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{{short description|Medieval Byzantine icon depicting the Virgin and Child}}
]
{{Infobox artwork
| title = Virgin of Vladimir
| other_language_1 = {{langx|ru|Владимирская икона Божией Матери}}
| other_title_1 = Our Lady of Vladimir
| wikidata = Q546241
| image = Virgin of Vladimir.jpg
| image_upright = 1
| alt =
| caption =
| artist = Unknown, ] according to Sacred Tradition
| year = 33(?)-1131
| completion_date = <!-- For a more specific date (post-1583): {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| medium = ]
| movement =
| subject = ]
| height_metric = 104
| width_metric = 69
| length_metric =
| diameter_metric =
| height_imperial = <!-- (i.e. in imperial units) -->
| width_imperial =
| length_imperial =
| diameter_imperial =
| dimensions =
| dimensions_ref =
| metric_unit = cm <!-- Note: this parameter must either use the value given or not be included -->
| imperial_unit = in <!-- Note: this parameter must either use the value given or not be included -->
| weight =
| designation =
| condition =
| museum = ]
| city = ]
| coordinates = <!-- Only use for the coordinates (when known) of the artwork itself, i.e. not for the site, building, structure, etc where it is kept, otherwise leave blank (or omit): {{coord|LAT|LON|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} -->
| owner =
| accession =
| italic title = no
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
] on ], {{convert|104 × 69|cm|in}}, painted about 1131 in Constantinople]]


The '''Virgin of Vladimir''', also known as '''Vladimir Mother of God''', '''Our Lady of Vladimir'''<ref>{{harvp|Yegorov|2018|loc=online}}.</ref> ({{langx|ru|Владимирская икона Божией Матери}}{{efn|Sometimes also referred to as ''Our Lady of Vyshhorod'' and the '''Theotokos of Vladimir''' ({{langx|el|Θεοτόκος του Βλαντίμιρ}})}}), is a 12th-century ] ] depicting the ] and an early example of the ]. It is one of the most culturally significant and celebrated pieces of art in ]. Many consider it a ] with several miracles of historical importance to Russia being attributed to the icon. Following its near destruction in the thirteenth century, the work has been restored at least five times.
The '''Theotokos of Vladimir''', also known as the Virgin of Vladimir or ''Vladimirskaya'', ({{lang-ru|Владимирская Богоматерь}} -- ''the Mother of God, of Vladimir'') is one of the most venerated ] icons. The ] (Mary) is regarded as the ] protectress of ], and the ] is displayed in the ], ].


The icon was painted by an unknown artist most likely in ], or painted by ] and sent through ] to ]. It was sent to ] as a gift before being transferred to the ] in ]. It is traditionally said that the icon did not leave Vladimir until 1395, when it was brought to Moscow to protect the city from an ], although the historical accuracy of this claim is uncertain. By at least the sixteenth century, it was in the ] where it remained until it was moved to the ] after the ].
] ] of ] sent the newly made icon as a gift to ] ] of ] about ]. The beautiful image was coveted by Yury's son ] who brought it to his favourite city ] in ]. When the horses that transported the icon stopped near Vladimir and refused to go further, this was interpreted as a ] that the ] wanted her icon to stay in Vladimir. To house the icon, the great ] was built there, followed by other churches dedicated to the Virgin throughout northwestern Russia.


It was subject to an ownership dispute in the 1990s between the gallery and ], which ended with its relocation to the ]. An arrangement was made to operate the church with dual status as a ] and part of the museum. The icon remains there today, and is only accessible via an underground passage from the gallery to the church, where liturgies are still held.
In ], during ]'s invasion, the image was taken from Vladimir to the new capital, ]. The spot where people and the ruling prince met the icon is commemorated with the Sretensky monastery. ] spent a night crying over the icon, and Tamerlane's armies retreated the same day. The Muscovites refused to return the icon to Vladimir and placed it in the ] of the ]. The intercession of the Theotokos through the image was also credited with saving Moscow from ] hordes in ] and ].


== History ==
One of the most exquisite icons ever created, the icon of the Theotokos of Vladimir is sometimes described as exhibiting universal feelings of motherly love and anxiety for her child. By the ] the Vladimirskaya (as the ] call it) was a thing of ]. Church tradition asserted that the icon was painted by ], though analysis of the image has disproved the legend. The venerated image was used in coronations of ]s, elections of patriarchs, and other important ceremonies of state. In December ], as the Germans approached Moscow, ] reputedly ordered that the icon be placed in an airplane and flown around the besieged capital. Several days later, the German army started to retreat.
=== Origins ===
]
The icon is dated to the earlier part of the 12th century, and arrived in Rus' around 1131. This is consistent with accounts given in ]s.<ref name="auto4">{{harvp|Weitzmann|1982|p=17}}.</ref><ref name="auto1">{{harvp|Tretyakov Guide|2000|p=280}}.</ref><ref name="auto">{{harvp|Runciman|1975|p=154}}.</ref><ref name="auto3">{{harvp|Miller|1968|p=658}}.</ref> Similar to other high quality ], it is thought to have been painted in Constantinople.<ref name="auto3" /><ref name=":2">{{harvp|Funk & Wagnalls|2018|loc=database}}.</ref><ref name="auto2">{{harvp|Rice|1946|p=89}}.</ref> Only the faces are original, with the clothes repainted after suffering damage when a metal cover or ] was placed over them<ref name="auto4" /><ref name="auto3" /> and in a fire in 1195.<ref name="auto3" /><ref name="auto" />


