Russian Icon “neopalimaya Kupina” XIX Century

Russian icon.
Tecnique: tempera on wood panel.
To be restored.
Russian school of the XIXth century.
People revered the image of the burning bush as protecting dwellings from fire and fires.
“Burning bush” or “Neopalimaya kupina” is a type of image that was first developed in Russia at the end of the 16th century.
It is primarily based on the Old Testament story in which God revealed Himself to Moses in a bush that burned without being consumed by fire.
The burning bush was used as a metaphor for the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to a child while maintaining her virginity.
The image of the virgin is located in the center of two superimposed diamonds, the first red representing the fire, the second green representing the bush, so as to form an eight-pointed star (known Marian symbol).
At the four corners of the green diamond are the symbols of the four evangelists.
The Virgin and Child Jesus in the center of the panel are surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists and the angels that Mary, as Queen of Heaven, commands.
These angels, as the accompanying inscriptions explain, reign over various natural elements: wind, fire, ice, darkness, etc.