break it. Is this manifesting the hostility of the Pharisees?
The pure white of Lazarus's shroud stands out against the black background of the cave and catches the eye. One servant has lifted the stone from the tomb, another removes the burial cloths, holding a piece of cloth in front of his face: an important detail, for it testifies that Lazarus was truly dead and that his resurrection testifies to the divinity of Jesus.
Father Egon Sendler
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