In about 1131, the Greek ] sent the icon as a gift to grand prince ] of Kiev.<ref name="Miller01">{{harvp|Miller|1968|pp=660–661}}.</ref><ref name="Hamilton1">{{harvp|Hamilton|1983|pp=107–108}}.</ref>{{clarification needed|reason=That's impossible, Yuri didn't become prince of Kiev until 1149. Either it was someone else (most likely), or he wasn't the prince of Kiev yet.|date=May 2024}} Academic Sona Hoisington attributes this in part to a greater effort by Byzantines to convert and ] the Slavic peoples at the time.<ref>{{harvp|Hoisington|2019|loc=database}}.</ref>{{clarification needed|reason=Really? What good would that do in Kiev anno 1131? Pretty much everyone was already Christianised there then. It might have done more good in Suzdal, where a pagan revolt happened as late as 1024.|date=May 2024}} It was kept in a ] nunnery until Yuri's son, ], brought it to Vladimir in 1155.<ref name="Miller01" />
==See also==
*]
*]
*]


In a traditional account the horses transporting the icon had stopped near Vladimir and refused to go further. Accordingly, many people of Rus interpreted this as a sign that the ''Theotokos''{{Efn|name=Theotokus|] for ], literally meaning "Birth-Giver of God"}} wanted the icon to stay there. The place was named Bogolyubovo, or "the one loved by God". Andrey placed it in his ] residence and built the ] to legitimize his claim that Vladimir had replaced Kiev as the principal city of Rus.<ref name="Phillips2011">{{harvp|Phillips|2011|loc=database}}.</ref>{{better source needed|reason=That source is behind a paywall. The visible part has fundamental inaccuracies and POV,e.g. "By 1157 it had become the principal town of all Kievan Rus by virtue of the fact that Kiev itself had been sacked by discontented members of the ruling family." That sack would not happen until 12 years later and has nothing to do with the icon, which was moved 14 years earlier. It is also later Russian nationalist interpretation that the 1169 sack of Kiev meant that Vladimir was now suddenly the "capital" or "principal town" of Kievan Rus'. By that logic, Gniezno became the capital of Kievan Rus' once Bolesław I sacked Kiev in 1018.|date=May 2024}} The icon was soon moved to the Assumption Cathedral after its consecration in 1160.<ref name="auto6">{{harvp|Alekseyenko|2008|loc=online}}.</ref>
]
]]]
]

]
Following the consecration of the Assumption Cathedral, which was soon followed by other churches dedicated to the Virgin, there is no record of the icon ever leaving Vladimir until 1395. However, its presence did not prevent the sack and burning of the city by the Mongols in 1238, when the icon was damaged in the fire. It was restored soon after the event, and again in 1431 and in 1512.<ref>{{harvp|Miller|1968|pp=658–659}}.</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name="Hamilton1" />
]

=== Transfer to Moscow ===
] and ] welcoming the Vladimir icon in Moscow]]
A legend formed that the icon was painted by ] from life; the first written account of this story dates back to 1512.<ref name="auto5">{{harvp|Miller|1968|p=663}}.</ref> The ] of the '']'' through the image has also been credited with saving Moscow from Tatar hordes in 1451 and 1480.<ref name="auto6" />

The image was brought from Vladimir to Moscow in 1395, during ]'s invasion. The site where the Muscovites met the Vladimir delegation is commemorated by the ]{{efn|"Sretenie" being the ] term for "meeting".}} which is considered to be built where it occurred. However, no archeological evidence supports this claim, and much of the fifteenth-to-sixteenth century church was destroyed after renovations by the Russian Orthodox Church.<ref>{{harvp|Beliaev|1997|p=38}}.</ref> ] spent a night crying over the icon, and Tamerlane's armies retreated the same day. The Muscovites refused to return the icon to Vladimir and placed it in the ] of the ].<ref>{{harvp|Evans|2004|p=165}}.</ref>

David Miller suggests that the icon was in fact normally still in Vladimir, with some excursions to Moscow, until the 1520s. Crediting the icon with saving Moscow in 1395 does not appear in sources until the late 15th century and the full version of the story until accounts of 1512 and then the 1560s.<ref>{{harvp|Miller|1968|pp=659–660}}.</ref> From the 16th century, the ''Vladimirskaya'' began to be featured as an important symbol in a series of politicized legends linking Moscow to pre-Mongol Rus and positioning it as the centre of Christianity after ] and ]—initially to sustain the imperial pretensions of Ivan IV, and later to influence state policy under the Riurikid and Romanov dynasties.<ref>{{harvp|Miller|1968|pp=669–670}}.</ref>

=== Post-revolution ===
Under the ], the icon came into the possession of the ].<ref name="Art-613">{{harvp|Averintsev|1994|p=613}}.</ref> Displayed as a work of art,<ref name="Art-613" /> it was first put on display in the gallery in 1930 and kept there for at least the next 11 years.<ref>{{harvp|Bakatkina|2017|pp=44–45}}.</ref> During the ], ] allegedly had the icon flown around the city as the Germans began to invade.<ref name="Phillips2011" /><ref name="Bakatkina-45">{{harvp|Bakatkina|2017|p=45}}.</ref> This was first described by Moscow city official ] in his 2012 book ''{{lang|ru|Муниципальная милиция в Российской Федерации}}''.<ref name="Bakatkina-45" />

