Tracing the life and work of Nikodim Kondakov, a pioneer in the field of
late Antiquity and Byzantium in eastern Europe, this biography is a true
tale of adventure. It follows the complicated and challenging events in
Kondakov's life before and after the Russian Revolution, from his humble
beginnings to his university studies and analyzes his inspired creation
of an innovative and precocious study of art history in Russia. From a
brilliant and successful career to the trauma endured during the Russian
Revolution, the story becomes one of wandering and dependence;
nevertheless, and in spite of the shift in history and in his own life,
Kondakov's studies sketch a vast geography of Late Antique and medieval
culture from the Mediterranean to the Urals. The work approaches distant
horizons, giving a glimpse of the migrations from Asia and the inception
of medieval Europe with its Christian values; and it travels the paths
of history along trails marked by artifacts and monuments.
Reconstructing the personal and existential events in Nikodim Kondakov's
life contributes to the understanding of a critical phase in the
founding of art history and, more broadly, the histories of Russia and
of the countries the scholar traversed during a long life filled with
tribulations.