And Everything around No Longer Exists: Alina Kistanova on Creating Icons
Alina Kistanova is a young icon painter. A recent graduate of the Stroganov Academy, she began painting icons as a teenager, and this was no accident. In an interview with Russian Icon Collection, Alina spoke about her search for God, the spiritual experience that icon painting gives, and the importance of icon collections from the past for contemporary artists.
How did you come to icon painting? What was your starting point?
My grandfather, Sergei Kutkin, is a member of the Artists’ Union of Russia. Every time I visited him, I would run to his studio, and he would tell me about different artists, his childhood, and how inspiration comes. In his studio, there is still an image of the Mother of God, which he painted. I always looked at this work with admiration, and I wanted to be able to do the same.
I started drawing when I was one and a half years old. I drew saints without knowing why. One day, when I was six, we went to a village church. I remember it was one of the Church Feasts that day. There were so many people I could not see anything around me, so I decided to look at what was above me. And I saw icons of incredible beauty that were bathed in sunlight. It impressed me very much.
When I was twelve years old, adolescence began, I had a lot of questions. What do people come to this world for? What is the truth? I found all the answers in religion, gradually immersed in it more and more, and something in me began to change. One day, I felt something that had never happened to me before. I was filled with a boundless love that was tearing me up inside. In various ways, I tried to express it in something, but everything was not exactly what I wanted. At one point, I just started to create an icon. And when I finished, I realized it was what my heart was taking me to.
What a beautiful story. How did your path develop further? Where did you go to study?
In 2024, I graduated from the Stroganov Academy, where I studied at the Department of Restoration of Monumental and Decorative Painting. I continue to study with private teachers and famous icon painters, constantly improving my knowledge and skills. I know all the techniques of icon painting, including pigments and oil on levkas, and I know how to prepare the board and make the primer. Now, I paint icons to order for private collections.
What was your first experience of painting an icon? What feelings did you experience?
I created my first icon with a simple pencil: it was Christ Pantocrator. Then, I painted Saint Catherine with oil paints on canvas. I remember seriousness and trepidation when I began to work. I carefully studied the vita of Saint Catherine. I must admit that I was afraid to start. But as soon as I took the brush in my hands, everything went easy and quickly. I gave this icon to a woman. She took it to the church to sanctify it, and there, I received my first blessing to paint icons from a priest. After that, I became much more confident about my path.
How do you begin to work on an icon?
First of all, with internal preparation. In addition to communion, blessing, and reading prayers, one must study the life of the saint. At some point, I usually feel the unconditional love that fills my heart and soul. I capture this state of mind and begin to work on the icon.
Some artists talk about a moment of enlightenment. Have you experienced something similar? How does it affect the working process?
Indeed, when painting an icon, there is a moment of enlightenment, as if you come into contact with the saint you are painting. Everything around no longer exists and the concentration is only on the work. The icon emanates warmth and it gradually begins to come to life. The most interesting thing is that after the artwork is finished, almost the whole painting process is erased from your memory. You look at the icon in a completely different way as if you were seeing it for the first time.
How has your perception of God and the spiritual world changed since you started painting icons?
Once, a marvelous story happened. I asked God a question that worried me. The next day, I decided to take a candle out of the box for evening prayer. I noticed that the box was lying in a puddle of oil with a floral fragrance coming from it. I could not understand where the oil came from because there was nothing on the shelf except icons and candles. I called my mom over, and she said it was similar to myrrh in texture and fragrance. We wiped the oil off, and after a while, it reappeared. And it went on like that all night. I had already seen myrrh flowing in a prayer book of a woman, and then I wondered how the oil came out of the paper. And then I faced it myself.
Are there moments when the work does not go on? How do you overcome a creative or spiritual crisis?
Fortunately, there has never been a creative crisis in my work with icons. On average, I paint about three icons every month. But like all creative people, I also need inspiration. Pilgrimage trips give it to me. Last November, I visited Alexander Svirsky Monastery, I was lucky enough to touch his relics. Then, in the Kazan Cathedral, I touched the icon of Xenia of St. Petersburg. And when I returned home, I immediately received an order for an icon of her! And the icon was born from those vivid emotions of the trip.
Who of the masters of the past or present inspires you?
If we talk about the masters of the past, I like the icons of Andrei Rublev. Of course, he is the most famous and revered in Russia master of icon painting and monumental fresco painting, he was the first to present theological subjects in a new way.
I am fascinated by the icons of Alipiy Konstantinov, for example, the Valaam icon of the Mother of God. This is the most famous icon painted by his hand. It was said about him that “for some his work was a standard of mastery and deep comprehension of the meaning of the icon while for others, it became a symbol of the talent that died out in the monastery.” He painted in the academic style with a mixed technique and created the base with tempera paints, followed by oil painting. In our time, icons of academic painting often find a greater response in the hearts of people because the praying person feels contact with the icon. And it is easier for him to immerse himself in a prayerful state.
What are your impressions of the Oleg Kushnirskiy collection of icons?
I was fascinated by the Oleg Kushnirskiy collection because of how subtly and with deep meaning all the icons are chosen. Especially interesting to me are the icons of small size, with many miniature scenes around the central image. They were made by masters of icon painting villages of Vladimir Province and are of great historical value. And the collection as a whole carries spiritual power and energy, which makes it truly priceless.
What do you think about the significance of such collections for modern icon painting?
Each collection is an opportunity to tell the stories of icons and their creators. After all, every artist and iconographer brings something of himself when painting an icon.
Collections of the past are essential for the development of modern iconography. Icon painters need to be familiar with and understand different techniques and methods. It is very valuable that there are people who collect icons, restore them, and thus preserve the heritage of the past for us.