In 1993, it was moved to the ] for a ] in the wake of tensions between President ] and the ]. Though it was damaged during the excursion, it was soon restored and given to the ].<ref name="RussianLife2019">{{harvp|Russian Life|1999|p=8}}.</ref><ref>{{harvp|The Economist|1993|pp=109–110}}.</ref>

== Description ==
{{multiple image
| width =
| image1 = Vladimirskaya.jpg
| caption1 = Details of Our lady of Vladimir icon
| image2 = Restorations to Our Lady of Vladimir, Anisimov.jpg
| caption2 = Various stages of damage to and restoration of the icon, as analyzed by A. I. Anisimov
}}

The icon is a ] painting on wood, {{convert|106 × 69|cm|in}} in size, with the central {{convert|78 × 55|cm|in}} portion being original and the rest being a later expansion undertaken possibly to accommodate a larger ]. The icon depicts ] as a child being held in the arms of ]. They embrace cheek to cheek, with the child gazing towards and reaching for Mary. She holds him with one arm and solemnly looks out towards the viewer. The faces and hands are painted with greenish olive ''sankir'', a mix of ] pigment and ], and transparent layers of brighter ochre; the child's face is rendered in a lighter shade than the mother's, perhaps to reflect the difference in their age. The child's clothes are painted with dark ochre and gold. The original painting bore the inscription ], an abbreviation for 'Mother of God', of which only parts survive.<ref name="BakatkinaChapter1">{{harvp|Bakatkina|2017|pp=8–25}}.</ref><ref name="Hamilton1" />

In its nine centuries of existence, the icon has been restored and overpainted at least five times to deal with damage and deterioration, including a fifteenth century restoration thought to have been led by ]. It is mainly the faces of Mary and Jesus and the ] above her head that are original twelfth-century paint. In the past, the icon has been covered with several elaborately designed ] (revetments) which caused damage to the frame. The reverse, which is much less well known, contains an image of the ] ('prepared throne') and ] that was painted in {{circa|14th}} century (prior to that the reverse side had a painting of an unidentified saint).<ref name="TVkultura">{{harvp|TVkultura|2014|loc=online}}.</ref><ref name="BakatkinaChapter1" /><ref>{{harvp|Elkins|1993|loc=database}}.</ref>

{{multiple image
| align = left
| header_align =
| footer_align =
| image1 = Prestol ugotovanny.jpg
| width1 = 130
| caption1 = ] and ] painted on the reverse side of the icon, ca. 14th century
| image2 = Riza for Our lady of Vladimir, 1657.jpg
| width2 = 160
| caption2 = A ] for the icon dating to 1657
}}

Among icons of Virgin Mary with Jesus, ''Our lady of Vladimir'' is classed as an ] (]: ''Oumilenie''), due to the tender attachment between mother and child.<ref name="Averintsev">{{harvp|Averintsev|1994|pp=612–615}}.</ref> Theologians and believers have also commented upon the icons symbology and the religious sentiments it inspires. Contemplating the icon, theologian ], remarked that the Virgin's eyes glance at neither the child or the viewer but appear to "look inward and outward at once"; that her free hand gestures towards the baby to "open a space for us to approach Jesus without fear"; and, that the child is shown as "a wise man dressed in adult clothes."<ref name="Nouwen">{{harvp|Nouwen|1985|pp=387–389}}.</ref> Literary scholar, ] interpreted the mix of maternal tenderness and poignant sorrow seen in Mary's expression, as representative of the emotions generated by the events of ] and ], respectively.<ref name="Averintsev" /> Jesus's bare feet are seen as symbolizing his physical reality; his garments of gold, the ]; and the three stars on Mary's dress (one occluded by the child), "her virginity before, during and after her son's birth."<ref name="Forest">{{harvp|Forest|2008|pp=78–80}}.</ref>

Its artistic quality has been highly praised. Art historian ] said that " ...is admitted by all who have seen it to be one of the most outstanding religious paintings of the world."<ref name="auto2" /> Art historian ] praises its "craftsmanship and conception", and notes how in its representation of the subject's faces, the icon subtly transitions from its normal use of contour lines to a refined surface texture. It is painted in an artistic style typical for Byzantine art of the period with features including smaller mouths, refined eyes, and elongating Mary's nose. However, by avoiding the use of demarcating line, as became common in later Byzantine art, and by setting up the complex interplay of the mother and child's glances, the icon adds to the illusion of life in the piece. The child's features are reminiscent of ], though the artist renders an expression truer to an actual infant's.<ref name="Hamilton1" /> The expressive and humanistic character of the icon differentiates it from earlier Byzantine art and exemplify the artistic developments seen during the ].<ref name="auto" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name="auto2" />

