19th C, Russian Icon. Mary of Egypt

Exhibited 19th C, Russian Icon depicting the Venerable Mary of Egypt. Tempera and oil on wood. Mary was an Egyptian prostitute in Alexandria. She journeyed to Jerusalem and tried to enter a church but some mysterious power hindered her. She prayed before an icon of the Mother of God, confessed her sins and was then able to enter. When she left, a voice told her that if she went across the Jordan River she would find peace. She did so and lived for forty-eight years in the bleak wilderness. In her later years she was discovered by the elder monk Zosima, who gave her communion after he saw her walk on water across the Jordan River. When he returned the wilderness the following year in 522 AD he found that she had died. Mary of Egypt, shown here in a rather lush-looking wilderness to the right, is commemorated on April 1st. The charred mark in the lower half of this icon is the result of veneration. Oil lamps and candles were often burned before icons. Flames often damaged icons when accidentally placed too close.

Size: 12.25 x 10.5 in.Exhibitions

– Brevard Museum of Art (Foosaner Art Museum), Melbourne, FL
Sept – Nov 1994
– Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL
Nov 1995 – Jan 1996
– Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls, IA
Dec 1996 – Jan 1997
– Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, NE
March – May 1998
– Biblical Arts Center, Dallas, TX
Dec 1998
– Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida, Panama City, FL
Dec 1998 – Jan 1999
– Gallery at the American Bible Society, New York, NY
June – Oct 1999
– Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL
Aug 2000 – Jan 2001
– Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA
Feb – May 2001
– Loveland Museum and Gallery, Loveland, CO
Jan – March 2002
– Gallery at the American Bible Society, New York, NY
April – June 2002
– Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, MS
Oct – Nov 2002
– Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden, Winter Park, FL
April – June 2004
– Hearst Art Gallery as St. MaryÂ’s College, Moraga, CA
Nov – Dec 2004
– Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden, Winter Park, FL
Oct 2013 – April 2014