Why Vienna? The Remarkable History of Russian Icons in the West

The Russian Revolution of 1917: A Centuries-Old Tradition Under Threat

To understand why Russian icons began arriving in Western Europe in substantial numbers during the twentieth century, one must first consider their original significance within Orthodox society. In pre-revolutionary Russia, icons were virtually omnipresent. They adorned the iconostases of magnificent cathedrals as well as modest village churches and private homes.

In the Krasny Ugol, the beautiful or sacred corner of a traditional Russian household, families gathered in prayer before images of Christ, the Mother of God, and their personally venerated saints. Icons accompanied baptisms and weddings, were given to travelers for protection, and were preserved as family heirlooms across generations.

Unlike an ordinary painting, an icon has a particular theological function within Orthodox Christianity. Its veneration is directed not toward the physical image itself but toward the holy person represented. The icon is therefore understood not merely as an artistic depiction but as a visible expression of spiritual reality.

This religious significance helps explain why historical icons often remained in their original settings for centuries and why their eventual entry into the international art market represented such a profound cultural transformation.

The October Revolution of 1917 and the Bolshevik seizure of power disrupted this centuries-old order. The new Communist leadership regarded religion as an obstacle to its vision of social transformation. The Russian Orthodox Church, which had maintained close ties to the imperial government for centuries, became a particular target. As early as 1918, the separation of church and state was established by law, while ecclesiastical property was largely nationalized. The following years witnessed extensive confiscations, the dissolution of monasteries, and the persecution of clergy. Under Joseph Stalin, the state’s campaign against religion reached a scale that had devastating consequences for Russia’s cultural heritage. [1]

The closure and destruction of numerous churches frequently meant the loss of their historical furnishings. Iconostases were dismantled, liturgical vessels were melted down, and countless icons were removed from their original settings. Many were damaged or destroyed, while others entered state repositories and museums. The situation was particularly severe during the anti-religious campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s, when numerous religious buildings were repurposed or demolished.

The destruction of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 1931 became one of the most prominent symbols of this policy.

Yet the Soviet state’s attitude toward icon painting was marked by a remarkable contradiction. While the religious veneration of icons was suppressed, art historians and museum professionals increasingly recognized their exceptional artistic importance. During the early twentieth century, restorers had begun uncovering the original brilliance of medieval Russian icons beneath later overpainting and darkened varnishes.

Works previously regarded primarily as religious objects were now being appreciated as independent masterpieces of painting, worthy of comparison with the great artistic traditions of Western Europe.

Ironically, the very objects whose religious significance the Communist authorities sought to diminish would soon become valuable export commodities.

Icons for Foreign Currency: Soviet Art Exports in the 1920s and 1930s

By the late 1920s, the Soviet Union was undergoing a period of radical economic transformation. Under Stalin’s first Five-Year Plan, introduced in 1928, the government launched an ambitious program of industrialization requiring enormous quantities of machinery, technical equipment, and industrial infrastructure. Much of this equipment had to be purchased abroad, creating an urgent need for foreign currency.

Alongside exports of raw materials and agricultural products, the sale of state-owned art treasures was intended to help finance this industrial expansion.

Works of art and antiques from nationalized aristocratic and private collections, ecclesiastical property, and, in some cases, museum holdings were consequently made available to international buyers. In addition to Old Master paintings, furniture, silver, and other valuable objects, historical Russian icons were among the items offered for sale. A central role was played by the Soviet foreign trade organization Antikvariat, which became heavily involved in selecting, evaluating, and marketing art objects abroad beginning in 1928.

Art historian Wendy Salmond has documented this remarkable development in her study Russian Icons and American Money, 1928–1938. Her research demonstrates how Russian icons became internationally marketed art objects within the framework of Soviet state-controlled foreign trade. One of the greatest initial challenges was the need to establish a Western market for these works. Unlike European Old Master paintings, Russian icons were still relatively unfamiliar outside their countries of origin and had not yet become widely established as desirable collectibles. [2]

Soviet authorities therefore needed not only to identify potential buyers but also to cultivate Western interest in Russian icon painting. International exhibitions played an important role in this process. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, significant examples of early Russian painting were exhibited in several European cities and subsequently in the United States. Particularly influential was the Soviet traveling exhibition that opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1930 before continuing to other American museums. It helped introduce Russian icon painting to a much broader American audience as an important artistic tradition. [3]

The historical irony is difficult to overlook. While the Soviet government was suppressing the religious veneration of icons and closing churches at home, it simultaneously recognized their commercial value in the Western art market. Centuries-old devotional images, originally created for prayer and worship, were transformed into export commodities whose sale helped finance the industrialization of the Communist state.

For the works themselves, this development had differing consequences. Some were permanently removed from their religious and cultural contexts, while others survived subsequent decades of political persecution precisely because they had been transferred abroad. The routes through which individual icons entered Western collections were by no means uniform. Alongside organized Soviet sales, private collections, émigré possessions, and works exported before the Revolution also played important roles.

