Russian Icons
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Archangel Michael
Notes:
The Archangel Michael
Tver (?)
Many icons attributed to Tver are in actuality adaptations made in the surrounding provinces. In fact, many of the icons produced in Tver were destroyed along with the region's monasteries and churches when the city lost its independence to the Muscovite princes.
Tver was particularly active during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a time of intense political dispute between the Tver princes and their domineering Muscovite rivals. The highly developed monastic lifestyle of Tver ensured the continuity of contacts established throughout the Orthodox world, particularly with the famous Grecian monasteries of Mt. Athos, which were known for their school of icon painting.
As throughout all of Russia, meditative prayer before icons was stressed in Tver spiritual life; special emphasis was placed on an attitude of repentance and modesty. Thus, icons produced for the courts of Tver reflected a unique combination of influences -- those of the deeply spiritual environment of the monastic life combined with the luxury of the aristocratic court.