Nikodim (or Nikodeme) Pavlovich Kondakov (; 1 (13) November 1844, Olshanka,

Kursk Governorate Kursk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1796 to 1928 with its capital in Kursk. Administrative divisions As of 1914, Kursk Governorate included 15 uyezds. * Belgorods ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

– 17 February 1925,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

), was an art historian with special expertise in the

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of Russian and Serbian Christian icons. He is remembered as a pioneer among art historian who studied the treasures of

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

like Frenchman Gabriel Millet.

Biography

Nicodem Pavlovitch Kondakov was born in the

in 1844, in the village of Khalan in

. He attended

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

under Fedor Buslaev from 1861 to 1865. After graduation he taught in the Moscow Art School. In 1870 he became a lecturer in the University of Novorossia,

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

(now Odessa National University,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), and in 1877 a professor there. From 1888 he taught in

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. From 1893 he was a member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, and from 1898 a member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. In 1895 with Fyodor Uspensky he founded the Russian Archaeological Institute of Constantinople. During the

Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and the

Civil War in Russia The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

Kondakov lived in

and

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

(see:

South Russia (1919–1920) South Russia or South of Russia (), also known as White South () was a short-lived military quasi-state that existed in Eastern Europe during the Southern Front of the Russian Civil War from 1919 to 1920. South Russia was established on 8 Janu ...

). In 1920 he emigrated to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, and then to

, where he taught in

Prague University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

until his death in 1925. In his first book, on Greek

manuscript illumination An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers and liturgical books such as psalters and ...

, published in 1877, Kondakov approached the stylistic evolution of eastern Romanesque art through the use of artistic ideal. He collaborated with

Salomon Reinach Salomon Reinach (29 August 1858 – 4 November 1932) was a French archaeologist, religious historian and was a major figure in the Franco-Jewish establishment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was vice president of the ...

in ''Antiquités de la Russie Méridionale'' (1891). His lectures influenced future historians, among others,

Michael Rostovtzeff Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzeff, or Rostovtsev (; – October 20, 1952), was a Russian historian whose career straddled the 19th and 20th centuries and who produced important works on ancient Roman and Greek history. He served as president of t ...

. Kondakov wrote numerous works on the history of Ancient Greek, Russian, Georgian and Eastern Roman art. He founded the modern method in the history of the art of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

External links

Iconography of Mother of God
vol. 1–2. Saint Petersburg 1914; Prague 1915
History of Byzantine Miniature Painting
(1876/2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kondakov, Nikodim 1844 births 1925 deaths People from Belgorod Oblast People from Novooskolsky Uyezd Members of the Russian Assembly Privy Councillor (Russian Empire) 19th-century historians from the Russian Empire Archaeologists from the Russian Empire Russian art historians Medievalists from the Russian Empire Byzantinists from the Russian Empire Historians of Byzantine art Imperial Moscow University alumni Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Members of the Macedonian Scientific Institute Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class White Russian emigrants to Bulgaria White Russian emigrants to Czechoslovakia Burials at Olšany Cemetery Russian scientists

Biography

See also

Further reading

External links