Vienna in 1929: A Forgotten Exhibition of Russian Icons

An exhibition held in Vienna in 1929 provides compelling evidence that the Austrian capital played a role in introducing Russian icon painting to Western audiences long before the Cold War. In September and October of that year, the Vienna Hagenbund presented an exhibition titled Denkmäler altrussischer Malerei. Russische Ikonen vom XII. bis XVIII. Jahrhundert (Monuments of Early Russian Painting: Russian Icons from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century). The exhibition took place at the Hagenbund’s premises on Zedlitzgasse in Vienna’s First District and was organized with the participation of the People’s Commissariat for Education of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Vienna Hagenbund artists’ association, and the Austrian Society for the Promotion of Intellectual and Economic Relations with the USSR. An original exhibition catalog survives. [4]

This exhibition is remarkable for several reasons. First, it demonstrates that Russian icon painting was the subject of a dedicated art exhibition in Vienna three decades before Ikonen Mautner was founded. It also documents cultural exchanges between Austria and the Soviet Union at a time when the political and social systems of the two countries could hardly have been more different.

The very works whose religious veneration was increasingly suppressed in Russia were being publicly celebrated in Vienna as important examples of medieval and early modern painting.

The 1929 exhibition was primarily a cultural and art-historical event. Its existence alone does not establish that Vienna was already a major commercial center for Soviet icon exports during the interwar period. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that the Austrian capital was among the European cities where Russian icon painting was introduced to an art-conscious public at an early stage.

The commercial relationships that later developed during the Cold War therefore did not emerge in a cultural vacuum; they built upon a much older history of encounters between Vienna and the Orthodox world.

Russian Emigration: Icons as Memories of a Lost Homeland

Alongside organized Soviet art exports, a second major route brought Russian icons to Western Europe: emigration. Following the Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Civil War, hundreds of thousands of people left the former Russian Empire. Among them were aristocrats, military officers, clergy, merchants, intellectuals, and families fleeing warfare, expropriation, and political persecution. Large Russian émigré communities developed particularly in Berlin, Paris, Prague, and Belgrade, but also in Vienna.

Many emigrants could take only a small portion of their belongings with them. Among their most treasured possessions were often family icons, which represented not only their Orthodox faith but also a direct connection to the homeland they had lost. An icon before which parents and grandparents had prayed could become an especially powerful symbol of familial and cultural continuity in exile. In the homes of Russian émigrés, small prayer corners were established once again, and these images resumed their traditional place.

Over the following decades, the circumstances of many émigré families changed. Some icons were passed down to subsequent generations, while others were given away or sold. Financial hardship sometimes forced families to part with valuable possessions. Historical icons consequently entered Western private collections in increasing numbers. Unlike state-organized Soviet art exports, these transactions often reflected individual family histories whose traces can now be reconstructed only partially.

Russian emigration thus contributed not only to the geographical distribution of Orthodox icons but also to their gradual incorporation into the Western art market. Images originally carried abroad as personal devotional objects eventually became historical works of art appreciated by collectors of different religious and cultural backgrounds.

The Russian Diaspora and the Orthodox Church in Vienna

Vienna also became a destination for Russian émigrés after the Revolution, although its Russian community remained considerably smaller than those in Berlin or Paris. Historian Ekaterina Belukova examined Russian emigration to Vienna between 1917 and 1945 in an academic study at the University of Vienna, emphasizing the importance of the Orthodox Church in maintaining cohesion within the émigré community. [5]

The Russian Orthodox presence in Vienna, however, dates back much further. A Russian Orthodox community existed in the Austrian capital as early as the eighteenth century, and during the nineteenth century Vienna became an important center of Russian diplomacy and culture. Between 1893 and 1899, the magnificent St. Nicholas Cathedral was constructed in Vienna’s Third District. It remains one of Austria’s most significant examples of Russian-Byzantine architecture.

The cathedral was closed in 1914 following the outbreak of World War I. After the Revolution and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Austria and the Soviet Union, the situation became more complicated because the cathedral stood on the grounds of the Russian diplomatic mission. Orthodox believers therefore organized alternative places of worship, including private premises and locations in nearby Baden. These religious communities became important centers of social cohesion, allowing émigrés to preserve their language, liturgical traditions, and cultural identity. [6]

Icons continued to play a central role within these communities. They connected individuals to their religious traditions and recalled a homeland that many would never see again. Vienna was therefore already part of the Russian diaspora during the interwar years, contributing to the broader dissemination of Orthodox culture throughout Western Europe.

World War II and the Loss of Orthodox Cultural Heritage

World War II inflicted further devastating losses on the religious and cultural heritage of Eastern Europe. Following Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, widespread destruction affected numerous historic cities, churches, and monasteries. Particularly severe damage occurred in regions surrounding Novgorod, Pskov, and Smolensk, as well as across large areas of present-day Ukraine and Belarus. Historic churches were damaged or completely destroyed, their furnishings looted, and valuable works of art confiscated.

