The article examines a text and a series of miniature of a miscellany of didactic nature, compiled and designed by a famous figure from the Fedoseevtsy denomination: book publisher, engraver, bookbinder, icon painter, and educator Luka Arefyevich Grebnev (1867–1932). Additionally, an attempt has been made to trace the fate of this unique manuscript, as well as L.A. Grebnev’s entire spiritual legacy. Thanks to the sound recording of Agnia Fominichna Grebneva, a granddaughter of the miscellany compiler, separate facts from the biography of the Grebnev family were restored. The presented manuscript demonstrates how versatile L.A. Grebnev was. Having an outstanding talent for compiling and copying texts, he also excelled as a miniaturist. The manuscript contains 79 illustrations, 5 of which are unfinished, demonstrating the artistic taste and individual style of their creator as well as his attitude towards the text and drawing. Using material of a didactic nature, taken from the popular miscellanies “Great Mirror”, “Bright Star”, “Roman Acts” and others, the master tried to convey important Christian truths to the reader. Detailed illustrations of the plots help to show and explain the episodes in the text more clearly and make it more accessible and interesting. The study of this manuscript is of great importance because it is an important element of the regional culture of the Vyatka region, which is inscribed in the overall layer of Old Believer culture from the late 19th to early 20th century. In addition, this miscellany has great value as a rare artistic artifact because it is the only fully illustrated manuscript known today, created by the hands of the outstanding bookmaster, Luka Arefyevich Grebnev.
Key words: Old Believers, illuminated miscellany, Luka Grebnev, manuscript, miniature, plots and drawings, features of iconography
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2024_1_160
About the author
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Natalia V. Anufrieva – Senior Research Fellow, Senior Archivist Laboratory of Archaeographic Studies, Ural Federal University; 19 Mira av., Yekaterinburg 630002, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |