The Mother of God of Eleus

The icon of the Theotokos of Vladimir, presented in a brass riza, is one of the most popular icons in the lands of former Rus. The depiction reproduced in numerous copies, belongs to the iconographic type called 'Eleusa', meaning 'Merciful', 'Tender' in Greek - see S.12685MŁ. The distinguishing feature of this portrayal is the relationship of the Mother of God and Christ, with their cheeks pressed together in a gesture of mother-child intimacy. The first such icon was supposedly painted by St. Luke. In fact, depictions of Eleusa became widespread in the 10th c. Variants of the portrayal can differ from one another - with Christ on the left or sometimes on the right forearm of His Mother, like in the presented painting. The original Mother of God of Vadimir, preserved in Russia, survived the Mongol invasion, according to tradition. The painting originating in Byzantium was gifted by the patriarch of Constantinople to one of the sons of Prince Vladimir Monomakh and sent to Kiev in 1130, through the metropolitan Michael who came from Constantinople. Initially, the icon was placed in a monastery in Vyshhorod, located north of Kiev. One of Monomakh's grandsons, Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky, while expanding his power and spreading the cult of the Mother of God, moved the icon to Bogolyubovo, which he established, and then, to Vladimir upon Klyazma. The icon, placed in the Dormition Cathedral and known as the Mother of God of Vladimir, soon became the main sacred object of the Vladimir-Suzdalian Principality and since the 14th c., the Moscow Principality and all of Muscovite Rus. However, it is doubtful that the Byzantine image survived the destruction of Vladimir by Batu Khan's troops in 1238. Research carried out in the 20th c. showed that the icon considered to be the original comes from the 13th c. and is probably a copy of an earlier one. Further history of the Theotokos of Vadimir image is described under S.12859MŁ. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967