Virgin Mary Hodegetria
Acrylic & gold leaf on wood panel
21 x 30 x 1.8 cm, 2024
Painting by Yuriy Hrechyn
The model for painting the icon was a monument of ancient Ukrainian icon painting - the Lviv icon of the Mother of God. The history of this shrine, which dates back to the 14th century, is closely connected with the Orthodox, Latin and Armenian communities of Lviv. According to most art critics, the image was created in an Orthodox artistic center, which is indicated by the stylistic similarity to Byzantine icons of the 14th century. The first documentary mention of the icon states that the image was venerated in the Latin Cathedral. From the 19th century the shrine was kept in the chapel of the Armenian archbishops. After the Soviet government came to Lviv, traces of the icon were lost. Only in 1984 was it found and purchased for the funds of the Lviv Art Gallery, where it is kept in the museum chapel and opened for prayer.
