Description
Russian school, 18th-19th century. "The Virgin of Kazan". Tempera, gold leaf on panel. Measurements: 37,5 x 30 cm. This is the canonical representation of the Mother of God of Kazan, one of the most venerated representations of the Mother of God in the Russian Orthodox Church. The iconography of this sacred image is related to the prototype Odigidria, of Byzantine origin and linked to the miracles of the Church of St. Mary of the Blanquernas, although modified. The canonical representation is the three-quarter portrait of the Mother of God, with her head inclined towards the Child Jesus, seated on the Virgin's hand and always depicted frontally. The figure of the child is half-length and his hand is in the position of blessing, his second hand is hidden under the chiton. The icon is accompanied by inscriptions determining the character of the figures: "MR OY" - the Mother of God, "IC XC" - Jesus Christ. The main difference between the Kazan Mother of God and the Odigitria is that in the first case the hand of the Virgin remains hidden, while in the original Byzantine version the Virgin is pointing to the Child Jesus. Like the independent typology, the Kazan Mother of God takes its origin from a legend of the Kazan city, which places it relatively late in the year 1579. After a devastating fire, the Mother of God appeared in the dream of a little girl, showing her a place under the ashes of her house, where the icon depicting the Mother of God with the Child Jesus was hidden. He also told her that the archbishop should be informed about the apparition, so that he could find the icon, but the archbishop did not listen to the news, taking it for a lie. The girl together with her mother excavated the icon in front of the witnesses. The found icon was placed in the nearby church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, and later in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kazan Kremlin. After learning about this miracle, Ivan IV the Terrible had a women's monastery named after the Mother of God built on the site where the icon was found. Because of this miracle linked to the icon, the iconographic prototype of the Kazan Mother of God is considered miraculous.
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Russian school, 18th-19th century. "The Virgin of Kazan". Tempera, gold leaf on panel. Measurements: 37,5 x 30 cm. This is the canonical representation of the Mother of God of Kazan, one of the most venerated representations of the Mother of God in the Russian Orthodox Church. The iconography of this sacred image is related to the prototype Odigidria, of Byzantine origin and linked to the miracles of the Church of St. Mary of the Blanquernas, although modified. The canonical representation is the three-quarter portrait of the Mother of God, with her head inclined towards the Child Jesus, seated on the Virgin's hand and always depicted frontally. The figure of the child is half-length and his hand is in the position of blessing, his second hand is hidden under the chiton. The icon is accompanied by inscriptions determining the character of the figures: "MR OY" - the Mother of God, "IC XC" - Jesus Christ. The main difference between the Kazan Mother of God and the Odigitria is that in the first case the hand of the Virgin remains hidden, while in the original Byzantine version the Virgin is pointing to the Child Jesus. Like the independent typology, the Kazan Mother of God takes its origin from a legend of the Kazan city, which places it relatively late in the year 1579. After a devastating fire, the Mother of God appeared in the dream of a little girl, showing her a place under the ashes of her house, where the icon depicting the Mother of God with the Child Jesus was hidden. He also told her that the archbishop should be informed about the apparition, so that he could find the icon, but the archbishop did not listen to the news, taking it for a lie. The girl together with her mother excavated the icon in front of the witnesses. The found icon was placed in the nearby church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, and later in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kazan Kremlin. After learning about this miracle, Ivan IV the Terrible had a women's monastery named after the Mother of God built on the site where the icon was found. Because of this miracle linked to the icon, the iconographic prototype of the Kazan Mother of God is considered miraculous.
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