Icon - Mother of God of Feodor - Wood

The Virgin of Feódorov (Feodoróvskaya / Феодоровская) is one of the most venerated Marian icons in Russian tradition. The one you show clearly corresponds to this type of iconography.

Iconographic identification

Type: Eleúsa (Virgin of Tenderness).
The Mother leans her face towards the Child, who rests on her cheek in a gesture of intimacy and love.

Characteristic gestures

El Niño embraces María and rests his face on hers; María holds the Child with one hand and with the other presents him to the faithful.

Registrations

Traditional Greek abbreviations

Meter Theou (Madre de Dios).

Jesus Christ

Lateral Santos

Saints appear on both sides in vertical registers, a very common feature in Russian versions.

Above: Saint Gregory and Saint Basil the Great (Church Fathers).

Below: saints, martyrs, or nuns, protectors and models of ascetic life.
These companions reinforce the protective character of the icon.

Theological significance

Tenderness expresses the true Incarnation: Christ is both a true child and true God.

The gesture of the Child, clinging to the Mother, alludes to future suffering (Passion) and to Mary's compassion.

María does not look at herself but presents Christ to the believer as the way of salvation.

Origin and veneration

Medieval Russian tradition, historically linked to Kostroma.

She was considered a protector of the Russian people and was closely linked to the Romanov dynasty.

It was invoked especially in times of danger, illness, and national crisis.

Style and approximate dating

Technique: egg temple on a board, gold background.

Style: firm line drawing, warm colors (deep reds and ochres), greenish flesh tones typical of the Russian canon.

Probable dating: 19th-20th centuries.