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Russian Icons :
Russian Icons : The Unexpected Joy Mother of God
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The Unexpected Joy Mother of God - PF.5694
Origin: Russia
Circa: 18
th
Century AD
to 19
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
12.5" (31.8cm) high
Collection: Russian Icons
Medium: Oil on Wood Panel
$7,600.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Inseparable from the liturgical tradition, religious
art is seen by Orthodox Christians as a form of
pictorial confession of faith and a channel of
religious experience. Because the icons provide
direct personal contact with the holy persons
represented on them, these images were objects
of veneration, in either a public or private
setting, and were even believed to have the
ability to heal.
A dark green curtain has been pulled back,
revealing a young girl worshipping an image of
the Virgin and child. The Virgin holds her son in
her left arm and presses her right hand gently
against her chest. The infant Christ smiles as he
holds out both his hands. Both holy figures gaze
directly at the young girl. Underneath, there is a
large portion of this composition dedicated to
Cyrillic text. The prototype of this work was
based on an icon known as the “Unexpected Joy”
Mother of God. Nearly identical to this type, the
one major difference is that the kneeling figure
here is a young woman instead of a man. The
tale goes that a certain unscrupulous man would
rise each day and pray before an icon of the
Mother and Child before going out into the world
and committing more sins. One morning, he
awoke to notice that the icon began to move.
Wounds miraculously appeared on the hands and
feet of the Christ Child (hence he holds his palms
outwards) and they began to bleed. When the
man asked what caused this to happen, the
Virgin replied that is was his repeated sinning
and the sins of his fellow men and women that
were causing her son to be crucified again. Not
surprisingly, this event caused the man to repent
and live out his remaining days with devout
piety. This transformation filled his heart with an
unexpected joy from which the title derives.
Traditionally, the Cyrillic text conveys the
beginning lines of the narrative, setting up the
background story to complete the painted image.
Why here has a young girl been substituted in
place of the man? Perhaps this icon was
commissioned by a family who had a troubled
daughter. By specifically requesting that the
artist paint a young lady instead of the usual
man, they might have sought to help relate this
tale to their daughter’s perspective, thereby
giving her both a role model as well as a veiled
warning about leading a sinful life. However,
this theory is pure conjecture and the truth may
never be known. Yet what we do know is that
this icon is an intriguing deviation of a popular
type that reveals the role of icons in the daily
lives of the Russians and the power they have to
bring the worshipper, no matter how faithful
they are, closer to god.
- (PF.5694)
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