The Russian Icon: From Its Origins to the Sixteenth Century by Viktor Nikitich Lazarev (review)

534book reviews graphical sources that are the foundation of his study. Through most of the work Howe judiciously acknowledges the perspective and limitations of his texts as he narrates his history of Dominic and his world, but contradictions do occur. In his discussion of Dominic's holiness, for example, resonances with the life of Benedict and his Rule are attributed to his hagiographers (pp. 63-64). The implication here is that they reflect the hagiographer's perception and construction of Dominic's sanctity. In the subsequent chapter on his Benedictinism , however, such resemblances are confidently asserted as representing Dominic's "practice" (p. 86). They may, but then again they may not. What we can know are how the communities that venerated and interacted with Dominic saw him, and one of the strengths of other aspects of the author's study is the weight he accords these communities. That -we know anything at all of Dominic is the result of his ability to move others. And yet the communities that developed around this individual were fragile; they did not long outlast him. Indeed, their most lasting result seems a bit sinister: Howe argues that the counts of Marsica used what they learned from Dominic about the power inherent in ecclesiastical patronage to take over, and ultimately destroy, the great abbey of Monte Cassino. These relationships—between charismatic individuals and the varied communities that formed around them—and their influence upon our understanding of someone like Dominic, merit sustained consideration . Hopefully others will take up this theme, and Howe's fine book is good inspiration to do so. Our understanding of the medieval Church will be enormously enriched if we incorporate into its history the less "successful" or enduring ventures, like Dominic's monastic foundations and ministry, that did not directly contribute to the Church of Innocent III that still so dominates our historiography . Maureen C. Miller Hamilton College The Russian Icon:From Its Origins to the Sixteenth Century. ByViktor Nikitich Lazarev. Edited by G. I.Vzdornov. Translated from the Italian by ColetteJoIy Dees. English text edited by Nancy McDarby. (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press. 1996. Pp. 402. $99.95.) Viktor Nikitich Lazarev (1897-1976) was a renowned scholar of early Russian , Byzantine, and Western art, whose innovative books and articles are treasured by scholars and artists in many lands and in several academic disciplines. Within the field of Russian studies, Lazarev is much admired for his masterful studies of Byzantine religious painting and his pioneering scholarship on Russian iconography. This volume, a grand presentation of Russian religious painting from the mid-eleventh to the sixteenth century, serves as a magnificent memorial to Lazarev's accomplishments. book reviews535 Those unfamiliar with the Russian icon might well find this work the finest possible introduction to this field. With patience and this book in hand, the inquiring beginner can undertake a brief but intense course of study and smoothly gain sound appreciation of Russian iconography in its historical and cultural context. Lazarev begins with an absorbing introductory chapter concerning the discovery and restoration of early Russian icons; his plain style of exposition enables him to encompass a great array offactual and historical data in a few pages. Most non-specialists will be surprised to learn that aesthetic appreciation of Russian icons dates only to the very late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and that scientific cleaning and restoration of icons became widespread only as late as 1905. The antireligious campaign later mounted by the Soviet state was responsible for greatly encouraging the collection , preservation, and restoration of icons, because of the Soviet policy of restoring confiscated icons and state support of many scholars who served in Soviet state commissions and studios for preserving and renewing treasures of Russian national art. Lazarev then offers interesting general observations on the history of religious art in early Russia. He explains the various historical forces that isolated the Russian North from Byzantine influence, making it "easier for the Russians to find their own artistic path" in creating a national school of sacred painting. He examines the artistic centers that arose in Novgorod, Pskov, Moscow, and the central Russian principalities, placing in historical context their more important icons and...