During the Nuremberg Trials, extensive evidence was presented concerning the destruction and looting of religious institutions in occupied Soviet territories. The Soviet prosecution documented the destruction or plundering of 1,670 Orthodox churches. In addition to the destruction of cultural property, German occupation authorities systematically confiscated and removed works of art. Historical icons were among the religious and cultural objects potentially affected. [7]

Greece also suffered substantial cultural losses during its occupation by Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria between 1941 and 1944. Churches and monasteries were damaged, looted, or destroyed, while numerous historical objects disappeared. A Greek government inventory compiled as early as 1946 documented cultural property losses sustained during the occupation. Many of the objects removed at that time were never recovered. [8]

This history remains highly relevant to today’s art market. Not all works displaced during the war were restituted after 1945; some disappeared, while others eventually surfaced in private collections or international commerce. However, it is impossible to make a general determination about what proportion of Orthodox icons currently held in Western collections originated in wartime looting. Nor does an incomplete provenance automatically indicate that an object was unlawfully appropriated during World War II.

Each work must be assessed according to its individual history.

1945–1955: Vienna at the Boundary Between Two Political Worlds

After World War II, Austria was occupied by the four Allied powers. Vienna itself was divided into Soviet, American, British, and French occupation zones, placing the Austrian capital directly within the emerging confrontation between East and West. As political relations between the Western powers and the Soviet Union deteriorated, Vienna nevertheless remained a place where representatives of both sides encountered one another.

The Soviet occupation zone encompassed much of eastern Austria, while the Western zones maintained close economic and political connections with Western Europe. This unusual situation shaped Vienna’s development and helped establish the conditions for the international role the city would assume after 1955.

The signing of the Austrian State Treaty on May 15, 1955, and the constitutional declaration of permanent neutrality on October 26 of the same year marked the beginning of a new era. Austria belonged neither to NATO nor to the Warsaw Pact and, because of its geographical position and political status, was able to maintain relationships with both sides of the Iron Curtain. [9]

While Berlin itself became a symbol of Europe’s division, particularly following the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, Vienna developed into an important meeting point for diplomats, businesspeople, émigrés, and travelers from both political blocs. The Austrian capital was situated only a short distance from Communist-controlled countries while maintaining close economic and cultural connections with Western Europe.

This position also had significant commercial implications. Austrian historian Oliver Rathkolb has extensively examined Austria’s role in East-West trade during the Cold War, demonstrating that the country’s neutrality and geographical location created important opportunities for economic exchange with Eastern Bloc states. [10]

For the international art market, Vienna offered a particularly interesting environment. The city possessed a long tradition of collecting and trading works of art, established galleries and auction houses, and extensive international business connections. At the same time, Austria’s neutrality facilitated economic contacts with state-controlled trading organizations in Eastern Europe.

These circumstances were especially relevant to the trade in historical Russian icons, whose export from the Soviet Union remained subject to government control.

1959: The Founding of Ikonen Mautner and Official Soviet Export Permits

It was against this historical background that Erich M. Mautner established his gallery specializing in Russian and Orthodox icons in Vienna in 1959. The business was founded at a time when the Iron Curtain still firmly divided Europe and historical Russian icons remained relatively rare and difficult to obtain in the West.

During the 1960s, Erich Mautner achieved something particularly noteworthy for the art trade of that period: he obtained official Soviet export permits for historical Russian icons, becoming one of a small number of Western art dealers granted such authorization. These permits enabled him to import icons from the Soviet Union into Austria through officially sanctioned commercial channels and subsequently offer them to an international clientele.

The significance of this achievement becomes fully apparent only when considered against the political circumstances of the Cold War. At a time when Europe was divided and Soviet foreign trade was subject to strict government control, historical Russian icons could legally reach Vienna through these arrangements. Austria’s distinctive position between East and West thus became directly relevant to the gallery’s history.

Vienna was not merely geographically convenient; it also possessed the art-market infrastructure necessary to introduce historical icons to international collectors. Erich Mautner’s activities exemplify the commercial relationships that remained possible across Europe’s political divide during the Cold War.

The official Soviet export permits represent an important chapter in the gallery’s early history and illustrate how closely the development of Vienna’s icon trade was connected to the political and economic conditions of the period.

It is important to distinguish the geographical origins of the artworks from the identity of the gallery itself. Ikonen Mautner was founded in Vienna as an independent Austrian business and has never been a Russian company. Although Russian icons form an important part of its historical specialization, the gallery also deals in Greek, Romanian, Coptic, and other Christian icons. Its identity is rooted in Vienna and in the international appreciation of historical icon painting, rather than in any particular national or political affiliation.

An Unusual Feature of the Western Icon Trade: Dealers Outside the Orthodox Tradition

One of the more curious aspects of the Western icon trade is that many dealers and collectors were neither Russian nor Orthodox. Within Orthodox Christianity, icons are primarily sacred images intended for veneration. In the Western art market, however, they increasingly came to be evaluated according to artistic, historical, aesthetic, and commercial criteria. The same icon could be an object of religious devotion for an Orthodox believer and, simultaneously, a historical work of art with a particular market value for a Western collector.

