Vladimir Virgin

The Vladimir Virgin is an icon painting that was created sometime within the late 11th century and early 12th century. It is painted with tempera and originally on a wood panel approximately 30.5"x21". It was probably painted by a Constantinople artist. Although, the faces of this painting are its original materials, the consequences of being held as an icon took its toll on this painting causing the need for it to be repainted quite often by different artists.

You can see the love and passion the Virgin Mary holds for her Child, but you can also see the pain and fear she has from knowing wher her Son's future holds. In the Vladimir Virgin, Mary is depicted as the Virgin of Compassion, who presses her cheek against her Son's in an intimate portrayal of Mother and Child. The image is also infused with a deep pathos as Mary contemplates the future sacrifice of her Son.

This painting shows extreme balance. While holding Christ on her right side, she has her back slightly turned to her left with her shoulder taking up the uneven space that would be there if she were standing straight forward. With doing this, the artist gives the viewer a better angle.

The emphasis of this painting is clearly the Virgin and Child. The extremely dark clothing of the Virgin stand out dramatically against the golden background, almost looking like a shadow surrounding the faces of the Virgin and Child. The clothing of Young Christ stands out much less being it is a lighter color that goes along with the background. The emphasis remains on the faces of the individuals, being that is the first place viewer's eye will go while looking at this painting because of the color and amount of space used by them.

The Vladimir Virgin icon seems to have a rough texture, this may be due to its age and hardships. Although the gentleness of the meaning of the painting makes it serenely soft to the viewer, the pointy ways the gowns lay and the choice hues gives it more of a rough look. In this painting the unity of the individuals satisfies the mind and eye, leaving the viewer asking no questions. These paintings completely tell the story of love and passion and sorrow they are trying to put out to the viewer.