7. Mother of God of Akhtyr

Details

Russian, first half 19th century
17.8 x 15.8 cms

Provenance:
Mark Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
Private collection, Germany.

Description:
The theme of the Mother of God of Akhtyr depicts an appearance that Mary had at a young age. She saw the image of a crucified man with the Passion attributes.

The original icon was found on July 2, 1739, in the city of Akhtyr by Father Vasily Danilov in the garden of the Pokrov Church.

The Mother of God, depicted on this icon as a young woman, has the touching, innocent face of a young girl. She bows her head reverently toward the crucified Christ, the focus is on the suffering and death of Christ.

In the foreground, in front of the Mother of God, are symbols associated with the Crucifixion of Christ, the Passion attributes, the Arma Christi. Directly behind the Mother of God, there is a pink-coloured column with a rooster on it, the rooster that crowed three times after Peter’s denial.

The two border saints on the icon are, on the left, Saint Bishop Eusebius, and on the right the Holy Prophetess Anna.