Kazanskaya Mother of God, The

Painting

-

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

Kazanskaya Mother of God, The

Entry/Object ID

2005.02.064

Description

Painting A: Tempera on curved wooden panel bordered in red, green, and mustard yellow. The focal image features Virgin and child on a gold leaf background. Mary is clothed in a red head veil with white star motifs over her forehead and shoulder. She has a solid red band halo and inclines her head to the right. On the right of the portrait is Jesus in salmon and green robes with one hand in the three finger blessing gesture. He also has a red band halo though with additional lineart within. Riza B: Silver riza bordered with grape vine motifs with either enamel or marble Greek symbols in both of the upper corner. The halos are made of enamel, as is a small portion of adornment in the bottom center in colors of blue, white, green, and red. The riza clothes the Virgin in headveil and robes with paisley designs and small circular stones make up stars on her shoulders and forehead. The Christ child's robes are plain.

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

Date made

1700 - 1900

Place

Region

Yaroslavl Region

Country

Russia

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Makers Mark

Location

Tucked under the bottom edge of riza

Transcription

ГД, Д 849, 84, bear with an axe, 108

Language

Cyrillic

Translation

GD, Alexander Dasayev 1849, silver standard, city of Yaroslav

Type

Makers Mark

Location

Upper left portion of enamel halo

Transcription

АГ, kokoshnik head mark 84

Language

Cyrillic alphabet, Russian

Translation

A.G., silver quality

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

11-1/2 in

Width

10-3/4 in

Depth

1-1/4 in

Exhibition

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

In this type of Virgin and Child image, the Mother of God appears in bust form, inclining her head towards little Christ, who stands half-length before his mother's left shoulder and faces the viewer. He is fully drapes and makes a gesture of blessing with his raised hand. The delicate features of the Virgin's face, her solemn expression, the angular border of the cloak over her head, and the linear treatment of drapery folds all faithfully reflect Byzantine tradition. The dark red and pink colors vibrate against the gold ground. The accompanying riza is very different in style from the painted icon and displays a softness of effect influences by Western European models.