The “Woman Clothed with the Sun” is an iconographic type of the Virgin that developed in German church art in the late 15th century. In the West, this image is used not only for icons, but also for stained glass windows, engravings, miniatures and sculptures.

This plot was borrowed from German masters by the Poles, and through Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus, it came to Russia in the late 17th century, but it did not become popular. In the Russian iconographic heritage, it has been preserved in a somewhat revised form.

This iconographic type was inspired by a verse from the Apocalypse:

In the original (Western) version, it is customary to depict the Mother of God holding the Baby Jesus in her arms. The presented icon differs in this regard, but corresponds to the original canon in other elements: it is a full-length image and the long loose hair of the Ever-Virgin is not covered by a veil. The gaze of her deliberately enlarged eyes is directed downward. The golden-brown omophorion, decorated with a trim and precious stones, and the crown on her head emphasize the regal majesty of the Virgin. The crescent moon on which the feet of the Mother of God rest, and the sun’s rays accurately illustrate the words of the Book of Revelation. The rod in her right hand is a reference to another verse from the Apocalypse:

It is not established when the displayed icon was painted. According to the restorer Valery Fyodorovich Kosushkin and the head of the Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Nizhny Novgorod Natalia Nikolaevna Bakhareva, its stylistic features correspond to the turn of the 18th century. It was probably created by a local icon painter who was influenced by the masters of the Armory.

The icon comes from the Nativity Church in Balakhna. It was received by the Museum of Local History for permanent storage on February 28, 1977. In 1994, it was discovered by Valery Kosushkin and a year later Natalia Bakhareva wrote a scientific paper about it.

In 2016, restoration works were carried out again. Employees of the Ilya Glazunov Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture removed the protective facings, fixed the bumps and bubbles formed on the gesso and paint layer, used restoration primer, tinted the places where the paint layer was damaged and covered the icon with protective varnish.