100% hand painted icon crafted in canvas on wood with the traditional method of the Byzantine hagiography with gold background.

Virgin Mary Hodegetria - Directress

The icon of the Virgin Mary Directress is among the first icons of the Virgin Mary in the Orthodox history elaborated by Evangelist Lucas with the "blessing" of the Virgin Mary. In the Christian tradition it is said that the hagiographer Evangelist Lucas painted the Virgin Mary on pieces of wood consigned by an angel of the Lord. On the first piece of wood Evangelist Lucas painted the Virgin Mary without Jesus whilst on the second piece of wood, Apostle Lucas, urged by the Virgin Mary, added the figure of Jesus, which was blessed by the Virgin Mary.

The icon of the Virgin Mary Directress, positioned in the Nave templo at the Holy Monastery of Stavronikita of Mount Athos is a portable icon, hagiographed in the 16th century (1545/6) by Theophanis the Cretan, one of the most important hagiographers of the Cretan school. At this particular icon, the hagiographer Theophanis gave emphasis to the shading of the faces and the bodies’ figures, a particularity being the colorful shade surrounding the body of Christ towards the side of Virgin Mary’s body, emphasizing the autonomy of the bodies. The rendering of the bodies’ mass as well as the depiction of the faces to look ahead, identify the style of Theophanis.

Virgin Mary Hodegetria - Directress - 100% handpainted wooden icon in canvas with gold background - Mount Athos