How can a believer understand correctly the thick of scenes and characters? Multi-figure and multi-part compositions in Russian iconography between the 17th and 19th centuries

The paper is devoted to multi-figure and multi-part composition characteristic of Russian icon painting between the 17th and 19th centuries. Icons depicting several saints or scenes from the Holy Scriptures together, or showing several images of the Saviour or the Mother of God at the same time, were placed both in temples and in private households. The author analyses the specific images characteristic of this type of compositions, and presents his own classification of multi-part icons. The paper identifies the causes of multi-figure and multi-part samples appearance of Russian icon painting, and also establishes the connection of this phenomenon with the socio-cultural influence of Western Europe.