Panagia Eleousa – Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Lithograph of the Virgin Eleousa

This lithograph of the Virgin Eleousa was created by a monk who trained in an iconography workshop on Mount Athos. The original image of Eleousa was discovered thanks to the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to an eight-year-old boy, Athanasios Syros, in the Thessalian region in 1954. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared twice to the young boy, but neither his parents nor the villagers believed anything of what he claimed to have seen. When, in 1962, an excavating machine came to the village of Xyniada to open roads, the image of the Virgin was found buried at the base of a buckthorn bush, precisely at the spot the eight-year-old boy had pointed out years before. When the villagers saw the image, they asked for forgiveness, both from the boy, who had grown up by then, and even more so from the Virgin Mary herself. It is speculated that the image dates back to the Iconoclast period and was buried there to protect it from destruction.

Lithograph: Characteristics

In the image depicting the Virgin Eleousa, the monk-artist used the lithograph technique to create a beautiful work with collectible value. Specifically, using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the monk created this piece by following the traditional method of artificial aging, as he was taught in the iconography workshops of the Holy Mountain. In fact, the artificial aging of the icon is handmade, a process to which the monks of Mount Athos pay special attention.

Origin: Mount Athos