== Significance ==
=== In Russian history ===
The icon is generally considered to be one of the most cherished symbols in Russian history.<ref name="RussianLife2019" /><ref>{{harvp|Nouwen|1985|p=387}}.</ref><ref name="Jackson1995" /> Academic David Miller has ascribed this to its close connection to Russian ] throughout its existence.<ref>{{harvp|Miller|1968|pp=668–670}}.</ref> Its transfer from Kiev to Vladimir was used by Bogolyubsky to legitimize Vladimir's claim as the new center of government in ].<ref name="Hamilton1" />{{better source needed|reason=It was not in Kiev, but in Vyshhorod. It is also later Russian nationalist interpretation that the 1169 sack of Kiev meant that Vladimir was now suddenly the "capital" or "principal town" or "new centre of government" of Kievan Rus'. By that logic, Gniezno became the capital of Kievan Rus' once Bolesław I sacked Kiev in 1018. Besides, the icon was moved 14 years earlier already, so it had nothing to do with some "transfer of the capital", which is already a dubious claim. The fact that "Russian national consciousness" is invoked here means this claim can be no older than the late 18th century.|date=May 2024}}

Additionally, its intimate association with important Russian historical events gave Our Lady of Vladimir the distinction of being a ].<ref name="Hamilton1" /><ref name="Phillips2011" /> The most recent of these events being the ] when it was brought to the Epiphany Cathedral at the request of ] and Mayor of Moscow ] in their attempt to bring peace to the country.<ref name="Bakatkina-45" />

=== As a religious icon ===
Our Lady of Vladimir's veneration is also likely enhanced by the fact that the ''Theotokos'' is regarded as the holy protectress of Russia.<ref name="Phillips2011" /> The venerated image has been used in celebration of coronations of tsars, elections of patriarchs, and other important ceremonies of state.<ref name="Phillips2011" /><ref name="Art-613" /><ref>{{harvp|Miller|1968|p=657}}.</ref> The icon has three ] held throughout the year in celebration to specific events it is associated with:<ref name="auto6" />

*{{OldStyleDateNY|3 June|21 May}}{{Efn|The dates provided are in both ]. The canonical dates for the feast days are in old style because the Russian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar. See ].}} to celebrate Moscow's protection from ] ] in 1521.
*{{OldStyleDateNY|6 July|23 June}} for, in 1480, for their victory against ] during the ].
*{{OldStyleDateNY|8 September|26 August}} to commemorate the Muscovite deliverance from pending invasion by ].<ref>{{harvp|OCA|2016|loc=online}}.</ref>

== Location and display ==
{{main|Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi}}
]
Our Lady of Vladimir is on display at the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi.<ref>{{harvp|Tretyakov Guide|2000|pp=278–280}}.</ref><ref name=":4">{{harvp|Pravda|2019|loc=online}}.</ref> As a result of an agreement between the Tretyakov and ], the church is both an active Russian Orthodox ] and functioning museum.<ref name=":0" /> Previously, there had been a contentious ownership dispute between the two.<ref>{{harvp|The Economist|1993|loc=database}}.</ref><ref name="Jackson1995">{{harvp|Jackson|1995|p=344}}.</ref>

In 1997, the Tretyakov completed a full restoration of the church.<ref name=":0" /> Security improvements to store and display art were added, and an underground passageway was additionally made to connect it to the State Tretyakov Gallery.<ref>{{harvp|Insight Guides|2016|pp=99–100}}.</ref> In order to house the famous icon, a temperature controlled ] case was commissioned.<ref name=":0">{{harvp|Lebedeva|2006|loc=online}}.</ref> On 7 September 1996, Our Lady of Vladimir was first installed in the special case located within the church, and the next day ] consecrated the church. According to Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov, the rector for the church, the case would able to withstand the firing of a ] as well as many other potential hazards.<ref name=":1">{{harvp|Strelchik|2012|loc=online}}.</ref>

Due to its dual status as both church and museum, visitors are allowed to pray before the icon and divine Liturgies are regularly held on selected days. However, visitors can only enter the church through the Tretyakov Gallery and via the underground passageway.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

== Copies and influence ==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| header_align =
| footer_align =
| image1 = Vladimirskaya (15th c., Russian museum).jpg
| width1 = 160
| caption1 = Fifteenth century copy, sometimes attributed to ]
| image2 = Maryhill Museum - Vladimir Mother of God (late 19th century Russian icon) 01A.jpg
| width2 = 131
| caption2 = A late nineteenth century copy largely covered with ] (revetments)
}}
Even more than most, the original icon has been repeatedly duplicated for centuries, and many copies also have considerable artistic and religious significance of their own.<ref>{{harvp|Evans|2004|pp=164–165}}.</ref> According to ], it became a standard for many Russian contemporary depictions of Mary.<ref>{{harvp|Massie|1980|p=45}}.</ref>

In preparation for the ], a chapel was constructed for athletes to be able to pray before competition which hosted a copy of the icon.<ref name="Bakatkina-45" />

