Four Saints, Russia, Pskov, circa 1500 (vrezka)

standing full-length on a green ground, the Mandylion depicted on the upper border, the two saints on the left are dressed as bishops, possibly representing St Nicholas and St Basil the Great, the two saints on the right, a beardless martyr and a female martyr, possibly St Paraskeve, dressed in predominantly red robes, holding a martyr cross.

Private Collection, Germany

Handbook TEFAF Maastricht 1989, p. 29

The original icon transferred on to another panel in the 19th century. The left and right figures repainted during that time along the edges, just like the upper part of the heads of the four saints and the lower part of the dark green ground. The representation of the Mandylion dates from the 19th century, just as the small piece of brown painting in the upper right hand corner of the icon. Some retouching.
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The icon belongs to a type of small icons with frontally standing saints, especially widespread in Novgorod and Pskov during the late 15^th and 16^th centuries, the most famous example being the Novgorod tabletki from the Sophia cathedral. The present icon has characteristic features that point in the direction of Pskov, such as the intense red in combination with the green and dark blue, the slightly compressed figures, and the relatively round heads with piercing black eyes.  The original icon has been transferred into another panel in the 19^th century (vrezka).