Ancient Russian 18th-century 'Fountain of Life' (Zoodochos Pigi) Icon, 39x30 cm
Ancient Russian 'Fountain of Life' (Zoodòchos Pigi) icon, late 18th century, 39x30 cm. The Russian Orthodox icon of the “Source of Life” is closely linked to the famous Marian shrine in Constantinople near the Golden Gate. According to the tradition recorded by Nicephorus Callistus, the future Emperor Leo I, then still a soldier, met a blind and thirsty man and after an apparition of the Mother of God, discovered a miraculous spring hidden under the mud. The man washed in that water and regained...
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Ancient Russian 'Fountain of Life' (Zoodòchos Pigi) icon, late 18th century, 39x30 cm. The Russian Orthodox icon of the “Source of Life” is closely linked to the famous Marian shrine in Constantinople near the Golden Gate. According to the tradition recorded by Nicephorus Callistus, the future Emperor Leo I, then still a soldier, met a blind and thirsty man and after an apparition of the Mother of God, discovered a miraculous spring hidden under the mud. The man washed in that water and regained his sight. When he became emperor, Leo had a church erected in honor of the Mother of God, which originated the sanctuary of the “Source of Life.” Emperor Justinian later enlarged the complex, which over the centuries became one of the principal pilgrimage sites of the Christian East, renowned for numerous miracles and healings. The Virgin is venerated here as a wellspring of grace and life, able to grant healing and protection to the faithful. The iconography conveys this meaning: Mary as an inexhaustible source of spiritual life, a meeting point between the divine and the human. Created in the traditional technique of egg tempera on a levkas-prepared wooden panel, typical of the Russian iconographic school.
Provenance: Central Russia.
Technique: Egg tempera.
Materials: wood, levkas.
Dimensions: 39.5 x 30 cm.
Period: late 18th century.