Alypius of the Caves

This 11th-century artist painted icons on wood panels in the Kievan Rus’ tradition. Their only known work here is the Icon of Saints Anthony and Theodosius with the Theotokos Panachranta, gold-leafed and stiffly frontal, where saints stand beside the Virgin in a single plane of color and line. It’s a window into the visual language of medieval Eastern Christianity, no perspective, lots of gold, figures that feel more like symbols than people. Tap the icon to see the Theotokos’s dark blue cloak catch the light.