Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir

This icon reinterprets the famous Byzantine prototype of Eleusa (tenderness), known in the Slavic space as the Mother of God of Vladimir. The composition follows the gesture of affection between the Christ Child and the Mother of God, rendered here through a fine bas-relief obtained by electroforming – a process that ensures the precision of micro-details and a subtly grained texture of the silvered background.

The silver-plated frame delimits the sacred field with Palaeologus-type vegetal volutes, while the four crystals placed in the corners add chromatic accents and symbolically resume the theme of sacrifice. Above the faces, a gilded halo in the form of concentric rays amplifies the luminescence effect and evokes the golden sticharion of Russian icons from the 16th–17th centuries.

The faces of the Mother and Child are painted in oil, a technique that gives the carnations suppleness and depth, contrasting harmoniously with the silver color of the rice. The modeling of the eyes and noses respects the Byzantine canon, but introduces warm shades of ochre and burnt shadow, specific to the late Muscovite school.

The entire ensemble is mounted in a box-frame made of toned oak, articulated with discreet hinges, so that the icon can be displayed or protected according to the need for worship. The profile of the multiple frames and the dark patina of the wood generate an elegant contrast with the silver, emphasizing the character of a portable sacred object, suitable for both an art collection and a personal prayer corner.

Through the synthesis of noble materials – silver, gold, hardwood – and the rigor of Byzantine-style painting, this small piece conveys, in a condensed register, the theological beauty and aesthetic refinement of icons of the Vladimirian tradition.