The Virgin Portaitissa – Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting – Mount Athos

Description

Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting: The Virgin Portaitissa

A beautiful image of the Virgin Portaitissa. The original and miraculous icon of the Virgin Portaitissa is located at the Monastery of Iveron, and according to tradition, it is the work of the Evangelist Luke. The title “Portaitissa” was given due to its location to the left of the central gate. In fact, the icon was revealed in a miraculous way to the fathers of the Monastery shortly after its construction was completed.

The monks saw a fiery column rise from the depths of the sea to the sky. This miracle continued for days until the voice of the Virgin Mary was heard, asking the abbot to walk on the sea and bring her icon. The abbot indeed took the icon as instructed by the Virgin, and from that time, it has remained at the Monastery of Iveron, where it continues to protect it to this day.

Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting: Characteristics

In the image of the Virgin Portaitissa, the monk iconographer used the technique of gold leaf printing to create a work of unique beauty. Gold leaf printing is a type of thermal printing technique. Thermal printing is the method by which very thin metallic foil is applied to surfaces such as wood, leather, cardboard, or plastic by the pressure of a heated embossed plate (cliché) on the surface. Around the perimeter of the image, the technique of sandblasting is also used, a processing technique that achieves the erosion of part or all of a surface by blasting sand under pressure.

Origin: Mount Athos