The most ancient “Theotokos of Tolga” in Russia dates back to the 13th century, it was then called the Big Throne icon, and “of Tolga” was added later. It is not known exactly who painted the icon, however, most researchers believe that it is of the Yaroslavl origin. The Holy Virgin was depicted in full growth, enthroned. Today, this icon is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery. 

In the 14th century, another version of the icon appeared, the manifested Virgin of Tolga. According to the legend, it was not painted: the icon was manifested to Trifon, the bishop of Rostov and Yaroslavl, at the mouth of the Tolga River near Yaroslavl. At night, the bishop saw a pillar of light on the opposite bank of the Volga and a fantastic bridge leading to it. In the morning, an icon was discovered at this place. Unlike the Big Throne icon, this icon depicted the Virgin waist-high. Bishop Trifon ordered the construction of a church on the place of manifestation, and later founded the Tolga Monastery of the Presentation of the Virgin.

Andreyev painted the icon on a panel. The icon painter used tempera, a paint based on powder pigment diluted with egg yolk. Working with such paint required special skills. It had to be diluted in strict proportions: if too much egg base was added, the surface would be glossy and uneven; with too little yolk, paints would fade. The tempera dried quickly, so the master had little time to create an icon. While drying, the paints changed their color, so the icon painter had to figure out the resulting shade in advance. There were only a few powder pigments, and they were mixed to get the right color. For the background, Ioann Andreyev used so-called gold paint, the paint containing particles of gold.