Nikodim (or Nikodeme) Pavlovich Kondakov (russian: Никоди́м Па́влович Кондако́в; 1 (13) November 1844,

Olshanka Olshanka (russian: Ольшанка) is the name of several rural localities in Russia. Modern localities * Olshanka, Belgorod Oblast, a '' selo'' in Chernyansky District of Belgorod Oblast * Olshanka, Lutensky Rural Administrative Okrug, Kletnya ...

Kursk Governorate Kursk Governorate ( rus, Ку́рская губе́рния, r=Kúrskaya gubérniya) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, located in European Russia. It existed from 1796 to 1928; its seat was in the city o ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– 17 February 1925,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

), was an art historian with special expertise in the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

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

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

like Frenchman

Gabriel Millet Gabriel Millet (17 April 1867 – 8 May 1953) was a French archaeologist and historian. Biography After he passed his agrégation of history in 1891, Gabriel Millet became a member of the French School at Athens, then director of the École ...

Biography

Nicodem Pavlovitch Kondakov was born in the

in 1844, in the village of Khalan in

. He attended

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

under

Fedor Buslaev Fedor Ivanovich Buslaev (russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Бусла́ев; April 25, 1818 – August 12, 1898) was a Russian Empire philologist, art historian, and folklorist who represented the Mythological school of comparative literat ...

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 Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

(now Odessa National University,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

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

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter t ...

. From 1893 he was a member of the

Russian Academy of Fine Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

, and from 1898 a member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

. In 1895 with

Fyodor Uspensky Fyodor Ivanovich Uspensky or Uspenskij (russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Успе́нский ) was a Russian Empire and Soviet Byzantinist. His works are considered to be among the finest illustrations of the flowering of Byzantine studie ...

he founded the Russian Archaeological Institute of Constantinople. During the

Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and the

Civil War in Russia {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

Kondakov lived in

and

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a 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 Crimea ...

(see:

South Russia (1919–1920) South Russia or South of Russia (russian: Юг Росси́и, ''Yug Rossii'') 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 esta ...

). In 1920 he emigrated to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, and then to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, where he taught in

Prague University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , underg ...

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 often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

, 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 mos ...

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

Michael Rostovtzeff Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzeff, or Rostovtsev (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Росто́вцев; – October 20, 1952), was a Russian historian whose career straddled the 19th and 20th centuries and who produced important works ...

. 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 referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

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) 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 Saint Petersburg State University faculty 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

Biography

See also

Further reading

External links