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Apparition of the Virgin to St. Sergius of Radonezh, The

Painting
A: Tempera on slightly curved wooden panel with black border. At the top of the image sit three winged figured around a grey table in cream colored clouds. Below them, Mary stands with her left arm outstretched in a pink dress with blue hooded cloak and a spiked aura. On the right is a man kneeling with a blue stole with white crosses on it. Behind him a woman with black head veil kneels with her face buried in her hands. On the left of the image two men with grey beards stand with blue and gold and green and red robes respectively. B: Riza plating that originally accompanied painted panel, now removed completely and backed with baby blue foam. This riza is bordered with flower and criss cross ribbon engraving. The central image features three figures at the top witting at a table with wings and Cyrillic script captions on either side of them. Below in the middle is a woman's silhouette with a spiked halo. Behind her/ to the left are two plainly clothed figures and kneeling in front of her are two figures; one in the background with half her face covered and another in the foreground with a pronounced halo and priest's robes.

2005.02.024

Panel

Tempera

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

2005.02

Betsy Scheuring

Gift

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

19th Century

Russia

Makers Mark

Under bottom edge of riza

AT, 836 (stamped twice)

Cyrillic

Label

Back top of icon

"64" sticker, "2N95" and "12A" written in pencil

Icon

Symbol, Religious

Religious Objects

Ceremonial Objects

Category 08: Communication Objects

8-13/16 in

6-13/16 in

3/4 in

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Surveying the Sacred: Analysis of the Scheuring Collection of Eastern Orthodox Icons (2025)

Cultural/Historical Context

This scene shows the miraculous appearance of the Virgin, accompanied by St. Peter and St. John the Evangelist, to the monk Sergius and his companion Micah. Sergius is one of the most popular Russian saints, a hermit who founded the Holy Trinity Monastery in the middle of the 14th century, which later became a center of icon making. The famous Trinity icon painted by St. Andrei Rublev was produced there (compare to 2005.02.056). Sergius is shown wearing monastic garb and a blue stole or omophorion with gold crosses. The Virgin wears a traditional rose-colored tunic with a dark blue cloak. Instead of having a halo, she is surrounded by a golden aura. The architectural details of the background and the treatment of the floor in front are different in the riza from what we see in the painting, being more elaborate. The riza also has a raised decorative border.

Apparition of the Virgin to St. Sergius of Radonezh, The picture number 1