Icon - Mother of God Hodegetria - Egg tempera paint on levkas on a Lindenwood panel

An impressive Old Believers icon depicting the Mother of God Hodigitria ( She who shows the Way) . The Holy Virgin points with her hand to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. So she makes it clear to the spectator that Jesus in the one we should follow. The oldest icon with this hieratic iconography dates back to Byzance and icons with this iconography where already made in the 4th century AD. Especially after the council of Ephesos gave Mary the
Title " Theotokos" ( Mother of God) . This icon has most likely been a wedding gift to a wealthy Russian couple circa 1835. In the borders of the icon are the patron saints of the donors visible, Andipas and Stephania, most likely the patron saints of the parents of the bribe who received this icon on her wedding day. The icon hails from a top notch workshop and the highlights in garnments and faces witness about a great and expirienced icon painter who strictly followed the early examples and refused to admit Western Baroque influence. The icon is in great state of preservation. It has " sponki" with a profile. Often found on Old Believers icons