Lot 51
51
THE GLYKOPHILOUSA MOTHER OF GOD
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
THE GLYKOPHILOUSA MOTHER OF GOD

CRETAN, LATE 15TH CENTURY

Details
THE GLYKOPHILOUSA MOTHER OF GOD
CRETAN, LATE 15TH CENTURY
Portrayed half-length, in three-quarter view, the Mother of God facing the onlooker, with her right hand supporting the Child, embracing and bringing him closer to her, leaning forward to touch his face, him in response stretching his neck in order to reach his Mother's cheek, grasping the edge of her maphorion, Christ rendered in a serpentine position with his back to the viewer and his legs crossed, holding an open scroll inscribed with the verse from Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18: The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me…, his right sandal loose, revealing his underfoot, the flesh modeled in light tan colour, brightened by natural tones, the features accentuated through delicate white brushstrokes, the kekryphalos of the Mother of God rendered in saturated green, her maphorion in carmine with geometrically shaped folds, embellished with a golden hem and fringes, Christ's green himation and orange chiton, supplemented by red straps and a sash, all decorated with intense chrysography, the haloes with punched patterns, that of the Mother of God with rosettes amidst scrolls and Christ's Cruciform nimbus with foliage, against a brilliant gold background, set in its original carved wooden and gilded frame
26½ x 23 in. (67.5 x 58.5 cm)
Literature
The Summer Catalogue of the Temple Gallery, 2006, no.4; H. v. L. Wamser, Die Welt von Byzanz. Europas Östliches Erbe, (Munich, 2004), no. 195
Exhibited
Die Welt von Byzanz. Europas Östliches Erbe in Archäaologische Staatssammlung, Munich, 22.10.2004- - 03.04.2005; at the Menil Collection, Huston, Texas, 1999-2000
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This lot is iconographically directly comparable to two icons which once belonged to the Likhachev Collection and are now kept in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. One of the Likhachev icons includes additionally the angels of the Passion. The painting is stylistically similar to icons executed by Andreas Ritzos. The aloof expression of the Mother of God is a feature that draws the icon towards the end of the 15th century.

More from Icons and Artefacts from the Orthodox World

View All
View All