The Moscow Kremlin Museums’ collection preserves about 3000 icons. The historically formed complex embraces the period of the late XI to the early XX century. The key monuments in the collection are items of icon-painting created for decoration of cathedrals, Tsar’s and Patriarch’s Chambers, oratories of the Moscow Kremlin.

Early icons that adorned first stone cathedrals of the XIV century give the idea of forming Moscow school of painting. Among them there are icons “The Trinity”, “Saviour, the Awesome Eye”, “Saviour in Bosom”, “Saviour in Shoulder-Length”, “Saviour Almighty” of the XIV century from the Assumption Cathedral, icon “Archangel Michael with glorious works” of the late XIV century from the Archangel’s Cathedral. The Annunciation Cathedral houses the most ancient iconostasis with creations of the late XIV-early XV centuries which belong to the Theofan the Greek’s and Andrei Rublev’s circle.

Works by Dyonisy and his workshop that adorned the interior of the Assumption Cathedral just built by Aristotle Fioravanti date back to the late XV-early XVI century. Among them there is the icon of the first Moscow Metropolitan Peter with scenes from his life.

Numerous works of the time of cathedrals’ decoration under the first Russian Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) in the middle - second part of the XVI century have survived. In the Annunciation Cathedral there are unique iconostasis complexes created for small side-chapels of Ivan the Great’s time.

During this period, when Moscow was becoming the capital of the integrated Russian State, illustrious holies were brought to the Kremlin from other centers of Russia. The Assumption Cathedral preserves the oldest monument of the collection - the double-sided icon “Our Lady Odigitry” and “Saint George” of the XI-XII centuries.

Under the first tsars of the Romanov Dynasty in the XVII century, royal icon-painters worked in the workshops of the Armoury Chamber in the Kremlin. They created complexes of multi-tiered iconostases of the XVII century for the Church of Laying Our Lady’s Holy Robe (icon-painter Nazary Istomin Savin), the Assumption (1653) and Archangel’s (1679-1681) Cathedrals. At that time royal icon-painters Yakov Kazanets, Nikita Pavlovets, Michael Milyutin, Simon Ushakov and others worked in the Kremlin.

The Moscow Kremlin Museums’ funds preserve icons from Moscow Kremlin’s architectural monuments destroyed in 1930-s, e.g. the Chudov Monastery and the Ascension Nunnery, the Cathedral of the Saviour on the Bor and others. In 1920-1930-s, a part of icons from the abolished Solovetsky Monastery was transferred to the Museum’s funds.