A brand-new souvenir set in an illustrated cover “Russian and Serbian Cultural Heritage. Icon Painting” is now available at our Collectioner Showrooms. The set includes postage stamps of 2010 and a wood-made stamp sheet. The stamps feature Andrey Rublyov’s well-known icon of the Archangel Michael from the State Tretyakov Gallery collection and the icon of Hodegetria from the National Museum of Serbia collection in Belgrade. The souvenir set complements a joint postage stamp issue between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia dedicated to art and released in 2010.
The art of icon painting in Russia started in 10th century. Despite the influence of the Byzantine canons, the old Russian icon had a unique national trace. The pieces of work by Russian iconographers are characterized by exclusive artistic expression and identity. The Serbian icon painting has been known since the 13th century, but many icons were destroyed during the Turkish invasion. That is why very few items dated between the 13th to 15th centuries have survived. Based on the Byzantine traditions, Serbian iconographers incorporated national originality in their icons: their characters are distinguished by spirituality and acute emotional intensity.