These different perspectives created an interesting tension. For someone raised within the Orthodox tradition, selling a family icon could involve considerable religious or emotional reservations. An art dealer who did not share that religious background might approach the same object with greater personal distance from its devotional significance. This does not imply that Orthodox dealers were generally less willing to sell icons or that non-Orthodox dealers treated them with less respect.

Rather, it illustrates a fundamental characteristic of the art market: an object’s religious significance and its commercial value are determined according to different principles.

The international icon trade also included dealers of Jewish heritage. One documented example is the Berlin antiquities dealer Avraham Gleser, who was born in Riga in 1938 and later emigrated to Berlin. His gallery on Kurfürstendamm became a recognized address for Russian antiques and historical icons during the early 1990s. The careers of such dealers illustrate the international and interfaith character of the Western market for Orthodox art.

This represents a remarkable cultural development. Works originally created exclusively for a particular religious tradition entered an international marketplace involving individuals of widely differing national, cultural, and religious backgrounds. What often united them was an appreciation for the exceptional artistic quality, centuries-old traditions, and historical importance of these objects.

The Darker Side of the Icon Trade: Smuggling and Illegal Exports

Growing international demand for Russian icons also had troubling consequences. During the Cold War, legal trade in historical art objects from the Soviet Union was heavily restricted, while Western interest and, in some cases, prices continued to rise. The combination of limited legally available supply and increasing demand created financial incentives for illicit trafficking.

Icons were transported across borders in violation of export regulations, concealed in personal luggage, or transferred through intermediaries. In some cases, inaccurate information about origin, age, or value was supplied to evade customs controls. After several changes of ownership, the traces of such objects frequently disappeared altogether.

The problem extended beyond violations of export regulations. The removal of icons from their original settings often resulted in the loss of important historical information. An icon that had once formed part of a particular iconostasis possessed a specific religious and art-historical context. Once removed, valuable evidence concerning its origin, function, and history could be lost. For subsequent owners and dealers, reconstructing its provenance became increasingly difficult.

The collapse of Communist regimes and the opening of Eastern Europe after 1989 transformed the situation once again. New opportunities for legitimate international commerce emerged, but political and economic instability in certain regions also contributed to art theft and illegal exports. Historical icons became attractive targets for criminal networks that recognized their commercial value.

Nowhere did these developments attract more sensational attention than in Berlin.

Berlin’s “Icon Mafia” and the Icon Murders of the 1990s

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Berlin became an important center for the international trade in Russian antiques and icons. The city had a substantial Russian-speaking population, extensive connections with Eastern Europe, and an established art and antiques market. At the same time, criminal networks emerged during the early 1990s that were involved in the theft, smuggling, and illegal sale of valuable art objects.

German newspapers increasingly used the term Ikonenmafia, or “icon mafia,” to describe these activities. The expression did not refer to a single clearly defined criminal organization but was used journalistically for various networks suspected of involvement in illicit icon trafficking. In some cases, the boundaries between legitimate art dealing, opaque intermediary transactions, and criminal activity were difficult to establish.

Between 1990 and 1994, several highly publicized killings occurred in Berlin and its surrounding region involving individuals connected to the Russian antiques and icon trade. In the summer of 1990, a man associated with Russian art dealing was found dead with multiple stab wounds in a lake near Potsdam. In September 1991, another man, described by contemporary newspapers as a prominent figure in Berlin’s icon-smuggling circles, was murdered. In December 1993, antiques dealer Vitaly Lyakhovsky was shot and killed. [11]

Only weeks later, another murder attracted considerable attention in the German press.

On January 24, 1994, the 56-year-old art dealer Avraham Gleser was shot and killed inside his gallery at Kurfürstendamm 48 in Berlin. Gleser was a well-known dealer in Russian antiques and historical icons. His son discovered his body on the gallery premises. Subsequent investigations revealed that numerous valuable icons had disappeared. Contemporary reports suggested that approximately 50 to 70 works were missing, with an estimated combined value of up to 1.5 million Deutsche Marks.

On January 26, 1994, the German newspaper taz published a detailed account under the headline “Wer exekutierte Avraham G.?” (“Who Executed Avraham G.?”). Investigators examined possible connections to illicit icon trafficking and criminal networks originating in the former Soviet Union. The murder attracted attention not only because of its brutality but also because it had occurred in an established Berlin art-dealing district. [12]

In February 1995, criminal proceedings began before the Berlin Regional Court against Vladimir Svintkovski, whom prosecutors accused of murdering both Vitaly Lyakhovsky and Avraham Gleser. According to the prosecution, the killings were connected to financial interests and the trade in antiques and icons. In Gleser’s case, the defendant was alleged to have arranged an appointment at the gallery under the pretense of offering valuable icons for sale. Prosecutors believed that the murder and the disappearance of numerous icons were connected. [13]

Contemporary reporting on these cases conveys how tense and, at times, dangerous the international icon trade had become during the early 1990s. It is important, however, to distinguish between investigative theories, prosecutorial allegations, and facts established by final court judgments. Nevertheless, these sensational murder cases had a lasting impact on the public perception of Berlin’s icon market and highlighted the risks associated with trading valuable art objects whose origins could not always be reliably documented.

