Icon Spas nerukotvornyi (Savior-Not-Made-by-Hands) from the Maniava Hermitage iconostasis 1705

Curator: Standing before us is “Icon Spas nerukotvornyi (Savior-Not-Made-by-Hands) from the Maniava Hermitage iconostasis” painted in 1705 by Yov Kondzelevych using oil paints. Editor: It's immediately striking. The face, haloed not in gold, but in thorns, possesses such an intense quiet. The cherubic figures feel like a dreamlike offering. Curator: It’s an unusual but significant representation, particularly for its time. The icon belongs to a specific type called "Mandylion", depicting the Holy Face imprinted on a cloth. Editor: Almost photographic, really. In that early-image kind of way... It makes you consider ideas around authenticity and evidence, or maybe just longing? Like a desire to see something, *anything,* clear. Curator: Precisely. Kondzelevych, as an artist and a prominent figure in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was consciously reviving Byzantine traditions within a local context. The placement within the iconostasis signified a visual theology meant to guide the faithful. Editor: There’s this rawness to the medium… Oil paint, not something one immediately associates with icon painting! The earthy tones coupled with its symbolic weight creates an odd, but amazing, tension. Curator: Indeed, Kondzelevych bridged those worlds. He draws upon earlier artistic styles to produce pieces, like this one, to reassert religious identity amidst socio-political pressures of the time. Editor: I feel invited to witness a mystery. Not in some theatrical way, but in a very personal one. Like I’m standing at a distance, maybe, being shown something sacred and vulnerable at the same time. Curator: Yes, there is that quality! It’s like a shared secret or silent revelation that prompts introspection rather than spectacle. The 'Savior-Not-Made-by-Hands’ appears not just as an image, but an encounter. Editor: Thanks for bringing this painting to life for me! The more I gaze upon this oil painting, the more I see that tension turn into beauty. It invites reflection on its religious and political purpose to make its mark. Curator: My pleasure. Its history as a representation of resilience, and reflection of cultural identity continues to speak powerfully to us today.