Founded in 2006 by the Nypro CEO Gordon B Lankton, the Museum of Russian Icons is a hidden gem in Central Massachusetts. On a whim, I decided to visit the museum today and ended up spending almost three hours in this beautifully restored building at 203 Union Street in Clinton.

On a business trip to Russia in 1989, Mr Lankton purchased his first icon at a flea market.  When his collection outgrew the space in his home, he decided to build a museum to house it.  He was advised by art professionals to establish the museum in Boston or New York, but he decided to honor the town which supported his business endeavors, and we in Worcester County  are richer for that decision.  Today, the Museum counts over 500 icons and artifacts in its collection; approximately 250 are exhibited in the galleries.

On display until May 26th is an exhibit of antique maps from the collection of Russian-American engineer Denis Khotimsky titled “Pathways to Russia.” I love maps of all kinds (dream job: cartographer), and these were particularly fascinating because I know almost nothing about Russia.  Many older maps presented facts about the place depicted by including pictorial commentary, such as the drawing of inhabitants in native costume on the right.  The area is recognizably Russia, don’t you think?

Here is a old map of Moscow; the river is the Moskva:

At 11:30 I joined the tour given by the docent.  She was excellent, and I wish I had brought pen and paper to take notes.  She highlighted the outstanding pieces and provided a wealth of information about the museum, about Russian history, the Orthodox Church, and the significance of icons as art.  I took a lot of photos, but they came out so poorly that I will only include two in this post.  Here are a few facts that I remember, which I tried to verify with my own cursory research on the web:

• Icons are now considered Russian national treasures and their export out of the country is subject to stringent controls
• Icons as religious objects date back to the early days of Christianity; stylistic influences include Hellenic, Roman, and Egyptian art
• An icon is defined as an “image of a holy person or event, created by an iconographer who follows the strict standards of the Orthodox Church”
• Icons are made of wood, with a layer of gesso applied; egg yolk and crushed minerals are mixed to form a paint called tempera, which is applied to the board in layers; the finished painting is sealed with linseed oil and other varnishing agents which serve to protect it
• Although the Museum does not own miracle-working icons, the icons on display are not replicas; they are considered original art because they were hand-made by monks in the traditional and canonical way
• There are five major types of the Theotokos (Mother of God) icon: Hodigitria, Tenderness, The Sign, Pokrov, and The Enthroned (I think the museum has examples of all five types)

Here is a typical Mother of God image with the baby Jesus, who doesn’t look like an infant; to the left is an icon with a cover, which I had not known about — this one is richly decorated:

Here is a fascinating image of the Mother of God with three hands:

If you are interested in Russian art, history, or religion, I encourage you to visit this museum; I think you’ll find it well worth your while.