Icon; 19th century.

Icon; 19th century.
“Mother of God”
Painting on wood.
Measurements: 54 x 42.5 x 3.5 cm.
Depiction of the Virgin Mary (Mother of God) in a posture of intercession, shown from the waist up, slightly leaning to one side with her hands raised. She holds a scroll with an inscription in Church Slavonic, an iconographic element associated with depictions of the Virgin within Deesis groups.The figure is depicted with a halo and is richly attired in a dark red mantle, decorated with ornamental motifs and stars, against a background profusely adorned with plant and geometric motifs. The composition is framed by a gilded ornamental border and bears traces of the original polychromy and gilding.
Icons of the Mother of God occupy a central place in the Russian Orthodox religious tradition, where the Virgin Mary is venerated especially as an intercessor and protector of the faithful. This example, dating from the 19th century, follows iconographic models rooted in a long Byzantine tradition, preserved and reinterpreted by Russian workshops.