The image of God’s Mother is among the most favoured and widespread in Russian icon painting. The Holy Virgin was viewed as a protector and defender of all people in distress. This icon painted by an unknown artist in the 19th century is a replica of the original 16th century Our Lady of Kazan.
Our Lady of Kazan
Creation period
19th century
Dimensions
30,6x35,2 cm
30.6 х 35.2 х 2.1 cm
30.6 х 35.2 х 2.1 cm
Technique
Wood, tempera, oil
Collection
Exhibition
2
Open in app#4
Unknown Author
Our Lady of Kazan
#6
#2
The artist portrayed the Virgin Mary and baby Christ with tempera on a wooden foundation. Jesus is painted waist-high, looking directly from the icon. His left hand is down and hidden under a himation, a piece of red cloth. Red symbolizes the Saviour’s blood destined to be shed to redeem people. The right hand is canonically clasped into a blessing gesture, with his ring finger and pinky pressed to the thumb.
In iconography, they distinguish two types of icons showing the Virgin Mary and Christ: Eleusa and Hodigitria. The former depicts tender love of a mother and child, Mary’s sorrow for Christ’s fate; the latter, the Mother of God’s adoration of the would-be Saviour. The copy of Our Lady of Kazan belongs to the latter type of iconography.
#3
The original Holy Mother of Kazan is associated with a miraculous story of its finding. In 1579, i. e. 27 years after Ivan the Terrible conquered the city of Kazan, half the city was destroyed by a major fire. Soon afterwards, a 9-year-old girl, Matrona Onuchina, saw the Holy Virgin in her dream. The Holy Virgin told the girl that an icon was left on the site of a burnt down house and asked her to find it.
When Matrona retold the story to her fellow citizens nobody believed her. But she saw the wonderful dream two more times, and eventually Matrona and her mother did find the icon on the fire site. When he heard the story, the king ordered a Holy Virgin Monastery to be built on the site where the icon was found.
#8
People believed that the icon cured diseases, like migraine, and restored eye sight to the blind. Like other Holy Virgin icons, Our Lady of Kazan is credited with protection against enemies. Legend has it that it saved Moscow from Polish invaders in 1612, helped the Russian troops in the battle of Poltava in 1709 and contributed to Russia’s victory over Napoleon in 1812.
Our Lady of Kazan was the most loved icon of the Romanovs. Alexei Romanov established a holiday in honour of the Holy Mother. Nowadays, Orthodox Christians celebrate two events: the miraculous appearance of the icon on July 21 and the Holy Mother’s assistance in liberating Russia from the Polish and Lithuanian invaders on November 4.
Our Lady of Kazan was the most loved icon of the Romanovs. Alexei Romanov established a holiday in honour of the Holy Mother. Nowadays, Orthodox Christians celebrate two events: the miraculous appearance of the icon on July 21 and the Holy Mother’s assistance in liberating Russia from the Polish and Lithuanian invaders on November 4.
#9
Iskitim Municipal Museum of Arts and History
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Our Lady of Kazan
Creation period
19th century
Dimensions
30,6x35,2 cm
30.6 х 35.2 х 2.1 cm
30.6 х 35.2 х 2.1 cm
Technique
Wood, tempera, oil
Collection
Exhibition
2
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