Icon, 'The Birth of the Virgin', Angelos Anagnostou, 1704

Religious icon painting

Given by Major R. G. Gayer Anderson

GIven by Major R. G. Gayer Anderson, 1942

This icon is one of six panels donated to the V&A by Major R G Gayer Anderson in 1942 (W.11-1942, W.12-1942, W.13-1942, W.14-1942, W.15-1942, W.16-1942), and one of a set of four icons attributed to the same artist, Angelos Anagnostou, about whom no information survives. Major Gayer-Anderson was a keen Orientalist who had lived in Cairo for many years until ill health forced him back to his house in Suffolk in 1942, the same year as this donation. His vast collection of antiquities and furnishings was divided primarily between the Major Gayer-Anderson Museum in Cairo (composed of his seventeenth- century house and all of its furnishings), and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, which became the beneficiary of his collection of Egyptian antiquities.

Historical significance: This icon is most likely one part of the festival tier of an iconostasis in an orthodox church. It represents the birth of the Virgin Mary in the house of her parents, Joachim and Anna. Anna is shown in a large canopied bed, tired from the exertions of child-birth and surrounded by three attendants. A fourth woman presents the swaddled child to Joachim who tenderly reaches out to embrace his daughter. Before him is a large table laid out with implements for a feast of celebration. Under the table, a small cradle in which the Virgin lies is being rocked by a further attendant. The appearance of the same figure twice in the same scene (in this case the Virgin) is not uncommon in Byzantine painting and merely displays the dense theology incorporated into orthodox imagery.
This icon is very well painted and is of high quality. And although it has some damage from woodworm and has some surface abrasion, it is generally in good condition. The technical dexterity of the painting is still visible and the accomplished but crowded composition is the result of an experienced painter who is familiar with the specific iconography of the scene. While it is not unheard of for an icon of this period to be signed by an artist, these signatures are often viewed with scepticism as overpainting or blatant forgery. The signature here is visible under the bed of Saint Anna, and is written in white letters. It records that the icon was made by the hand of Angelos Anagnostou and records the date of 1704. It is difficult to establish whether it is an original feature of the panel or not.

The work is signed 'Angelos Anagnostou, 1704' in white, under the bed

W.11-1942