== See also ==

* ] – a church in St. Petersburg dedicated to the icon
* ]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite news |url=https://pravoslavie.ru/7424.html |title=Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God |last1=Alekseyenko |first1=Anton |date=9 September 2008 |work=Orthodoxy and the World |access-date=12 August 2019 |language=en }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Averintsev |first1=Sergej S. |title=The Image of the Virgin Mary in Russian Piety |journal=Gregorianum |date=1994 |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=611–622 |jstor=23579744 |publisher=Gregorian Biblical Press |issn=0017-4114 |language=en}}
* {{cite thesis |last1=Bakatkina |first1=Maria |title="Hands off That Sacred Image!" The Vladimir Icon and Its Power |via=LibraETD |date=5 January 2017 |doi=10.18130/V3NQ0F |url=https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/g445cd28x |access-date=15 August 2019 |publisher=University of Virginia |format=PDF |doi-access=free |language=en }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Beliaev |first1=Leonid A. |title=Mystery Monasteries |journal=Archaeology |date=July–August 1997 |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=36–38 |jstor=41658720 |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |issn=0003-8113 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Forest |first1=Jim |title=Praying with Icons |year=2008 |publisher=Orbis Books |isbn=978-1-60833-077-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hUAh42qYnEsC |language=en }}
* {{cite book |title=Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia |publisher=World Book, Inc. |year=2018 |location=Chicago |chapter=Byzantine Art and Architecture |id={{EBSCOhost|by218900}} |ref={{SfnRef|Funk & Wagnalls|2018}} |language=en}}
* {{cite web |url=https://oca.org/saints/lives/2016/08/26/102402-commemoration-of-the-vladimir-icon-of-the-mother-of-god-and-the |title=Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane |date=26 August 2016 |website=oca.org |publisher=The Orthodox Church in America |access-date=15 August 2019 |ref={{SfnRef|OCA|2016}} |language=en }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Elkins |first1=James |title=From original to copy and back again |journal=The British Journal of Aesthetics |date=1 April 1993 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=113–120 |publisher=Oxford University Press |issn=0007-0904 |id={{Gale|A13772791}} |doi=10.1093/bjaesthetics/33.2.113 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |title=Byzantium, Faith and Power (1261–1557) |date=2004 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art/Yale University Press |isbn=978-1-58839-114-8 |editor1-last=Evans |editor1-first=Helen C. |oclc=893698628 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/byzantiumfaithpo0000unse |language=en }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hamilton |first1=George Heard |title=The art and architecture of Russia |date=1983 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0-300-05327-4 |edition=3rd |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hoisington |first1=Sona |title=The Middle Period |journal=Dig into History |date=1 March 2019 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=20+ |publisher=Cricket Media |issn=1539-7130 |id={{Gale|A581990256}} |language=en}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRZ3DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT99 |title=Insight Guides Pocket Moscow (Travel Guide eBook) |date=2016 |publisher=Apa Publications (UK) Limited |isbn=978-1-78671-677-4 |access-date=9 August 2019 |ref={{SfnRef|Insight Guides|2016}} |language=en }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=David |title=The State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow |journal=The Burlington Magazine |date=May 1995 |volume=137 |issue=1106 |pages=342–344 |publisher=Burlington Magazine Publications |type=Review |issn=0007-6287 |jstor=886644 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |title=State Tretyakov Gallery |date=1 January 2000 |publisher=Avant-Garde |isbn=978-5863941066 |editor1-last=Kirdina |editor1-first=N. |edition=2nd rev |location=Moscow |translator-last=Cook |translator-first=K. M. |type=Guidebook |oclc=54071928 |ol=9058828M |ref={{SfnRef|Tretyakov Guide|2000}} |language=fr}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.pravoslavie.ru/2753.html |title=Храм Святого Николая Чудотворца В Толмачах |last1=Lebedeva |first1=Elena |date=18 December 2006 |website=pravoslavie.ru |language=ru |trans-title=Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Tolmachi |access-date=11 August 2019 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Massie |first1=Suzanne |title=Land of the Firebird: the Beauty of Old Russia |date=1980 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York City |isbn=0-671-23051-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/landoffirebirdth00mass |url-access=limited |language=en }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=David B. |date=October 1968 |title=Legends of the Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir: A Study of the Development of Muscovite National Consciousness |journal=Speculum |publisher=Medieval Academy of America |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=657–670 |doi=10.2307/2855325 |issn=0038-7134 |jstor=2855325 |s2cid=154449436 |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |last=Nouwen |first=Henri J. M. |date=11 May 1985 |title=The Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir: An Invitation to Belong to God |journal=America |publisher=America Media |volume=152 |issue=18 |pages=387–390 |issn=0002-7049 |id={{EBSCOhost|35621166}} |language=en}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.ap22.ru/paper/O-chem-molyatsya-Vladimirskoy-ikone-Bozhiey-Materi.html |title=О чем молятся Владимирской иконе Божией Матери |date=3 June 2019 |website=www.ap22.ru |publisher=Pravda |trans-title=About prayer for the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God |access-date=11 August 2019 |ref={{SfnRef|Pravda|2019}} |language=ru }}
* {{cite journal |title=Our Lady at Rest |journal=Russian Life |date=August–September 1999 |volume=42 |issue=5 |page=8 |publisher=Russian Information Services, Inc. |location=Montpelier, VT |issn=1066-999X |id={{Gale|A58065134}} |ref={{SfnRef|Russian Life|1999}} |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Phillips |first1=Peter |title=Band of gold: the historic towns north-east of Moscow give a beautiful glimpse into the dawn of Russian civilisation |journal=Spectator |date=25 June 2011 |volume=316 |issue=9539 |pages=59+ |publisher=The Spectator Ltd. |location=London |issn=0038-6952 |id={{Gale|A259961864}} |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Rice |first1=D. Talbot |date=April 1946 |title=The Greek Exhibition at Burlington House |journal=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs |volume=88 |issue=517 |pages=86–90 |issn=0951-0788 |jstor=869212 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |title=Byzantine Style and Civilization |last1=Runciman |first1=Steven |date=1975 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-013754-5}}
* {{cite news |url=http://e-vestnik.ru/interviews/tretyakovka_priglashaet_v_hram/ |title=Третьяковка приглашает... в храм/Интервью/ЖМПиЦВ |last1=Strelchik |first1=Evgeny |date=12 December 2012 |work=Tserkovny Vestnik |access-date=12 August 2019 |type=Interview |language=ru }}
* {{cite news |title=The resurrection of holy Russia |newspaper=The Economist |volume=329 |issue=7834 |publisher=Economist Intelligence Unit N.A. Incorporated |date=23 October 1993 |ref={{SfnRef|The Economist|1993}} |pages=109–110 |id={{Gale|A14570055}} |language=en}}
* {{cite web |title=Что скрывает обратная сторона иконы Владимирской Божьей Матери? |url=http://tvkultura.ru/article/show/article_id/109585/ |website=TVkultura |access-date=24 August 2019 |ref={{SfnRef|TVkultura|2014}} |date=13 March 2014 |language=ru |archive-date=25 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925005052/http://tvkultura.ru/article/show/article_id/109585 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |title=The Icon |date=1982 |publisher=Evans Brothers Ltd |isbn=0-237-45645-1 |location=London |language=en |last1=Weitzmann |first1=Kurt}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.rbth.com/arts/329479-most-important-russian-icons |title=5 most famous and miraculous icons that Russians venerate |last=Yegorov |first=Oleg |date=12 November 2018 |website=] |access-date=9 August 2019 |language=en-US }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=Early Christian and Byzantine Art |last1=Beckwith |first1=John |date=1970 |publisher=Penguin History of Art |isbn=978-0-14-056033-6 |edition=2nd |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |url=https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/hdsjournal/wounded-presence-virgin-vlaidimir-icon |title=A Wounded Presence: The Virgin of Vlaidimir Icon |last1=Belz |first1=Elaine Elizabeth |journal=The Graduate Journal of Harvard Divinity School |date=2016 |publisher=Harvard College |access-date=12 August 2019 |language=en}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}

