Dear friends! We continue to acquaint you with the Artistic Heritage of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the paintings of the Lavra Church of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk, in particular the image of Saint Isaiah the Prophet.

Images of four great prophets depicted in medallions of the friso in the Refectory Church are filled with a special, deep meaning. The pictorial characteristics of the characters of ancient history are maximally saturated with the touching attitude of Ivan Izhakevych, the Lavra artist.

The painter "caught" the prophet Isaiah in a state of long reflection: the saint was completely immersed in himself. Ivan Izhakevych does not reflect any other of the prophetic images of the friso in the state of such psychological concentration of the character at the moment of enlightenment of the future, as in this medallion. The head of the thinker is bowed, his eyes are downcast, and at the same time - the openness of his clean forehead with a tense fold reveals the inner energy. The words from the 25th chapter of the Book of Isaiah are written on the scroll of the prophet: “LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name... ”(Isa. 25: 1). Professor Olexandr Lopukhin aptly said about the great prophetic work of Isaiah in the late 19th century: "The Book of Isaiah is distinguished by a special elegance and purity of speech, that is why some call him the "king of the prophets"".

The text was prepared by Olena Pitateleva, the senior research worker

of the Research Division for the Study of Artistic Heritage

Picture caption

Ivan Izhakevych. Saint Isaiah the Prophet. The early 20th century. Paintings of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk Church.