id:			168322
accession number:	2010.154
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.154
updated:		2023-08-24 00:41:49.856000

Icon of the Mother of God and Infant Christ (Virgin Eleousa), c. 1425–50. Attributed to Angelos Akotantos (Greek, d. 1450). Tempera and gold on wood panel; unframed: 96 x 70 cm (37 13/16 x 27 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.154

title:				Icon of the Mother of God and Infant Christ (Virgin Eleousa)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1425–50
creation date earliest:		1420
creation date latest:		1455
current location:		105 Byzantine
creditline:			Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Crete, Byzantium Empire
technique:	tempera and gold on wood panel
department:	Medieval Art
collection:	MED - Byzantine
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Angelos Akotantos (Greek, d. 1450)  - artist

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measurements: Unframed: 96 x 70 cm (37 13/16 x 27 9/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	None visible on obverse; unidentified inscriptions on reverse
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	[Antonio de Crescenzo and Co., Rome, March 15, 1989]
	date: 1989
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Private collection, Rome, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1989-2010
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2010-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
This is the only known work by Angelos Akotantos in the United States.

digital description:


wall description:
This type of icon is known as the Virgin Eleousa (Virgin of Tenderness) characterized by the touching cheeks of mother and child in a loving moment. The icon signifies Christ’s incarnation, suffering, and death for the sake of humankind. Three ornamental stars on the Virgin’s cloak are traditional symbols of her chastity; a blue cap covers her hair and protects her modesty. The child wears a pale green tunic and deep orange cloak, both highlighted in gold. The Christ child holds a scroll tied with a ribbon, a symbol of the Gospels. The icon was painted by the Cretan icon painter Akotantos, the preeminent artistic personality on Crete during the 1400s. This icon is from his period of greatest activity and pre-dates the collapse of Constantinople in 1453. The treatment of the faces and draperies is handled with fluency and skill and reveals Akotantos to be a painter of great talent. Given its large scale, the icon was intended for use within an orthodox church, possibly a monastery, and not for a private home.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Auction Catalogue of Antonio de Crescenzo and Co., Via Virginio Orsini, Rome, Sale March 15, 1989.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Baltoyanni, Chrysanthi. <em>Icons: Mother of God. </em>Athens: Adam Editions, 1994.
	page number: 	p. 24
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art, "Cleveland Museum of Art Announces Newest Acquisitions," September 7, 2010, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
	page number: 	
	url:		https://archive.org/details/cmapr4979

	Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 53 no. 05, September/October 2013
	page number: 	Mentioned & reproduced: p. 13
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2013-05/page/12

	Prolović, Jadranka. <em>Resava (Manasija): Geschichte, Architketur und Malerei einer Stiftung des serbischen Despoten Stefan Lazarević.</em> 2017. p. 713
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 713, Abb. 361
	url:		

	"Performing Arts: Antennae. Aleksandra Vrebalov's Byzantine-inspired music resonates like a human tuning fork.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>60, no. 2 (March/April 2020): 36-37.
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 37; Mentioned: P. 36, 37.
	url:		

	Liebert, Emily, Nadiah Fellah, and William Griswold. <em>Picturing Motherhood Now.</em> Cleveland : Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021.
	page number: 	Mentioned & Reproduced: P. 10-11, fig. 1
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
	page number: 	Mentioned and reproduced: P. 262
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.154/2010.154_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.154/2010.154_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.154/2010.154_full.tif