* {{OrthodoxWiki link|Theotokos of Vladimir}}
* at '']'' {{in lang|ru}}

{{Virgin Mary}}
{{Theotokos in Russia|state=collapsed}}

{{good article}}

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Latest revision as of 05:15, 25 December 2024

Medieval Byzantine icon depicting the Virgin and Child
Virgin of Vladimir
Russian: Владимирская икона Божией Матери: Our Lady of Vladimir
ArtistUnknown, Luke the Evangelist according to Sacred Tradition
Year33(?)-1131
MediumTempera
SubjectVirgin Mary
Dimensions104 cm × 69 cm (41 in × 27 in)
LocationTretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Our Lady of Vladimir, egg tempera on wood panel, 104 by 69 centimetres (41 in × 27 in), painted about 1131 in Constantinople

The Virgin of Vladimir, also known as Vladimir Mother of God, Our Lady of Vladimir (Russian: Владимирская икона Божией Матери), is a 12th-century Byzantine icon depicting the Virgin and Child and an early example of the Eleusa iconographic type. It is one of the most culturally significant and celebrated pieces of art in Russian history. Many consider it a national palladium with several miracles of historical importance to Russia being attributed to the icon. Following its near destruction in the thirteenth century, the work has been restored at least five times.

The icon was painted by an unknown artist most likely in Constantinople, or painted by Luke the Evangelist and sent through Anatolia to Thrace. It was sent to Kiev as a gift before being transferred to the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. It is traditionally said that the icon did not leave Vladimir until 1395, when it was brought to Moscow to protect the city from an invasion by Timur, although the historical accuracy of this claim is uncertain. By at least the sixteenth century, it was in the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow where it remained until it was moved to the State Tretyakov Gallery after the Russian Revolution.

It was subject to an ownership dispute in the 1990s between the gallery and Moscow Patriarchate, which ended with its relocation to the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi. An arrangement was made to operate the church with dual status as a house church and part of the museum. The icon remains there today, and is only accessible via an underground passage from the gallery to the church, where liturgies are still held.

History

Origins

The surviving portion of the Bogolyubovo Castle [fr]

The icon is dated to the earlier part of the 12th century, and arrived in Rus' around 1131. This is consistent with accounts given in Rus' chronicles. Similar to other high quality Byzantine works of art, it is thought to have been painted in Constantinople. Only the faces are original, with the clothes repainted after suffering damage when a metal cover or riza was placed over them and in a fire in 1195.

In about 1131, the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople sent the icon as a gift to grand prince Yuri Dolgorukiy of Kiev. Academic Sona Hoisington attributes this in part to a greater effort by Byzantines to convert and Christianize the Slavic peoples at the time. It was kept in a Vyshhorod nunnery until Yuri's son, Andrey of Bogolyubovo, brought it to Vladimir in 1155.

In a traditional account the horses transporting the icon had stopped near Vladimir and refused to go further. Accordingly, many people of Rus interpreted this as a sign that the Theotokos wanted the icon to stay there. The place was named Bogolyubovo, or "the one loved by God". Andrey placed it in his Bogolyubovo residence and built the Assumption Cathedral to legitimize his claim that Vladimir had replaced Kiev as the principal city of Rus. The icon was soon moved to the Assumption Cathedral after its consecration in 1160.

