Vladimir Soloukhin SEARCHING FOR ICONS IN RUSSIA
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Vladimir Soloukhin SEARCHING FOR ICONS IN RUSSIA
First edition, first print hardback of SEARCHING FOR ICONS IN RUSSIA, by Vladimir Soloukhin (translated from the Russian by P S Falla) and published by the Harvill Press in 1971.The book is in near fine condition. The dust jacket, which is price clipped, has very little signs of wear apart from a bit of rubbing to the edges, nothing more. Internally, the pages are clean and tight and there are no tears. There is a previous owner's gift inscription on the front free end paper.
Collectors are born, not made. Vladimir Soloukhin, the well known Russian writer, is certainly possessed of that almost irrational passion which is characteristic of the true collector. One day, he saw some friends removing layers of over-painting from an icon and eventually disclosing the original medieval picture in all its beauty. From that moment his enthusiasm became fixed on icons. Not the great ones, preserved in museums, but the surviving local icons in villages. The spirit of the chase took hold of him and he pursued them all over the Volga province - and who was to say that amongst he might not discover a masterpiece.
His quest was not an easy one because innumerable churches had been demolished or converted to secular use, their furnishings, including their icons, scattered, lost or destroyed.
In this book he describes how he came upon various clues as to the whereabouts of certain icons and the adventures that befell him in following them up.
A few of his best finds had been hidden away by 'believers' when their church was wrecked or closed. Of these he found some to be so deeply cherished that he had not the heart to suggest that the owner should part with them. Others he rescued from imminent destruction.
Soloukhin's account gives his reader a remarkable insight into both life in Russian villages and the state of religion in the area he covered. His book is also fascinatingly informative about icons in general, how to date them, how to recognise the subject of the painting, how to determine whether what is seen is an over-painting, and if it is, how to uncover the original design.
191 pages, 1 colour frontispiece and 10 black & white photographs. ISBN: 00 272109 00We use industry standard packaging
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Vladimir Soloukhin SEARCHING FOR ICONS IN RUSSIA