AZ07. Saint Nifont

Russian
19th century
Panel: 9cm x 7cm; 1.3cm thickness

Inscription: Identifies him as Saint Nifont in Church Slavonic

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No. 7. Detail. The crosses and insignia on his shoulders denote the ‘Great Schema’, the highest level of monastic austerity.

Nifont is a Greek-born Russian saint. He was the Bishop of Novgorod from 1130 and Christianised the area around Pskov and Lagoda. He was exiled from Novgorod for refusing to remarry the prince of the city. He was a strong defender of the primacy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople over Russia and came into conflict with the Russian church authorities. He died in 1156, 13 days after receiving a vision of Saint Theodosius where he was told of his impending death.

The high quality of the work with its precise attention to detail and attractive painterly values reveal a highly competent artist. He has revived the style of the seventeenth century.

Fig. 1. Back of panel