Antique Russian Icon Our Lady of Kazan, 18th century 34x30 cm
Antique Russian icon depicting the Mother of God of Kazan, datable to the 18th century and measuring 34 x 30 cm. The panel is executed in egg tempera on wood prepared with levkas. The devotion to Our Lady of Kazan traces back to the discovery of the image in Kazan in 1579 and subsequently became one of the most venerated Marian images in the Russian Orthodox tradition. Iconographically, the Theotokos of Kazan is a variant of the Hodegetria type (“She who shows the Way”). The composition typicall...
Info and features
Antique Russian icon depicting the Mother of God of Kazan, datable to the 18th century and measuring 34 x 30 cm. The panel is executed in egg tempera on wood prepared with levkas. The devotion to Our Lady of Kazan traces back to the discovery of the image in Kazan in 1579 and subsequently became one of the most venerated Marian images in the Russian Orthodox tradition. Iconographically, the Theotokos of Kazan is a variant of the Hodegetria type (“She who shows the Way”). The composition typically renders the Virgin down to the chest with the Christ Child standing beside her; the intimate arrangement focuses attention on the faces of Mother and Child and on the image’s devotional meaning. Over the centuries the Madonna of Kazan has been associated with maternal protection and intercession and occupied an important place in Russian religious history, also becoming linked to the Romanov dynasty and to the principal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Provenance: Russia
Period: 18th century
Technique: egg tempera on wood prepared with levkas
Materials: wood, levkas
Dimensions: 34 x 30 cm
Subject: Mother of God of Kazan
Accompaniment: expert's appraisal and velvet presentation case.