The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary – Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting – Mount Athos

Description

Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting: The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary

An incredible gold leaf printing depicting the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary.

In this rather unusual image, the Virgin Mary is shown with her heart pierced by seven swords. In the more common iconographic type, we see four swords on her left and three on her right.

Because Catholics have adopted the devotion to the “Heart of the Theotokos,” many consider the image of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary to be of Catholic origin. However, in reality, the image is related to the prophecy of Saint Simeon the Righteous, as recorded by the Evangelist Luke: “And a sword will pierce your own soul also…” (Luke 2:35).

This passage refers to the pain the Virgin Mary would feel at the moment of separation from her beloved Son when, before her eyes, He would be led to His crucifixion.

The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary is also known as “the prophecy of the Righteous Simeon.” It is commemorated by the Church on August 13th.

Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting: Characteristics

In the image of the Seven Sorrows, 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 gold foil is placed on surfaces such as wood, leather, cardboard, or plastic using pressure from a heated embossed plate (cliché) on the surface. Around the perimeter of the image, the technique of sandblasting is also used, a process that achieves the erosion of part or all of a surface by blasting sand under pressure.

Dimensions: 21 x 28 x 1 cm
Origin: Mount Athos