In his adoption of the icon motif, Makarov seizes upon the tradition of Russian iconography, the epitome of orthodox religiosity and spiritual intellectuality. Residing somewhere between earthly and heavenly existence, these ritual images, painted either on wood or costly fabrics, evoke a sense (as do certain frescoes adorning the walls of Russian monasteries) of spiritual grandeur, the very sense that Nikolai Makarov aspires toward expressing in his paintings, with their avid orientation toward these masterpieces from the past. The transcendental leanings of his icons are in direct correspondence with the notion of sacral content.