Spiritual labyrinth
Searches for the origins in Western European and Russian engravings, and in Catholic frescoes: tweaks
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Tracing the Western European source of Russian iconography, Zotov names [[Allegory|allegorical]] poetic works and their illustrations that appeared in the 15th century. Among such literary monuments is the [[Germany|German]] spiritual poem ''The True Guide of the King''. Zotov allows that the illustration to this book or another similar one could have inspired the Russian icon painter as well. He also drew attention to the use of the labyrinth image by Western [[mysticism]] of late [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]]. For example, the 4th-century Christian poet [[Prudentius]] writes of the labyrinth as a symbol of the recklessness of [[Paganism|pagans]] and [[Heresy|heretics]] and creates [[metaphor]]s of wandering through the world and seeking the true path. The allegory of the labyrinth in this sense, in Zotov's view, survived until the 10th century, when the [[France|French]] [[Benedictine]] monk and later saint [[Abbo of Fleury]] complained that heretics were confusing young people by casting them "into the labyrinth of error". This same line was continued by [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], who described hell "as a tangled labyrinth consisting of many circles, ledges, and crevices, in contrast to the clear concentric rings of paradise".{{sfn|Zotov|2021|p=178}} |
Tracing the Western European source of Russian iconography, Zotov names [[Allegory|allegorical]] poetic works and their illustrations that appeared in the 15th century. Among such literary monuments is the [[Germany|German]] spiritual poem ''The True Guide of the King''. Zotov allows that the illustration to this book or another similar one could have inspired the Russian icon painter as well. He also drew attention to the use of the labyrinth image by Western [[mysticism]] of late [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]]. For example, the 4th-century Christian poet [[Prudentius]] writes of the labyrinth as a symbol of the recklessness of [[Paganism|pagans]] and [[Heresy|heretics]] and creates [[metaphor]]s of wandering through the world and seeking the true path. The allegory of the labyrinth in this sense, in Zotov's view, survived until the 10th century, when the [[France|French]] [[Benedictine]] monk and later saint [[Abbo of Fleury]] complained that heretics were confusing young people by casting them "into the labyrinth of error". This same line was continued by [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]], who described hell "as a tangled labyrinth consisting of many circles, ledges, and crevices, in contrast to the clear concentric rings of paradise".{{sfn|Zotov|2021|p=178}} |
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=== Searches for the origins in Western European and Russian engravings, |
=== Searches for the origins in Western European and Russian engravings, and in Catholic frescoes === |
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Anastasia Dolgova considers that images similar in meaning to "spiritual labyrinth" iconography can be found in Western European engravings of the 17th century, which, she points out, in the 17th and 18th centuries exerted great influence on Russian icon painting. She specifically notes the influence of "Western European {{Tooltip|pattern books|A "pattern book" is a conventional designation for a collection of preparatory works by a European medieval artist. It consists of sheets stitched into a book. Academic literature contains debates about the purpose of such collections.}} and medieval engravings with an emblematic way of thinking".{{sfn|Dolgova|2011|p=161}} |
Anastasia Dolgova considers that images similar in meaning to "spiritual labyrinth" iconography can be found in Western European engravings of the 17th century, which, she points out, in the 17th and 18th centuries exerted great influence on Russian icon painting. She specifically notes the influence of "Western European {{Tooltip|pattern books|A "pattern book" is a conventional designation for a collection of preparatory works by a European medieval artist. It consists of sheets stitched into a book. Academic literature contains debates about the purpose of such collections.}} and medieval engravings with an emblematic way of thinking".{{sfn|Dolgova|2011|p=161}} |
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[[File:Kind_gekleed_als_pelgrim_in_doolhof_Pia_desideria_(serietitel),_RP-P-BI-2233.jpg|thumb|Boetius Adams Bolswert. Child dressed as a pilgrim in a labyrinth, 1624]] |
[[File:Kind_gekleed_als_pelgrim_in_doolhof_Pia_desideria_(serietitel),_RP-P-BI-2233.jpg|thumb|Boetius Adams Bolswert. Child dressed as a pilgrim in a labyrinth, 1624]] |
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Among European engravings there exist examples of the labyrinth as a symbol of spiritual seeking — one such example is an engraving which Dolgova calls "The Soul of a Pilgrim, Led by the Word of God, in the Labyrinth of Spiritual Searching", attributes to [[Herman Hugo]], and dates to 1622. She notes, however, that the labyrinth in it is depicted "from a different viewpoint and in a different vein". In the engraving, a person is depicted from behind, standing at the center of a circular labyrinth. Inside the labyrinth, several other people are also depicted, one of whom "has stumbled and is reaching his hand upward, asking for help". According to Dolgova, "the didactic meaning of the engraving is analogous to the meaning of the icons". From her point of view, "the differences can be easily explained by the difference between the artistic languages of icon painting and engraving".{{sfn|Dolgova|2011|p=161}} In fact, Herman Hugo |
Among European engravings there exist examples of the labyrinth as a symbol of spiritual seeking — one such example is an engraving which Dolgova calls "The Soul of a Pilgrim, Led by the Word of God, in the Labyrinth of Spiritual Searching", attributes to [[Herman Hugo]], and dates to 1622. She notes, however, that the labyrinth in it is depicted "from a different viewpoint and in a different vein". In the engraving, a person is depicted from behind, standing at the center of a circular labyrinth. Inside the labyrinth, several other people are also depicted, one of whom "has stumbled and is reaching his hand upward, asking for help". According to Dolgova, "the didactic meaning of the engraving is analogous to the meaning of the icons". From her point of view, "the differences can be easily explained by the difference between the artistic languages of icon painting and engraving".{{sfn|Dolgova|2011|p=161}} In fact, Herman Hugo was the author of the text of the book ''Pia desideria'' ([[Antwerp]], 1624), which was illustrated with an engraving by [[Boetius Adams Bolswert]] titled "Child dressed as a pilgrim in a labyrinth", [[Rijksmuseum]], [[Amsterdam]], {{convert|95|x|56|mm|in}}.{{cite web |title=Kind gekleed als pelgrim in doolhof, Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert, 1624 |trans-title=Child dressed as a pilgrim in a labyrinth, Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert, 1624 |url=https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-P-BI-2233 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524224001/https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-P-BI-2233 |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |access-date=March 18, 2023 |publisher=Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, home of the Dutch masters |language=nl}} |
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[[File:Лабиринт_человеческой_жизни.jpg|right|thumb|"The Labyrinth of Human Life" from the Museum of the History of Religion, 1860s]] |
[[File:Лабиринт_человеческой_жизни.jpg|right|thumb|"The Labyrinth of Human Life" from the Museum of the History of Religion, 1860s]] |
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Dolgova identified several more engravings that could be related to "spiritual labyrinth" iconography:{{sfn|Dolgova|2011|p=162}} |
Dolgova identified several more engravings that could be related to "spiritual labyrinth" iconography:{{sfn|Dolgova|2011|p=162}} |
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