Eleusa

The icon represents the image of Mary with the baby Jesus. The Cyrillic inscription in the cartouche titles it as Umilenije, which is the Russian equivalent of the Greek term ‘Eleusa’, meaning Merciful – this is a type of icon depicting the Mother of God with the Child in a way that emphasises their tender bond by tilting their faces towards each other and having their cheeks touch.

In the icon, Mary hugs Christ’s head with a gentle gesture. The child is clinging to his mother trustfully, wrapping his left arm around her neck. Both Mother of God and Christ have large brown eyes with an intense, sad, distant gaze that signifies awareness of Jesus’ future passion. The narrow nose and pursed lips of both indicate the loss of sensuality – of the material world, and the furrow on the forehead and neck – the wisdom and presence of the Holy Spirit. Their robes are very decorative and portrayed with details: Mary’s red maphorion (veil) is trimmed with a golden ornament and a belt of precious stones, and her dress gathered at the wrist with a golden cuff, adorned with a stone and two rows of pearls. The richness of the robes indicates the royal dignity of the Mother and Son. The figures of both, Mary and the Child, are represented extremely meticulously, with the use of deep, intense colours, which gives the impression of abundance and dignity, but not without warmth. The composition, narrowed down almost to the head only, enhances the emotional expression of the image.

On both sides, in the background, are images of four saints. On the left, the archangel Raphael is portrayed against a blue background, in a frame imitating the shape of the church banya. He is holding a ball with the letter S repeated three times (Holy, Holy, Holy). Below it, there is the figure of St. Gregory in episcopal robes, holding a book. On the right are two saints: above, Eudokia in a nuns robes, and Natalia below, with a white cross in her hand.