Stolen Icons from Greece: An International Art Scandal

Illicit trafficking in Orthodox icons was by no means limited to Russia or the former Soviet republics. Greece and other predominantly Orthodox countries in Southeastern Europe have also suffered from art theft for decades. Remote churches and monasteries are particularly vulnerable because they frequently house valuable historical icons without modern security systems.

A particularly striking case was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian in March 2011. Six historical icons offered for sale by a London art gallery were identified as having been stolen from Greek churches and monasteries. The works originated in the Epirus region of northwestern Greece and had been advertised on the gallery’s website. A woman recognized one of the icons from the published photographs and alerted the relevant authorities. Further investigation established that six of the works offered for sale had been reported stolen. [14]

London dealer Richard Temple stated that he had had no reason to doubt the lawful provenance of the icons when acquiring them. Once the relevant evidence was presented, he relinquished his claims to the works and surrendered them to British authorities. The case illustrates a fundamental challenge in the international art trade: even an established dealer can unknowingly acquire works that were previously stolen or illegally exported.

The discovery prompted further investigations. In May 2011, the Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that Scotland Yard had uncovered evidence of an international network suspected of stealing icons from Greek churches and monasteries and offering them through European art markets. Investigations extended to London, Berlin, and Amsterdam, and additional stolen icons were identified and recovered. [15]

The case demonstrates the international nature of illicit trafficking in religious cultural property and the difficulties even experienced art dealers may face when attempting to reconstruct an object’s complete ownership history.

Stolen Icons from North Macedonia and INTERPOL Investigations

North Macedonia has also experienced extensive thefts of historical icons and other religious artifacts over several decades. Churches and monasteries in rural areas have been particularly vulnerable, often possessing valuable historical furnishings without adequate security.

The North Macedonian newspaper Sloboden Pečat reported on numerous thefts and international investigations. According to the report, thousands of historical objects disappeared from religious institutions over the years, including icons, crosses, liturgical vessels, and carved iconostases. Particularly affected were areas surrounding Ohrid, Struga, Bitola, and Debar. [16]

North Macedonian authorities have cooperated with INTERPOL in efforts to locate stolen cultural property. Several icons were identified in neighboring Albania, including works by the important nineteenth-century icon painter Dičo Zograf.

These cases demonstrate that the theft of Orthodox artworks affects far more than individual collectors or dealers. For the communities concerned, it frequently represents the loss of an essential part of their religious and cultural identity. A historical icon venerated in a particular church for centuries cannot simply be replaced by another work of art. Its significance lies not only in its artistic quality but also in its history and its connection to the local community.

When Stolen Cultural Property Returns: The Role of the Art Trade

International cooperation among art dealers, museums, authorities, and religious communities can help identify and recover missing cultural property. One noteworthy example comes from Düsseldorf, Germany, where Hargesheimer, an auction house specializing in Russian and Orthodox art, returned a historical reliquary to the Church of Cyprus. The German newspaper Rheinische Post reported on the case and the circumstances surrounding the restitution. [17]

Such returns are particularly significant because they demonstrate that art-market professionals themselves can play an active role in protecting religious cultural heritage. For an Orthodox community, a historical reliquary or icon is not merely a valuable art object but often an integral part of its religious traditions and collective memory. Its return can therefore carry significance far beyond its monetary value.

Against the background of extensive historical losses and illicit trafficking, cooperation with originating communities and relevant authorities is an important element of responsible art dealing.

Provenance Research: A Particular Responsibility in Today’s Icon Trade

The turbulent history of Orthodox icons presents particular challenges for today’s art market. Many historical works have changed hands numerous times over the centuries without those transactions being fully documented. Revolutions, wars, state confiscations, emigration, and international commerce caused countless icons to leave their original locations. For some works, ownership histories can be traced across several generations; for others, substantial gaps remain.

A complete provenance is therefore not always possible to reconstruct, particularly in the case of historical icons. Nevertheless, available information should be carefully examined and documented wherever possible. Relevant evidence may include earlier collection histories, historical invoices, exhibition catalogs, photographs, expert opinions, and other records. Art-historical examination can also provide clues about a work’s origin, although stylistic attribution cannot substitute for documented ownership history.

At Ikonen Mautner, we recognize the particular responsibility involved in dealing with historical religious artworks. We endeavor to research the provenance of our icons to the extent reasonably possible and to document any available information concerning their history. For certain works, we also consult INTERPOL’s international Stolen Works of Art database, which contains information about artworks and cultural objects reported stolen or missing by the relevant authorities. [18]

This database, however, has limitations. Not every theft has been documented, not every missing artwork has been photographed, and not all stolen objects have been reported to international authorities. A negative database search therefore does not conclusively establish that an artwork has never been stolen. Rather, it represents one of several possible steps in responsible provenance research.

