Russian Works of Art, Fabergé and Icons
Russian Works of Art, Fabergé and Icons
Auction Closed
November 30, 06:31 PM GMT
Estimate
18,000 - 25,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A fine icon of the Hodigitria Mother of God, Crete, circle of Andreas Ritzos, circa 1500
the Virgin's face is painted in various shades of ochre and modeled with very fine, white, parallel lines. Her cheeks are raised with pink. Underneath her deep red maphorion she wears a blue tunic richly decorated with gold on her breast and sleeves. A gold star adorns her forehead and shoulders. The Virgin holds the Christ Child, who makes a gesture of blessing, on her left arm. Christ is clothed in a dark green tunic, covered with an ochre robe decorated with broad gold striations. In his left hand he holds a closed scroll tied with thin red threads. He is looking towards his mother, who points towards her Son with her right hand. The halo of Virgin is embellished with scrolling foliage, meticulously punched into the golden background. This same motif is used in the upper part of the icon along the edges.
45 by 36 cm; 11 11/16 by 14 3/16 in.
In his iconography of the Virgin, the painter of this icon does not follow the austere frontal type of the triumphant Byzantine Hodigitria; instead, there is gentle movement by the Theotokos towards the Christ Child, indicated by a slight inclination of her head.
This panel shares many characteristics with a group of Hodegetria icons dating from the second half of the 15th century, traditionally associated with the studio of the famous Cretan icon painter Andreas Ritzos (1421–1492). Among these are the Hodigitria icon in the Benaki Museum in Athens, the Hodigitria icon in the Byzantine Museum in the same city, and the Hodigitria icon in the Musei Civici in Padua. The present icon is closely related to this group through its iconography, technically flawless execution, superlative quality of the pigments and radiant colour palette, but in all probability can be dated slightly later at circa 1500.
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