The Greek word “Deesis” means “prayer” or “supplication”. Therefore, in Deesis icons it is customary to depict the Mother of God and other saints, coming to Jesus Christ to plea for the human race.
The central place in the icon’s composition is occupied by Jesus as Savior Almighty or Pantocrator with the Gospel and one hand in a gesture of blessing. This is one of the six main types of iconographic representation of the Son of God. He is usually flanked by the Mother of God and John the Baptist. Sometimes other righteous ones may be depicted: archangels, saints, martyrs, apostles, and so on.
Quite often, a Deesis icon was a folding one, consisting of several parts. They were of different types: “pectoral” icons usually worn on the chest or screens — “kiot icons” — larger images, which could be placed in the house in the red corner. Some folding icons were designed to be displayed at home and some for traveling and campaigning with them. The latter were very popular because these icons were made of durable materials — most often copper, they were easily transported and could replace an entire iconostasis.
The most widespread on the territory of Russia were three-part folding icons — “triptychs”. In the center of such a folding “Deesis” is always an image of the Savior, and on the other panels — the Mother of God, John the Baptist and other saints.
The central panel of a Deesis triptych, depicting Christ Pantocrator, is kept in the collection of the Museum Complex of Kuybyshev. This is a half-length image of Jesus Christ with the Gospel in His left hand and blessing the world with His right one.
The central panel of the folding icon is a square-shaped cast metal plate. The middle part of the panel is outlined by a frame with an ornament. Inside is a relief, meticulously worked-out half-length image of the Savior Almighty.
The nimbus of the Savior is drawn in the form of a four-pointed cross, which is filled with blue enamel. The crossbeams feature the Greek letters Ο Ω Ν which mean “Eternally Existing One”. The empty spaces inside the halo are filled with white enamel. In the upper left and right corners of the panel is the obligatory abbreviation of the name of Jesus Christ — “IC” and “ХС”, which is also filled with white.
The central place in the icon’s composition is occupied by Jesus as Savior Almighty or Pantocrator with the Gospel and one hand in a gesture of blessing. This is one of the six main types of iconographic representation of the Son of God. He is usually flanked by the Mother of God and John the Baptist. Sometimes other righteous ones may be depicted: archangels, saints, martyrs, apostles, and so on.
Quite often, a Deesis icon was a folding one, consisting of several parts. They were of different types: “pectoral” icons usually worn on the chest or screens — “kiot icons” — larger images, which could be placed in the house in the red corner. Some folding icons were designed to be displayed at home and some for traveling and campaigning with them. The latter were very popular because these icons were made of durable materials — most often copper, they were easily transported and could replace an entire iconostasis.
The most widespread on the territory of Russia were three-part folding icons — “triptychs”. In the center of such a folding “Deesis” is always an image of the Savior, and on the other panels — the Mother of God, John the Baptist and other saints.
The central panel of a Deesis triptych, depicting Christ Pantocrator, is kept in the collection of the Museum Complex of Kuybyshev. This is a half-length image of Jesus Christ with the Gospel in His left hand and blessing the world with His right one.
The central panel of the folding icon is a square-shaped cast metal plate. The middle part of the panel is outlined by a frame with an ornament. Inside is a relief, meticulously worked-out half-length image of the Savior Almighty.
The nimbus of the Savior is drawn in the form of a four-pointed cross, which is filled with blue enamel. The crossbeams feature the Greek letters Ο Ω Ν which mean “Eternally Existing One”. The empty spaces inside the halo are filled with white enamel. In the upper left and right corners of the panel is the obligatory abbreviation of the name of Jesus Christ — “IC” and “ХС”, which is also filled with white.