Prince Andrew removing the icon from a convent in Vyshhorod. A miniature from the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible

Following the consecration of the Assumption Cathedral, which was soon followed by other churches dedicated to the Virgin, there is no record of the icon ever leaving Vladimir until 1395. However, its presence did not prevent the sack and burning of the city by the Mongols in 1238, when the icon was damaged in the fire. It was restored soon after the event, and again in 1431 and in 1512.

Transfer to Moscow

This sixteenth century icon shows Metropolitan Cyprian and Vasily I welcoming the Vladimir icon in Moscow

A legend formed that the icon was painted by Luke the Evangelist from life; the first written account of this story dates back to 1512. The intercession of the Theotokos through the image has also been credited with saving Moscow from Tatar hordes in 1451 and 1480.

The image was brought from Vladimir to Moscow in 1395, during Tamerlane's invasion. The site where the Muscovites met the Vladimir delegation is commemorated by the Sretensky Monastery which is considered to be built where it occurred. However, no archeological evidence supports this claim, and much of the fifteenth-to-sixteenth century church was destroyed after renovations by the Russian Orthodox Church. Vasily I of Moscow spent a night crying over the icon, and Tamerlane's armies retreated the same day. The Muscovites refused to return the icon to Vladimir and placed it in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

David Miller suggests that the icon was in fact normally still in Vladimir, with some excursions to Moscow, until the 1520s. Crediting the icon with saving Moscow in 1395 does not appear in sources until the late 15th century and the full version of the story until accounts of 1512 and then the 1560s. From the 16th century, the Vladimirskaya began to be featured as an important symbol in a series of politicized legends linking Moscow to pre-Mongol Rus and positioning it as the centre of Christianity after Rome and Byzantium—initially to sustain the imperial pretensions of Ivan IV, and later to influence state policy under the Riurikid and Romanov dynasties.

Post-revolution

Under the Bolsheviks, the icon came into the possession of the State Tretyakov Gallery. Displayed as a work of art, it was first put on display in the gallery in 1930 and kept there for at least the next 11 years. During the Battle of Moscow, Joseph Stalin allegedly had the icon flown around the city as the Germans began to invade. This was first described by Moscow city official Viktor Volokhov in his 2012 book Муниципальная милиция в Российской Федерации.

In 1993, it was moved to the Epiphany Cathedral for a Divine Liturgy in the wake of tensions between President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian Duma. Though it was damaged during the excursion, it was soon restored and given to the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi.

Description

Details of Our lady of Vladimir iconVarious stages of damage to and restoration of the icon, as analyzed by A. I. Anisimov

The icon is a tempera painting on wood, 106 by 69 centimetres (42 in × 27 in) in size, with the central 78 by 55 centimetres (31 in × 22 in) portion being original and the rest being a later expansion undertaken possibly to accommodate a larger riza. The icon depicts Jesus Christ as a child being held in the arms of his mother, Mary. They embrace cheek to cheek, with the child gazing towards and reaching for Mary. She holds him with one arm and solemnly looks out towards the viewer. The faces and hands are painted with greenish olive sankir, a mix of ochre pigment and soot, and transparent layers of brighter ochre; the child's face is rendered in a lighter shade than the mother's, perhaps to reflect the difference in their age. The child's clothes are painted with dark ochre and gold. The original painting bore the inscription ΜΡ ΘΥ, an abbreviation for 'Mother of God', of which only parts survive.

In its nine centuries of existence, the icon has been restored and overpainted at least five times to deal with damage and deterioration, including a fifteenth century restoration thought to have been led by Andrei Rublev. It is mainly the faces of Mary and Jesus and the gold ground above her head that are original twelfth-century paint. In the past, the icon has been covered with several elaborately designed oklad and riza (revetments) which caused damage to the frame. The reverse, which is much less well known, contains an image of the Hetoimasia ('prepared throne') and instruments of Christ's Passion that was painted in c. 14th century (prior to that the reverse side had a painting of an unidentified saint).

Hetoimasia and instruments of Christ's Passion painted on the reverse side of the icon, ca. 14th centuryA riza for the icon dating to 1657

Among icons of Virgin Mary with Jesus, Our lady of Vladimir is classed as an Eleusa icon (Russian: Oumilenie), due to the tender attachment between mother and child. Theologians and believers have also commented upon the icons symbology and the religious sentiments it inspires. Contemplating the icon, theologian Henri Nouwen, remarked that the Virgin's eyes glance at neither the child or the viewer but appear to "look inward and outward at once"; that her free hand gestures towards the baby to "open a space for us to approach Jesus without fear"; and, that the child is shown as "a wise man dressed in adult clothes." Literary scholar, S. S. Averintsev interpreted the mix of maternal tenderness and poignant sorrow seen in Mary's expression, as representative of the emotions generated by the events of Nativity and Calvary, respectively. Jesus's bare feet are seen as symbolizing his physical reality; his garments of gold, the Kingdom of Heaven; and the three stars on Mary's dress (one occluded by the child), "her virginity before, during and after her son's birth."

