Gury Nikitin was a Russian painter and iconographer. He worked principally on wall paintings and frescos, but also produced icons on wood panels and designed engravings. He was head of the Kostroma Brotherhood of Painters, an artists guild, until his death. In 1653 he is believed to have participated in the decoration of the Moscow Church of the Holy Trinity, Nikitinki. Later churches decorated by the Kostroma Brotherhood the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl, the Assumption Cathedral in Rostov, the Holy Savior of St. Yefim Monastery in Suzdal probably involved Gury Nikitin, however it is very difficult to distinguish his work from that of his associates.

In 1688 he painted several icons on wood panels for the Patriarch of Antioch, Makarius. He also painted military banners for Tsar Alexei and designed the engravings of the Koren Picture-Bible

The Koren Picture-Bible (1692-1696)

The Koren Picture-Bible is a series of 36 woodcuts illustrating Genesis and Revelation. It is the outstanding example of Russian woodcut artistry in the 17th century and of the "Koren-style" woodcut, which is characteristic of the best of the religious and secular popular prints or lubok, pl. lubki...

. His work combines biblical themes with carefully observed scenes from life. In his icon painting he adhered to the canon

Aesthetic canon

A canon in the sphere of visual arts and aesthetics, or an aesthetic canon, is a rule for proportions, so as to produce a harmoniously formed figure.-Evolution:...

, except in some complex scenes where he borrowed from the iconography of Johannes Piscator

Johannes Piscator

Johannes Piscator was a German Reformed theologian, known as a Bible translator and textbook writer.He was a prolific writer, and initially moved around as he held a number of positions...

's bible.