Description

Aged Lithograph of Panagia Kecharitomene

In the face of the Most Holy Theotokos, all virtues are gathered. The Virgin Mary is pure and virtuous. Throughout the centuries, the virtues, gifts, and countless miracles of the Virgin Mary have inspired iconographers who create unique images of her, full of symbolism.

The title “Panagia Kecharitomene” was given by the Archangel Gabriel during the Annunciation. “Rejoice, Kecharitomene, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women,” said the archangel to Mary when he visited her to announce the saving news that she would bring the Messiah into the world.

Kecharitomene means full of the grace of God, filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary is “Kecharitomene” because she possessed the fullness of God’s grace.

In the icon of Panagia Kecharitomene, the Theotokos is depicted lovingly holding her Son in her arms. The faces of the two figures rest against each other, while the little Jesus touches His mother’s face with one of His hands, as all children do in their mother’s arms, seeking warmth and safety. The Virgin Mary wears a blue tunic and a dark purple mantle, the color of which gives the image a Byzantine grandeur. In her left hand, she holds a closed scroll. Jesus wears an orange tunic.

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, which is practiced in the Garden of the Virgin Mary.