R
"The Virgin and the Child"
written by Ustinian Tilov
Catalog # 1.18
Medium: tempera on wood.
Hand-made according to the
Bulgarian Iconographic tradition and
techniques.
Possible heights:
A) 19 - 21 cm
B) 25 - 27 cm
C) 38 - 40 cm
As for the width, the proportions of the original icon will
be kept.
on wood, 29 x 24 cm. Now at the Old Bulgarian Art
department of the National Art Gallery
This is a representation of the Virgin and Child who has
pressed His head close to His mother's face. The left
hand holds the end of her maphorion and the right,
holding a scroll, is placed under His chin. The Virgin
propping His small body at the shoulders. Because of
the small size of the icon, the emphasis is on the two
heads, pressed close together. The exquisite hands of
the Virgin, holding with infinite affection the Infant's
small body, the dark reddish-brown fabrics, the
comparatively lighter colouring of the faces rendered in
the same reddish-brown scheme, form a harmonious
whole. The lids and pouches under the Virgon's eyes are
outlined rather schematically. The schematic treatment
may be seen in the nose, its shadows and the wrinkles of
the Infant's forehead. A certain similarity in facial
treatment is observed in icon images of the Virgin in the
Church of the Dormition of the Virgin, in the village of
Karlukovo, dated 1602. The theme of motherhood, a
real discovery of Byzantine art, is quite often treated in
the Slav countries in different variations. The
widespread representation of the Virgin Eleusa seems
to have suited the Slav mentality very well because of
its intimate character. The many images of the Virgin
Eleusa are based on various iconographic types, as the
extant examples show. The pose of the Virgin and
Christ in this icon shows that its name could have been
Eleusa or Glykophilousa.