For us, investigating an icon’s history is not merely a legal or commercial consideration. It also reflects respect for the religious and cultural significance of these works. A historical icon is more than an object of commerce. It is a testament to the people who created it, venerated it, and preserved it across generations. The dramatic events of the twentieth century demonstrate how closely the histories of individual artworks can be intertwined with the experiences of entire societies.

Why Vienna? A History Between East and West

Vienna’s distinctive position in the international icon trade cannot be attributed to a single historical circumstance. Rather, it emerged from several developments that influenced one another over an extended period.

During the Habsburg era, Vienna maintained close cultural and commercial connections with the Orthodox regions of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a Russian Orthodox community developed in the city, leaving a visible legacy in St. Nicholas Cathedral. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Vienna became a destination for Russian émigrés, while the 1929 exhibition at the Hagenbund demonstrated an early art-historical interest in Russian icon painting.

After World War II, Vienna found itself close to the political boundary between East and West. With the Austrian State Treaty and the country’s declaration of neutrality in 1955, the capital developed into an important location for international economic and diplomatic exchange. It was in this environment that Erich M. Mautner founded his gallery in 1959 and subsequently obtained official Soviet export permits for historical Russian icons during the 1960s.

The presence of a gallery specializing in Orthodox icons in the heart of Vienna is therefore no historical coincidence. It reflects centuries of cultural connections, the political upheavals of the twentieth century, and the distinctive role Vienna played between East and West during the Cold War.

The history of Russian icons in the West is a story of religious faith and artistic mastery, but also of revolution, persecution, emigration, and international commerce. It encompasses extraordinary works of art and fascinating human experiences, as well as loss, smuggling, and crime. Understanding these different dimensions is essential to appreciating and preserving the cultural heritage of Orthodox icons for future generations.

The history of Ikonen Mautner forms part of this broader European cultural and commercial history. It illustrates how historical artworks crossed political boundaries and why Vienna remains a particularly meaningful place to encounter the remarkable world of Orthodox icon painting.

The People Behind the Western Icon Trade

The emergence of a specialized Western market for Russian and Orthodox icons during the twentieth century was shaped by a relatively small circle of dealers, collectors, and scholars. Unlike established branches of the European art trade, such as Old Master paintings or antique furniture, the market for historical icons initially lacked a broad collector base, standardized methods of attribution, and a well-developed network of specialized expertise.

Much of this infrastructure emerged gradually through the activities of individual art dealers, who introduced these works to Western audiences, developed relationships with collectors, and contributed to a growing understanding of their historical and artistic significance.

The first generation of specialized Western icon dealers emerged primarily during the decades following World War II. In London, Richard Temple established his gallery in 1959, the same year Erich M. Mautner founded his business in Vienna. Their activities reflected a broader transformation in the perception of Orthodox icons. Objects that had traditionally belonged to religious environments were increasingly being studied, collected, and traded as works of historical art.

This development did not diminish their spiritual significance, but it created a second context in which they could be appreciated: the international art market.

Over the following decades, a specialized network developed across Western Europe. Dealers such as Jürgen Graßmann in Berlin, Serafim Dritsoulas and Galerie Brenske in Munich, and members of the Zoetmulder family in the Netherlands became part of a growing community devoted to the study and trade of Orthodox icons. Thomas Mönius was another figure associated with the German-speaking icon market, while subsequent generations of specialists continued to develop international connections between collectors, galleries, and auction houses.

The establishment of dedicated icon auctions further transformed the market. Auction houses such as Hargesheimer in Düsseldorf helped create a more visible international marketplace for Russian and Greek icons, bringing together private collectors, dealers, and institutions. The Paretski family represents another example of the continuity of specialist knowledge across generations: Alexandre Paretski established his activities in the icon trade, which are continued today by his son Mark Paretski.

Their work illustrates the importance of personal networks, experience, and long-standing commercial relationships within this specialized field.

One particularly interesting example of the relationship between the art market and museum scholarship is provided by Morsink, whose professional background in the icon trade preceded his involvement with the Icon Museum and Study Center in Massachusetts. Such transitions illustrate how expertise developed through decades of handling historical objects can also contribute to their interpretation and preservation within museum collections.

The history of these individuals and businesses is relevant not because of their commercial activities alone, but because it demonstrates how a specialized field gradually emerged. The Western icon market developed through a combination of art dealing, private collecting, scholarly research, and institutional recognition. These activities were closely connected, although they did not always share the same priorities.

For Vienna, the founding of Ikonen Mautner in 1959 represents an early chapter in this wider development. Its establishment coincided with the emergence of other specialized galleries in Western Europe, at a time when Russian icons remained relatively unfamiliar to much of the Western collecting public and access to historical works from the Soviet Union was still tightly controlled.

