Icon - San Serafin - Wood

Saint Seraphim of Sarov, one of the most venerated saints of Russian spirituality.
He appears kneeling on a rock in the forest, in an attitude of penitential prayer.
He wears the typical light hermit’s tunic.
The scene corresponds to one of the best-known episodes of his ascetic life: his continuous prayer in the Sarov forest.
At the bottom there is an inscription in Old Cyrillic that seems to say:
“Преподобный Серафим Саровский”
(“Venerable Seraphim of Sarov”).
Dating and origin

From the painting style and the ornate frame:
It is a Russian icon from the late 19th or early 20th century.
Possibly made after the official canonization of the saint in 1903, when his cult spread greatly in Russia.
It preserves quite well the original drawing and the polychrome gilded frame.
Spiritual meaning

The image represents extreme prayer and contemplative life. According to tradition, Saint Seraphim spent a thousand days and a thousand nights praying on a rock in the forest, seeking spiritual union with God.

The small icon in the upper left corner represents the Virgin Mary, toward whom he directs his prayer.