ICONOGRAPHIC DETAILS OF THE IMAGE OF SAINT CATHERINE FROM THE MONASTERY OF SAINT CATHERINE AT SINAI

Abstract

The aim of the article is to reveal the iconographic features of the image of the Christian Catherine of Alexandria (282–305), presented in the monastery of the same name on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Special attention is paid to the diversity of interpretations of the images of the Great Martyr in the traditions of various iconographic schools, the specificity of the plots, including those with life marks, the artistic features of the depiction of the symbols of the Saint's martyrdom, the specificity of the depiction of the iconic space around her and its filling. The characteristic features of Catherine of Alexandria, known from typical iconographic copies of icons and images of manuscripts, which are kept in the monastery of the same name, founded in the 3rd century AD in Sinai, are emphasized. Typical compositional techniques of the image of the Saint are described, presented in the Museum of the Monastery of St. Catherine, the oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery in the world, and protected by UNESCO as a monument of special importance for humanity, where the Unburnt Bush and the Well of Moses are located. The research toolkit is based on a set of principles, approaches and methods. Thus, the principles of scientific reliability and comprehensiveness, art historical approach, axiological, ontological, hermeneutic, semiotic, historicalchronological, historical-cultural, comparative, cross-cultural, culture-creating, typological, iconographic, iconological, prosopographic, and the method of art historical analysis are applied. Among the important tasks of the study is to trace the main types of iconographic derivations of Catherine of Alexandria; presented at Sinai; the vital marks of the Saint are considered; the artistic features of the images of the aforementioned Great Martyr are characterized. The emphasis is on symbolic objects presented by icon painters of different countries in the icons of Saint Catherine. The emphasis is on prosopographic sources, which reveal the essence of the life feat and martyrdom of a Christian woman.