School of Mstera, 18th century. "Conversation with the Mother of God". Tempera, gold leaf on panel. Measurements: 15 x 12 cm. The conversation with the Mother of God is a particular typology of the icons of the Mother of God, venerated in the Orthodox Church. The three characters represented in this miniature are the seated Mother of God, Saint Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, and the acñolito Georgiy Yurish. The Mother of God appears in front of the acolyte right on the site where the church was to be built, where the icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin was later found in 1383. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared and ordered that a wooden cross be placed on the dome of the church, rather than a metal one. The Virgin Mary appeared together with St. Nicholas, who promised to give a sign to the infidels. The request of the Virgin Mary was not carried out and the master, Georgiy Yurish, who was trying to put up the metal cross, was caught by a gust of wind, which blew him to the ground unharmed. A wooden cross was then placed in the church, as indicated by the Madonna. This icon follows the iconographic typology of the story, but with certain modifications. The Mother of God is shown seated, although she is not seen in this image, according to tradition, on the trunk cut out of wood. Behind her is a tree in full growth with large leaves. In her arms she holds a black hygumen rod, which in the case of the auctioned icon is gilded. In front of the Virgin is a kneeling man in a posture of prayer. Between them is Saint Nicholas, who does not follow his canonical representation, as the type of beard and hair is different from the traditional one. This icon was produced in the workshops of Mstera, one of the most important icon-painting schools in Russia, both in terms of the quantity and quality of its production. This village is located near Vladimir, another of the most important icon-painting schools, and the first mentions of it date from around 1628. It was a poor location, and its inhabitants, mainly peasants, alternated their farming activities with various crafts for a living. Since Mstera was surrounded by monasteries and churches, icon painting was the most common activity. Thus, by the 19th century, more than half of the population was engaged exclusively in icon painting. The speciality of this school was to follow the ancient styles, its icons are distinguished by the abundance of details, both in the depiction of saints and in the representation of nature, but at the same time the aesthetics of the characters could be described as naïve. Apart from painting icons en masse, the masters of Mstera were also first-rate restorers.