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Russia, ca, late 19th century CE. An extremely large Kozelshcankaya Mother of God icon finely delineated in egg tempera of rich jewel tones and stunning gold leaf. In Greek terms, this composition is called a Theotokos, a favorite theme of the Eastern Church that refers to the Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ. Russian versions modeled upon Byzantine examples received their Russian names, in this case Kozelshchankaya, from names of monasteries, towns where they appeared, and countries where they originated. Size: 34.5" W x 56.25" H (87.6 cm x 142.9 cm)

Dressed in flowing robes (the Virgin's scarlet red cloak adorned with golden stars and blue and green inner robes - the Christ Child's creamy white, almost diaphanous swaddling), their visages surrounded by golden haloes with finely delineated rays and encircled by a sky blue, pink, and mint green enamel and gold leaf decorative border, the Mother of God holds the Christ child in one arm, as her other hand gestures toward him, directing the attention of the faithful. Rather than giving benediction, as is more common, the baby Jesus holds a Cross, and a goblet and spoon are at his feet, representing the Eucharist; at the Last Supper, Jesus commanded his followers to partake of bread and wine - the bread symbolizing his body, the wine symbolizing his blood - in memory of Christ's sacrifice of himself on the cross. The expressions on the faces of the Virgin Mary and Christ are quite somber, far from a playful exchange between mother and child, further attesting to this interpretation. Stylistically the figures and their vestments depart from the flat aesthetic of the Byzantine. Instead, the Virgin and Child are sensitively modeled with refined naturalism and depth, more akin to the tenets initially established by Classical and Renaissance art.

The term Theotokos literally means "God-bearer" and the first Mother of God portraits were created by St. Luke who painted the Virgin during her lifetime according to the Church. The composition of this particular piece is a variant of the icon of the Hodegetria ("She who shows the way") which arrived in Constantinople from Jerusalem, where the sister-in-law of Emperor Theodosius II found it in the 5th century CE; it had been safely hidden from the iconoclasts in the Hodegon Monastery walls.



Exhibited in "Windows Into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art" at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina (December 20, 2003 through February 22, 2004) which presented highlights of one of the world's great artistic traditions through an extraordinary group of sixty-five 18th and 19th century Russian icons on loan from the private collection of Lilly and Francis Robicsek.

Icons (icon means "image" in Greek) are sacred objects within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. Found in homes as well as churches, these painted images depict holy persons and saints as well as illustrate scenes from the Scriptures. Some icons are encased in precious metal covers (oklads) adorned with pearls and semi-precious stones or glass-fronted wooden cases (kiots). Icons are not worshiped, but are instead venerated for their ability to focus the power of an individual's prayer to God. As such they are truly "windows into heaven."

The “Windows Into Heaven” exhibition profiled a magnificent chapter of Russian artistry, the embrace of the Russian Orthodox faith of religious icons during the Romanov centuries. The Russian religious faith was an offshoot of Byzantine Christianity, which in 1054 parted ways from Roman Catholicism. Icons were and continue to be religious images created for veneration. As a focus for prayers and meditation for believers, icons serve as “windows into heaven.”

Provenance: Ex-Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art, Charlotte, NC; exhibited at Mint Museum of Art "Windows Into Heaven", Charlotte, North Carolina (December 20, 2003 through February 22, 2004)

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#119612

This colossal icon was made from several joined pieces of wood. The central fissures of the composition represent those seams that have become more visible over time. Expected losses to gold leaf and pigment as shown. Some restoration to areas of the gold leaf background. Nice craquelure on the painted surfaces.