Saint Simeon the Stylite

Icon from the second half of the 16th century found at Velikii Ustyug (a town in Vologda Oblast, Rusia). Tempera on wood; 123 x 86 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

In the icon Saint Symeon is represented in the monastic cloak and veil, holding a leaf of parchment, on a high, six-sided column, with a six sided platform and baluster. The platform is protected by an elevated baldachin supported on four colonnettes. Below the platform floats a blue cloud. In this way, the great height of the column is emphasized, since it rises through the clouds. A balcony projects on the right side of the column, while at the bottom of the column, a small archway encloses a staircase leading to the top. Flanking the bottom of the column are two multisided buildings for Simeon’s disciples. The left-hand building has gabled roofs topped by a pyramid, and the right-hand structure is covered by a baldachin; the roofs of both edifices are supported by very thin colonnettes. On the right of the column hangs a cup and on the left a pitcher. It may be that the architecture in the icon, with the baldachin and the colonnettes, reflects the unusual construction of the Church of Saint Simeon (Qal at Siman), which is a faithful replica of the columns and arches retained from antiquity.

Arquitecture as Icon, Perception and Representation of Architecture in Byzantine Art. Princeton University Art Museum. Yale University Press.