Orthodox icon | Mother of God from a Deesis | 24900

The Mother of God with a scroll of text: “Lord, most merciful Lord Jesus Christ and my son…”.

Depictions of the Mother of God, usually with the Christ child in her arms, are the most common motif in icon painting. Three gold stars adorn the maphorion with which she is clothed, one on the forehead and one on each shoulder; they symbolize her virginity before, during and after birth.

The thematic models of the Deesis are the oriental Marian legends. After them, the Mother of God and John the Baptist ask the World Judge for mercy for humanity at the Last Judgment. The Deesis is the central theme of the Templon or Iconostas. The first examples date from the middle of the 1st century. After the image controversy, the subject was fully formed. It is widespread and very common throughout the Christian East.