Russian icon depicting the Mother of God of Tikhvin, Late 19th century

Tempera on panel

Height x width: 13,2 x 11 cm

The icon features the celebrated iconography of the Mother of God of Tikhvin, one of the most venerated variants of the Hodegetria type (she who shows the way). The Virgin is portrayed half-length with her head slightly inclined toward the Infant Jesus, who is seated on her left arm. With her right hand, Mary performs the typical gesture of pointing toward her Son as the Savior. Christ the Savior is depicted with an erect torso, his right hand raised in the act of blessing and his left holding a sealed scroll of parchment. The faces of the sacred figures are characterized by a profound expressive intensity and warm, brown tones, in line with the finest Russian devotional pictorial tradition. The background and the haloes are entirely executed in gold leaf.