Russian School, 18th Century, Icon Of The Sorrowful Virgin, Oil On Canvas

18TH CENTURY RUSSIAN SCHOOL
Icon of Our Lady of Sorrows ("And a sword will pierce through your own soul")
Oil on canvas.
H_51 cm W_45 cm
Network of crackleware, wear consistent with age and use, slight losses and old restorations.

This icon is inspired by the Western Marian theme of the Mater Dolorosa (Our Lady of Sorrows), adapted into 18th-century Russian sacred art under the influence of European Baroque. The Virgin is depicted with her heart pierced by a sword, in direct reference to Saint Simeon's prophecy during the Presentation at the Temple (Luke 2:35). At the bottom of the composition, two angel heads emerge from the clouds holding a phylactery inscribed in Church Slavonic: "И тебе самой сердце оружие пройдетъ" ("And a sword will pierce through your own heart"). The painterly treatment of the flesh tones and drapery demonstrates the marked Westernization of Russian religious painting during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Catherine II.