Theotokos Glykophilousa – Engraved Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Engraved Lithograph with Panagia Glykofilousa

The monk hagiographer depicts here one of the sweetest figures of the Virgin Mary, that of Glykofilousa, who holds the little Jesus in her arms.

A wonderful icon, which took this name, as the Virgin Mary is depicted resting her cheek lovingly on the cheek of the little Christ almost ready to kiss him. According to Orthodox tradition, Panagia Glykofilousa, like Portaitissa, is one of those icons that survived the iconoclasm and were miraculously transferred to Athos.

The icon with the Virgin Mary Glykofilousa belonged to Victoria, wife of a senator, who, in her effort not to hand it over, threw it into the sea. The icon, floating upright on the waves, reached the arsana of the Filotheou Monastery. The original icon is two-faced with the Crucifixion on the back and is located on a column of the Katholiko.

Engraved Lithography: Features

The work is crafted entirely by hand, without machinery, in carved natural wood. It is the work of hagiographer Athanasios, a student of the Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy, who remains faithful to Byzantine art as he was taught it on Mount Athos. His works are covered with pure beeswax so that they remain unchanged over time.

In this particular icon, the hagiographer monk used the technique of lithography to create a work of unique beauty. Specifically, using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the monk created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught in the hagiography workshops of the Athonite State. In fact, the artificial aging of hagiography is handmade, a process to which the monks of Mount Athos pay particular attention.

As the image is handmade and the wood is processed entirely by hand, there may be slight variations in the dimensions of each image.

Image available upon request.

Origin: Mount Athos