- Title
Apparition of the Mother of God to St. Sergius of Radonezh - Artist/Maker
Unknown - Object type
Icon
- Culture
Russian
- Date
late 16th century
- Place Associated
Russia
- Materials
Egg tempera on wood panel
- Dimensions
12-3/4 x 10-3/4 inches
- Description
The fourteenth-century monk Sergius of Radonezh is one of the most revered saints in the Russian Orthodox Church. According to legend, as he was praying one night with his disciple Saint Mikhey, the two men were visited by the Virgin Mary, accompanied by the apostles Peter and John. Mary blessed Sergius and told him that his Holy Trinity Monastery would flourish. Here, Sergius bows before Mary, while Mikhey stands in the doorway, covering his eyes with his robe. Standing behind Sergius is his successor, Saint Nicon. At the top is an icon of the so-called Old Testament Trinity. The image depicts a scene from the Book of Genesis, when three angels visited Abraham under the Oak of Mamre. It was interpreted as a prefiguration—the idea that the stories of the Old Testament are prototypes for the New Testament—of the Christian belief that God is three parts, with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Credit Line/Donor
Murray Warner Collection of Oriental Art
- ID Number
MWRU34:15
- Location
In storage
- Exhibitions
After Life: The Saints of Russian and Greek Orthodoxy
After Life: The Saints of Russian and Greek Orthodoxy (rotation)
Threshold of the Invisible World: Russian Icons from the Collection
Splendor and Light: Russian Art from the Collection
Ave Maria: Symbolic and Narrative Icons from the Permanent Collection
Sacred Images and the Millennium: Christianity and Russia (A.D. 988-1988)
