LEGEND OF ST VERONICA
In 1879, in St. Petersburg was an exhibition of German artists. One of them, Gabriel von Max, presented the painting "St. Veronica's handkerchief with the image nailed to the wall of a piece of coarse linen with the face of Christ in the center. Unusual pattern was that viewers could see the eyes of the Savior is closed, then open. Newspapers of the time wrote that the organizers had to put chairs in the hall, as some of the ladies fainted, exclaiming: "Look!" Look! "
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Of course, the enigmatic painting attracted the attention of metropolitan artists who tried to unravel the secret, and the artist Ivan Kramskoy wrote about her story for the magazine "New Era", which described the methods by which the German author is seeking the desired effect.
The legend of Saint Veronica spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. Later it became the official Church tradition, it has been recognized as a true, as recorded in the Gospels. When Jesus Christ were to Mount Calvary, there to crucify him, some tender-hearted woman named Veronica wiped a handkerchief from his face with sweat that covered his eyes. At the same time on the shawl miraculously imprinted image of the Savior in the crown of thorns. The legend became the foundation of the Orthodox icon of The Holy Face. " We, the non-experts, the easiest way to find this icon on the image scarf, on which the face of Jesus, even though the scarf (most say "boards") paint a different and rather conventional. Western Christians have such an image is called "holy handkerchief of Veronica."
From a connoisseur of Russian art a priest Valentine Dronov I heard a story that quote here verbatim: "Two or three times in my life did I see the icon of the" Holy Face "is a wonderful property. The eyes of Jesus on it seemed then open, then closed. It depended on mental state prayer. If he was calm - Savior as if asleep. If, however, was agitated - his eyes were opened. Houses Valentine's father kept a photograph of that image, which is given here.
I have not been able to find anything like this in our museums. In the guide to Bethlehem - the city where, according to tradition, Christ was born, said that one of the frescoes on the column in the church of the Nativity has the same property: the face on an icon opens and closes his eyes. "
Icon, which is told, is very rare, it is important any evidence that people who had seen or even heard of such images. We ask readers must notify the Editorial Board.
Kalinin.
1) Gabriel von Max. "St. Veronica's handkerchief." 1870's. Germany.
2) "Holy Face". Image of the 1970's with the picture of an unknown artist, Russia.