The Sorrowful Virgin – Aged Lithograph with Gold Leaf – Mount Athos

Description

Aged Lithograph Featuring the Sorrowful Virgin
Description
An aged lithograph depicting the Sorrowful Virgin. In her facial features, one can see the bitterness, sorrow, and grief she endured due to the passion and crucifixion of her only son. This sorrow reflects the pain of an event that was preordained for the salvation of humanity—an event she could only witness.

The Virgin’s face bears the deep, unspoken sorrow of a mother who has lost her only child, and even more so, a mother who saw her innocent child suffer. This is why the Virgin Mary is one of the most beloved figures in Orthodoxy—not only because of her holy life, but also because she was a mother. A mother to her only son, and a mother to all those who turn to her.

Aged Lithograph: Characteristics
In this icon, the monk-iconographer used the lithography technique to create a work of unique beauty, adorned with gold leaf around the edges. By using a lithographed reproduction of Byzantine art, the monk crafted this piece following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught in the iconography workshops of the Athonite monastic community. The artificial aging of the iconography is done by hand, a process to which the monks of Mount Athos give great importance.

Origin: Mount Athos