Icon with The Fiery Ascension of the Holy Prophet Elijah

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Icon with The Fiery Ascension of the Holy Prophet Elijah

Place of OriginRussia

Date19th Century (?)

DimensionsTop: 11 1/2 in. (29.2 mm); Bottom: 11 3/4 in. (29.9 mm); PR: 14 1/8 in. (35.9 mm); PL: 14 1/4 in. (36.2 mm)

MediumGesso on panel, pigment.

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of the Popplestone Family

Object number

2006.117

Not on View

DescriptionA Russian Orthodox icon depicting the Fiery Ascension of the Prophet Elijah in a continuous narrative style. The composition is arranged in multiple registers featuring four key episodes from the Elijah cycle: Main Register (Top): Elijah ascends to heaven in a chariot of fire drawn by winged horses. To the right, Elisha catches Elijah’s falling mantle. In the upper left corner, God the Father (inscribed as Lord Sabaoth) blesses the event from a cloud mandorla. Central Register: Elijah sits within a stylized cave in the wilderness, fed bread by a raven (1 Kings 17:6). Lower Left: An angel wakes the sleeping Elijah under a bush (1 Kings 19:5–7). Lower Right: Elijah and Elisha stand at the banks of the Jordan River; Elijah prepares to strike the waters with his mantle (2 Kings 2:8). The panel features a red background and borders, characteristic of Northern Russian provincial workshops.

Label TextThis panel functions like a graphic novel, compressing four events from the life of the Prophet Elijah into a single landscape. At the center, Elijah retreats to the wilderness, where a raven sustains him with bread. Below, an angel wakes the exhausted prophet to continue his journey. The story culminates at the top: Elijah ascends to heaven in a chariot of fire, dropping his mantle—and his prophetic authority—to his successor, Elisha. The vivid red background identifies this as a "Northern" icon, created in a village workshop rather than an imperial studio.