From Sacred Images to Museum Collections: Orthodox Icons Around the World

The growing appreciation of Orthodox icons in the West was not limited to the art market. During the twentieth century, museums increasingly began to recognize Russian, Byzantine, and Greek icon painting as artistic traditions deserving the same scholarly attention traditionally devoted to Western European painting.

This change in perception had profound consequences. For centuries, Orthodox icons had been understood primarily within the religious and cultural environments for which they were created. Their introduction into museums placed them within a broader art-historical framework, allowing visitors to study their techniques, stylistic development, regional characteristics, and historical significance.

The development of specialized icon museums also reflected a growing recognition that these works could not be adequately understood through purely aesthetic considerations. Their artistic qualities are inseparable from the religious traditions, liturgical practices, and historical circumstances that shaped their creation.

Today, important collections of Russian and Orthodox icons can be found throughout Europe and North America, as well as in the countries where these traditions originated.

The Icon Museum and Study Center — Clinton, Massachusetts, USA

Founded through the collecting activities of American industrialist Gordon B. Lankton, the Icon Museum and Study Center has developed into one of the most significant institutions devoted to Russian and Orthodox icons in the United States.

Its collection encompasses Russian icons and related Orthodox religious art, providing visitors with an opportunity to explore the artistic and spiritual traditions of Eastern Christianity. Beyond its exhibitions, the museum supports scholarly research, education, and the preservation of historical works.

The institution demonstrates how private collecting can evolve into a permanent cultural resource, making a specialized field accessible to a much broader public.

Visit the Icon Museum and Study Center

Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen — Germany

Established in 1956, the Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen is among the most important specialized museums of Orthodox icon painting in Western Europe.

Its collection includes works from Russia, Greece, and the Balkans, spanning several centuries of artistic production. The museum’s establishment during the 1950s is particularly significant because it preceded the widespread growth of the specialized Western icon market.

It demonstrates that institutional interest in Orthodox icons was already developing during the early postwar period, when these works were beginning to receive greater recognition outside their traditional religious environments.

Visit the Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen

Icon Museum Frankfurt — Germany

Frankfurt’s Icon Museum forms part of the city’s Museum Angewandte Kunst and is devoted to the artistic traditions of Eastern Christianity.

Its collections encompass Russian, Greek, and other Orthodox icons, highlighting the cultural connections between Eastern Europe, the Byzantine world, and Western European collecting traditions.

The museum provides an important example of how Orthodox icon painting has become integrated into the broader German museum landscape.

Visit the Icon Museum Frankfurt

Ikonenmuseum Kampen — The Netherlands

The Dutch city of Kampen is home to a museum dedicated to Orthodox icon painting, reflecting the longstanding interest in Russian and Eastern Christian art in the Netherlands.

The institution presents historical icons within their religious and artistic contexts, introducing visitors to the symbolism, painting techniques, and traditions of Orthodox Christianity.

Its existence also reflects the development of a substantial Dutch community of collectors and scholars interested in icon painting during the second half of the twentieth century.

Visit the Ikonenmuseum Kampen

Icon Museums in Switzerland

Switzerland has also developed a tradition of collecting and exhibiting Orthodox icons, supported in part by private collectors and cultural foundations.

The Swiss Icon Museum and the icon collection presented at the historic Landvogthaus illustrate how privately assembled collections can become accessible to the public.

These institutions contribute to the preservation and interpretation of Orthodox religious art within a country that has long played an important role in the international art market.

Swiss Icon Museum

Icon Museum at the Landvogthaus

Museum of Russian Icons, Palazzo Pitti — Florence, Italy

One of the most remarkable collections of Russian icons in Western Europe is housed in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, part of the Uffizi Galleries.

The Museum of Russian Icons presents works that entered the collections of the Medici and Lorraine dynasties, demonstrating that the Western European appreciation of Russian icon painting predates the twentieth-century art market by several centuries.

This collection is particularly important because it reveals a much older history of cultural exchange between Russia and Western Europe. Long before the Russian Revolution or the emergence of specialized icon dealers, Russian religious paintings were already being acquired and preserved within prominent European court collections.

Visit the Museum of Russian Icons at Palazzo Pitti

Museum of Russian Icons — Moscow, Russia

Moscow’s Museum of Russian Icons was established through the collecting activities of Mikhail Abramov and developed into an important private institution dedicated to Russian religious art.

Its collection included historical icons and other objects associated with Orthodox Christianity. The museum also became known for its efforts to recover and return Russian cultural objects that had been taken abroad.

The institution illustrates the renewed interest in Orthodox cultural heritage that emerged in Russia following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Its history also reflects the complex relationship between private collecting, cultural preservation, and the recovery of religious artworks.

Further information on the Museum of Russian Icons in Moscow

Icon Museum — Tallinn, Estonia

Estonia’s historical connections with Russia and the Orthodox Church have contributed to a rich tradition of icon painting and collecting.

