Name/Title
Triptych with the Virgin EleousaEntry/Object ID
2005.02.040Description
Colored paper on tri fold wooden panels fixed with leather hinges (the only triptych in the collection to be fixed with organic materials and not metal hinges). The left and right panels show two similarly clad men with reddish brown hair and beards. They wear teal and sandstone colored tunics and capes with gold mail shirts. Their boots and accessories are indistinguishable due to gesso cracks. The central panel shows the Virgin clothes in red maphorion veil with star on her forehead and her head inclined to the right. The Christ child touches her cheek with his, and he has a head of blond-red hair. The child is clothed in a light blue tunic, but the rest of the image is marred by cracked gesso.Collection
Betsy Scheuring Icon CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2005.02Source or Donor
Betsy ScheuringAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Betsy ScheuringInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
StickerLocation
Reverse side of iconTranscription
N Ba 350Translation
Possibly an original sale price of $350Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
IconNomenclature Primary Object Term
Symbol, ReligiousNomenclature Sub-Class
Religious ObjectsNomenclature Class
Ceremonial ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsExhibition
Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)Interpretative Labels
Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
This small, portable triptych was used for private devotions. The Virgin Eleousa in the central panel is framed by two side panels with images of standing, militant saints. Both of the latter are bearded and wear armor, as they hold respectively a sword (left) and a lance (right). This rendering of the Virgin Eleousa follows traditional models, with the Christ child shown grasping his mother’s cloak as he looks up at her. Her mantle has a gold border characteristic of this figure type, as is the upturned, scalloped edge of the drapery over her brow (see 2005.02.020). The child’s expression appears more serious than in many other examples. The two figures’ haloes are outlined in dark purple and that of the infant is inscribed with a cross. The style is Byzantine Greek.