Its artistic quality has been highly praised. Art historian David Talbot Rice said that " ...is admitted by all who have seen it to be one of the most outstanding religious paintings of the world." Art historian George Heard Hamilton praises its "craftsmanship and conception", and notes how in its representation of the subject's faces, the icon subtly transitions from its normal use of contour lines to a refined surface texture. It is painted in an artistic style typical for Byzantine art of the period with features including smaller mouths, refined eyes, and elongating Mary's nose. However, by avoiding the use of demarcating line, as became common in later Byzantine art, and by setting up the complex interplay of the mother and child's glances, the icon adds to the illusion of life in the piece. The child's features are reminiscent of classical sculpture, though the artist renders an expression truer to an actual infant's. The expressive and humanistic character of the icon differentiates it from earlier Byzantine art and exemplify the artistic developments seen during the Komnenos dynasty.

Significance

In Russian history

The icon is generally considered to be one of the most cherished symbols in Russian history. Academic David Miller has ascribed this to its close connection to Russian national consciousness throughout its existence. Its transfer from Kiev to Vladimir was used by Bogolyubsky to legitimize Vladimir's claim as the new center of government in Kievan Rus'.

Additionally, its intimate association with important Russian historical events gave Our Lady of Vladimir the distinction of being a national palladium. The most recent of these events being the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis when it was brought to the Epiphany Cathedral at the request of Patriarch Alexy II and Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov in their attempt to bring peace to the country.

As a religious icon

Our Lady of Vladimir's veneration is also likely enhanced by the fact that the Theotokos is regarded as the holy protectress of Russia. The venerated image has been used in celebration of coronations of tsars, elections of patriarchs, and other important ceremonies of state. The icon has three feast days held throughout the year in celebration to specific events it is associated with:

Location and display

Main article: Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi
Our Lady of Vladimir on display within the church

Our Lady of Vladimir is on display at the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi. As a result of an agreement between the Tretyakov and Moscow Patriarchate, the church is both an active Russian Orthodox house church and functioning museum. Previously, there had been a contentious ownership dispute between the two.

In 1997, the Tretyakov completed a full restoration of the church. Security improvements to store and display art were added, and an underground passageway was additionally made to connect it to the State Tretyakov Gallery. In order to house the famous icon, a temperature controlled bulletproof glass case was commissioned. On 7 September 1996, Our Lady of Vladimir was first installed in the special case located within the church, and the next day Patriarch Alexy II consecrated the church. According to Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov, the rector for the church, the case would able to withstand the firing of a Kalashnikov rifle as well as many other potential hazards.

Due to its dual status as both church and museum, visitors are allowed to pray before the icon and divine Liturgies are regularly held on selected days. However, visitors can only enter the church through the Tretyakov Gallery and via the underground passageway.

Copies and influence

Fifteenth century copy, sometimes attributed to Andrei RublevA late nineteenth century copy largely covered with riza (revetments)

Even more than most, the original icon has been repeatedly duplicated for centuries, and many copies also have considerable artistic and religious significance of their own. According to Suzanne Massie, it became a standard for many Russian contemporary depictions of Mary.

In preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics, a chapel was constructed for athletes to be able to pray before competition which hosted a copy of the icon.

See also

Notes

  1. Sometimes also referred to as Our Lady of Vyshhorod and the Theotokos of Vladimir (Greek: Θεοτόκος του Βλαντίμιρ)
  2. Greek for Virgin Mary, literally meaning "Birth-Giver of God"
  3. "Sretenie" being the Church Slavonic term for "meeting".
  4. The dates provided are in both old and new style. The canonical dates for the feast days are in old style because the Russian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar. See Gregorian calendar § Difference between Gregorian and Julian calendar dates.

Citations

  1. Yegorov (2018), online.
  2. ^ Weitzmann (1982), p. 17.
  3. Tretyakov Guide (2000), p. 280.
  4. ^ Runciman (1975), p. 154.
  5. ^ Miller (1968), p. 658.
  6. ^ Funk & Wagnalls (2018), database.
  7. ^ Rice (1946), p. 89.
  8. ^ Miller (1968), pp. 660–661.
  9. ^ Hamilton (1983), pp. 107–108.
  10. Hoisington (2019), database.
  11. ^ Phillips (2011), database.
  12. ^ Alekseyenko (2008), online.
  13. Miller (1968), pp. 658–659.
  14. ^ Lebedeva (2006), online.
  15. Miller (1968), p. 663.
  16. Beliaev (1997), p. 38.
  17. Evans (2004), p. 165.
  18. Miller (1968), pp. 659–660.
  19. Miller (1968), pp. 669–670.
  20. ^ Averintsev (1994), p. 613.
  21. Bakatkina (2017), pp. 44–45.
  22. ^ Bakatkina (2017), p. 45.
  23. ^ Russian Life (1999), p. 8.
  24. The Economist (1993), pp. 109–110.
  25. ^ Bakatkina (2017), pp. 8–25.
  26. TVkultura (2014), online.
  27. Elkins (1993), database.
  28. ^ Averintsev (1994), pp. 612–615.
  29. Nouwen (1985), pp. 387–389.
  30. Forest (2008), pp. 78–80.
  31. Nouwen (1985), p. 387.
  32. ^ Jackson (1995), p. 344.
  33. Miller (1968), pp. 668–670.
  34. Miller (1968), p. 657.
  35. OCA (2016), online.
  36. Tretyakov Guide (2000), pp. 278–280.
  37. Pravda (2019), online.
  38. The Economist (1993), database.
  39. Insight Guides (2016), pp. 99–100.
  40. ^ Strelchik (2012), online.
  41. Evans (2004), pp. 164–165.
  42. Massie (1980), p. 45.

References

Further reading

External links

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