Yakov Kazanets and Simon Ushakov. The Annunciation with 12 Scenes of the Akathist

This icon of 1659 combines the image of the Annunciation with twelve border scenes, small compositions on themes of the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. It was painted by the Armoury Chamber masters Yakov Kazanets (Rudakov) and Simon Ushakov.

In 1648 the two icon painters became salaried masters at the same time; Kazanets was probably the elder of the two. Igor Grabar examined in detail the 1659 icon “The Annunciation with Akathist” from the Moscow church of the Georgian Mother of God in Kitay-gorod. According to its inscription, Yakov Kazanets painted the image “up to the faces”, while Simon Ushakov painted the faces throughout the icon. Grabar believed that the composition was most likely devised by Kazanets; according to him, the twelve border scenes illustrating the kontakia of the Akathist were regarded as Ushakov’s finest works.

The church of the Georgian Mother of God was the name given to the Church of the Trinity in Nikitniki: from 1654 its main relic was a copy of the venerated Georgian icon. Since 1934 the church has been part of the State Historical Museum. The icon is painted in tempera on wood.