All-Seeing Eye of God, The All-Seeing Eye of our Lord Jesus Christ, The

Painting

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

All-Seeing Eye of God, The All-Seeing Eye of our Lord Jesus Christ, The

Entry/Object ID

2005.02.038

Description

Tempera on curved wooden panel with red, teal, mustard, and brown border before lowered central image. A black Cyrillic caption sits at the top. The central image features a clean shaven figure in the middle (Christ) with three finger blessing gesture and gospel. Around him is a four pointed star then two eyes, a nose, and closed mouth in flesh colored circle around it. the next circle features silver stars on a dark border with the virgin at the top. Attached are five spheres: A white bearded figure in the clouds at the top, followed by an eagle, a bull, a lion, and an angel (symbols of the four Evangelists). The outermost circle pictures three angels with wings and faces only on red background.

Type of Painting

Panel

Artwork Details

Medium

Tempera

Collection

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2005.02

Source or Donor

Betsy Scheuring

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Made/Created

Time Period

19th Century

Place

* Untyped Place

Northern Russia

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Icon

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Symbol, Religious

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Religious Objects

Nomenclature Class

Ceremonial Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

8-3/4 in

Width

7 in

Depth

1 in

Exhibitions

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Surveying the Sacred: Analysis of the Scheuring Collection of Eastern Orthodox Icons (2025)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

In this unusual icon, Christ Emmanuel appears at center in a circle from which four star-like rays extend. These rays terminate in four circles enclosing symbols of the four Evangelists. The central “sun” in which Christ appears has a face with two eyes and a circle of stars surrounds the “sun” with the Mother of God visible at the top. Around this circle is another, containing three Seraphim, while directly above Mary is the Lord Sabbath, God the Father as an old man. This icon represents the Incarnation of Christ, and alludes to the watchfulness and mind of God, illuminating the land like the sun. The image is executed in a provincial style with red being the dominant color and gold used for the face of the sun, the stars, and the figures’ haloes.