Holy Icon

"The Girl Swifter than a Horse", acrylic on gesso board, Bishop Maxim, 2025

This portrait depicts a mythical maiden, not born of man and woman, but fashioned by nature and the spirits of folk legend. She was drawn from the abyss of snow, brought to life by the wind, nursed by the morning dew, clothed in forest leaves, and adorned by the blossoms of the meadow. Her appearance transcends the human: whiter than snow, rosier than a rose, brighter than the sun of Elijah’s sky. Her gaze is swift and piercing, her body caught in motion, as if forever escaping the bounds of time and nature. In this work, the painter weaves folklore and dreamlike radiance into a figure of symbolic feminine power—elusive, untamed, swifter even than the fastest horse.