Russian icon of the XVII century.

Russian icon of the XVII century
"The Virgin and Child Jesus and selected saints".
Tempera, gold leaf on board.
It presents homogeneous craquelure on the whole surface, and damages for the humidity in the inferior part.
Measurements: 27 x 22 cm.

The icon of interest represents a quite common and popular composition, of the Mother of God seated on the throne, with the selected saints. It follows the traditional model of triangular hierarchical composition, where the seated Virgin is above, and of larger size, than the rest of the saints. The two saints at her side are represented in two different postures, the saint on the left maintains the gesture of adoration, and the saint on the right raises his right hand in a gesture of blessing. The characters lack the inscriptions, probably have been lost, so there is some problem in determining them. Certain characteristic features, such as the beards or the clothes, could indicate that the saints represented are John Chrysostom, on the right, and on the left is represented a venerable monk, to this points his clothes and multiple representation of the cross of Golgotha, a typology, which is used exclusively in the clothes of the orthodox monks.
This type of representation of the seated Virgin and Child Jesus is widely known in the Orthodox world under the name "Panachranta", and has similar features with the prototype "Odighitria", when representing the faces of the Virgin and Child embraced, and with the faces side by side. The central image of the auctioned icon presents the iconography typical of Panachranta, with the Virgin Mary seated on the throne, holding the Child Jesus on her knees. The throne symbolizes the majesty and royal power of the Mother of God. This prototype of the Virgin Mary with Child developed in the Byzantine Empire between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and in Russia it has been known since the thirteenth century.
In compositional terms, this ancient icon presents one of the most particular features of Orthodox iconography, which is the reverse perspective. The throne, on which the Virgin rests, is represented in such a way that the viewer can contemplate it from several points of view at the same time. The idea behind the reverse perspective is not so much to represent a physical object from the most realistic and plausible point of view, but to transmit the moment and the space in which the scene takes place with maximum depth, that is, to present the objects on the two-dimensional support in such a way, as if they were contemplated from all points of view at the same time. Likewise, the composition focuses on the viewer's gaze, and on the importance of the viewer being part, in some way, of the interior of the image. The same idea is at the basis of cubist painting, for example.