Kondakov, Nicodim Paulovitch

KONDAKOV, NICODIM PAULOVITCH. - Russian Byzantinist, b. at Chalan (government of Kursk), in 1844, d. at Prague on 16 February 1925. He taught from 1871 to 1887 history of art at the University of Odessa; then at St. Petersburg from 1888 to 1917. He was curator, for the medieval and Renaissance section, of the Hermitage Museum of that city, and a correspondent of the Institut de France. Following the Bolshevik Revolution, persecuted and deprived of his property, he left Russia at the age of 76, and took refuge, in 1920, first at Sofia, then at Prague, teaching his favorite subject at the respective universities.

During the time of his residence in his homeland, K. made numerous journeys both in Russia and in other parts of Europe, especially in Italy, which he traveled through entirely and regarded as his second homeland; he also directed various archaeological missions in Syria, Palestine, Macedonia, Georgia, etc. The fruit of his studies and his journeys are certain works fundamental for the knowledge of Byzantine and Russian art, namely: History of Byzantine Art, Considered in the Miniatures of Greek Manuscripts (2 vols., 1876; translated by Travinski into French, and completely redone in 1886 and 1891); The Byzantine Enamels (1892, translated into French and German); Russian Antiquities in Art Monuments (1889-99); Archaeological Journey in Syria and Palestine (1904); Macedonia. Archaeological Journey (1909); Journey to Sinai (1882); Monuments of Christian Art on Mount Athos (1903); Iconography of the Lord (1905); Iconography of the Madonna (4 vols., Paris 1914-1915; in this work the relations of Greek and Russian religious painting with Italian painting of the early Renaissance are studied; vol. III, relating to Italian painting, is incomplete; the manuscript of vol. IV, saved from confiscation, was purchased by Pius XI); The Russian Icon (in the course of publication at Prague since 1929, edited by the Seminarium Kondakovianum founded in Prague to perpetuate his memory); Recollections and Reflections (Prague 1927).

Carlo Carletti