Description

Aged Lithograph of the Virgin of the Sweet Kiss

The Virgin of the Sweet Kiss is always depicted in bust form, with her face very close to that of her child, who nestles fearfully in her embrace. She wears her mourning mantle, while Christ is dressed in a gray-green tunic with sleeves and a light-colored cloak. His gaze is directed towards the Virgin.

The Virgin of the Sweet Kiss lovingly holds her only son in her arms. Her posture highlights her human side. She tilts her head, and her face touches that of her beloved son. The tight embrace of the two figures in the image is an outward sign of the sorrow and grief the Virgin experienced during the Crucifixion of her son.

The image of the Virgin of the Sweet Kiss also shows the Virgin’s love for her son from her purely human perspective. Jesus gently touches the face of the Theotokos with his little hand, like any child in the embrace of his mother, to feel the warmth and safety of her maternal embrace.

Virgin of the Sweet Kiss: Why is it named this way?

This specific title of the Theotokos comes from the iconographic type of the Virgin, who is depicted gently resting her head on the cheek of the small Christ, with mother and son tenderly embracing each other.

Aged Lithograph: Characteristics

Using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the iconographer, a monk from Mount Athos, created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, a technique commonly used in the Garden of the Virgin.