Is it true that the astronaut Alexei Leonov wrote an icon?

Alexey Leonov is not only the first person who went into outer space, but also an amateur artist. Did the legendary astronaut really use his artistic talents in religious painting? We checked if there is an icon among Leonov’s works.

The fact that Alexei Leonov was fond of painting became known for a long time, and in 2017 the Tretyakov Gallery even accepted two of its canvases in its collection. At the same time, in many memorial publications, plots and documentary films that were released at the end of 2019 in connection with the death of the astronaut, it emphasized: the first person in outer space tried himself in religious art. Not everyone believed that one of the most famous astronauts, the heroes of the Soviet atheistic time, could write an icon.

Back in the 2000s, the idea of ​​a special icon for astronauts appeared in Archpriest Gennady (Belovolov)- rector The Leushinsky Compound in St. Petersburg and the creator of the Memorial Museum of St. John of Kronstadt in Kronstadt. He RememberingWhat once accepted in his temple a priest with Baikonur, and during the communication of Belovolov, the idea of ​​creating an image for the cosmodrome visited. After some time, the priest came to the conclusion that it was necessary to offer the spelling of the icon to Leonov, known for his passion with painting. In 2013, they discussed this idea, and the former astronaut agreed.

Belovolov describes in detail how he acted as a kind of consultant for Leonov, who had never previously occupied icons. He, in turn, explained some of the features of the future image: he decided to write the Virgin against the background of the cosmos, and the coasted ships of Apollo and the Soyuz are depicted in the form of a cross. In addition, Leonov refused to write faces, and Valery Skoda, an artist and an icon painter from the St. Petersburg courtyard, where he served the rector of Belovolov, performed this work for him. It remains an unknown who was engaged in halo and special inscriptions, which are implied on the Orthodox icon. The story told by Belovolov, confirmed Alexey Leonov himself in one of his interviews. The astronaut is shown in his workshop next to the icon and in plot Channel One.

During the writing of the image, Leonov also had the idea of ​​one icon for Baikonur not to limit himself, and in 2014 the astronaut wrote, as he himself said, “three or four copies”. The priest calls the places where these copies can be seen: the Plesetsk cosmodrome, the Museum of John of Kronstadt in Kronstadt and the temple near the death site of Yuri Gagarin in the Vladimir region. A peculiar memorial to the first cosmonaut was in many ways Leonov’s personal project - he not only gave the church his icon, but also Created Temple frescoes. We are not able to find confirmation that Leon's images are still stored and used on Baikonur and Plesetsk.

At the same time, some criticize The image created by Leonov, indicating that it is difficult to call it a canonical icon. Regardless of the justice of these comments, both the priest of the Belovolov, and the astronaut himself conceived to write the icon. Despite the fact that the important elements of the final version were created by other people, most of the work was still done by Leonov.

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Read on the topic:

1. https://otets-gennadiy.livejournal.com/166967.html
2. https://otets-gennadiy.livejournal.com/380365.html
3. https://pravoslavie.ru/126003.html