Virgin of Sorrows – Aged Iconostasis – Mount Athos

Description

Aged Iconostasis with the Lamentation of the Virgin Mary

A magnificent iconostasis, which has as its central representation a relatively rare theme, that of the Lamentation of the Virgin Mary, when she receives the dead body of Her Only Son.

In this icon, the Virgin Mary, immediately after Jesus’ Removal from the cross, holds His dead Body and mourns for His Death, as He sacrificed Himself for the salvation of people. Here the Virgin Mary is represented as a mother, who deeply loved her only Son and mourns for his pain and death.

The Virgin Mary is depicted holding the lifeless body of Christ and supporting his head with one hand. On her face you can see the pain, the immense grief and the feeling of losing a mother who has just lost her child.

The representations of the Virgin Mary holding the dead Christ in her arms are works of post-Byzantine and especially Cretan painters. They combine Byzantine and Renaissance iconographic elements.

This iconostasis is made of pieces of wood, which come from a restored cell of Mount Athos. These are woods, which were preserved with the processing techniques used by the monks for the wooden iconostasis of the temples and then used again.

The aged iconostases are new additions to the collection of Mount Athos Heritage, while each of them is unique, as unique are the pieces of wood of which it is composed.

The iconostasis is available upon request.

Origin: Mount Athos

Dimensions: 25 x 38 x 2 cm.