The Icon Museum in Tallinn presents works associated with Russian and Orthodox religious culture, offering insight into the artistic traditions that developed around the Baltic region.

The collection provides an additional perspective on the geographical diversity of Orthodox icon painting and its historical connections with Northern Europe.

Visit the Icon Museum in Tallinn

Museum of Icons, Hellenic Institute — Venice, Italy

Venice occupies a unique position in the history of Orthodox icon painting. For centuries, the city maintained extensive commercial and cultural relationships with the Byzantine world and the eastern Mediterranean.

Following the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Venice became an important center for Greek communities and artists. The city developed a distinctive tradition of icon painting in which Byzantine artistic conventions interacted with Western European influences.

The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies preserves an important collection of Greek icons, offering insight into this remarkable period of cultural exchange.

The Venetian collection demonstrates that the movement of Orthodox icons into Western Europe began centuries before the political upheavals of the twentieth century.

Visit the Hellenic Institute in Venice

The State Tretyakov Gallery — Moscow, Russia

No overview of the world’s most important collections of Russian icons would be complete without the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

The museum preserves some of the most significant masterpieces of early Russian painting, including works associated with Andrei Rublev and other major figures in the history of Russian iconography.

Its collections are fundamental to the scholarly understanding of Russian icon painting, particularly the artistic traditions of medieval Moscow, Novgorod, and other historical centers.

The Tretyakov Gallery also played an important role in the modern rediscovery and appreciation of Russian icons as works of art.

Further reading: Orthodox Icons at the Tretyakov Gallery

A Shared Cultural Heritage

The existence of specialized icon museums across Europe and North America reflects a profound transformation in the perception of Orthodox religious art. Works that were once understood almost exclusively within their devotional settings have become the subject of international scholarship, museum exhibitions, conservation programs, and public education.

Yet the distinction between religious objects and works of art remains essential. An icon displayed in a museum may be studied for its pigments, stylistic characteristics, historical attribution, or state of preservation, but these qualities represent only part of its significance. Its original purpose was spiritual, and its artistic language developed within a living religious tradition.

The international appreciation of Russian and Orthodox icons therefore involves a continuing dialogue between faith, art history, and cultural preservation. Museums, scholars, collectors, and responsible art dealers each contribute to this process in different ways, helping ensure that the remarkable artistic heritage of Orthodox Christianity remains accessible to future generations.

Sources and Further Reading

[1] The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 5: Eastern Christianity. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Chapters concerning the Orthodox Church under Communist rule.

[2] Salmond, Wendy. “Russian Icons and American Money, 1928–1938.” Canadian-American Slavic Studies, Vol. 43, 2009. Read online

[3] Salmond, Wendy. “How America Discovered Russian Icons: The Soviet Loan Exhibition of 1930–32.” In Jefferson J. A. Gatrall and Douglas Greenfield (eds.), Alter Icons: The Russian Icon and Modernity. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010.

[4] Denkmäler altrussischer Malerei. Russische Ikonen vom XII. bis XVIII. Jahrhundert. Exhibition catalog, Vienna Hagenbund, September–October 1929.

[5] Belukova, Ekaterina. Russian Emigration to Vienna after the 1917 October Revolution: 1917–1945. University of Vienna, 2012. DOI: 10.25365/thesis.24045. University of Vienna

[6] Orthodox Bishops’ Conference in Austria. History of the Russian Orthodox Church in Austria. Read online

[7] International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg. Trial proceedings, February 8, 1946. Yale Law School – Avalon Project

[8] Kathimerini. “WWII Led to Looting of Ancient Artifacts.” Read online

[9] Austrian Parliament. “1955 – State Treaty and Neutrality.” Read online

[10] Rathkolb, Oliver. “Austria – Sieve to the East: Austria’s Neutrality during the East–West Economic War, 1945/8–1989.” In Gaps in the Iron Curtain. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

[11] Die Tageszeitung (taz). Contemporary reporting on Berlin’s icon trade and the murder cases of the early 1990s.

[12] taz, January 26, 1994. “Wer exekutierte Avraham G.?” Read online

[13] taz, February 28, 1995. “Professioneller Killer.” Report on criminal proceedings concerning the murders of Berlin icon dealers. Read online

[14] The Guardian, March 20, 2011. “Stolen Greek Relics Found in London.” Read online

[15] Kathimerini, May 8, 2011. “Icon-Smuggling Ring Uncovered.” Read online

[16] Sloboden Pečat. “Priceless Historical Treasure Disappeared Without a Trace: INTERPOL Searches for Stolen Icons and Artifacts.” Read online

[17] Rheinische Post. “Düsseldorfer Auktionshaus Hargesheimer gibt Reliquien an Gemeinde auf Zypern zurück.” Read online

[18] INTERPOL. Stolen Works of Art Database. Official website

[19] Historical records and institutional history of Ikonen Mautner, Vienna: Founded by Erich M. Mautner in 1959; official Soviet export permits obtained during the 1960s.