1880s (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This small devotional print combines different techniques to recreate the effect of a painted icon encased in an oklad (an embossed metal cover protecting most of the icon while exposing for veneration the hands and faces of the figures depicted). It would have been produced as an affordable alternative to the genuine article which, by the late nineteenth century in Russia, had become an elaborate product of the silversmith's art, often combined with rather indifferent painting. The subject, the Virgin of Kykkos, is an authentically Orthodox one of Cypriot origin and there is a famous 1668 version by the Russian painter Simon Ushakov. However, details such as the naturalistic faces, the crowns worn by the Virgin and Child, and the representation of the Trinity are western touches typical of the later period.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Lithography with tint stone, embossing and gilding on paper |
Brief description | Paper icon of the Virgin of Kykkos, anonymous Russian 1880s. |
Physical description | Rectangular (portrait format) image depicting the Virgin and Child with two kneeling angels placing a crown on the Virgin's head. Above: God the Father, the Holy Spirit (represented as a dove) and six cherubs (heads and wings only). The Infant Christ wears a crown and holds an open scroll with visible text in his right hand. All faces, hands, and the Infant's bare arms and legs are in flesh tint with black shading while all other areas of the image, including figures, draperies, ornament and inscriptions are embossed and gilded. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | (Lettered in Greek and Slavonic within the image) |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This small devotional print combines different techniques to recreate the effect of a painted icon encased in an oklad (an embossed metal cover protecting most of the icon while exposing for veneration the hands and faces of the figures depicted). It would have been produced as an affordable alternative to the genuine article which, by the late nineteenth century in Russia, had become an elaborate product of the silversmith's art, often combined with rather indifferent painting. The subject, the Virgin of Kykkos, is an authentically Orthodox one of Cypriot origin and there is a famous 1668 version by the Russian painter Simon Ushakov. However, details such as the naturalistic faces, the crowns worn by the Virgin and Child, and the representation of the Trinity are western touches typical of the later period. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.420-2009 |
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Record created | September 15, 2010 |
Record URL |
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