The Virgin of Tenderness (Lyubyatovskaya): History and Miracles
The Virgin of Tenderness is one of the most widespread iconographies of the Mother of God. According to religious tradition, the development of this type of image of the Mother of God dates back to the Evangelist Luke, the first iconographer in Christian history. Moreover, the Virgin of Tenderness is the iconographic type to which a number of revered Russian icons belong, such as, for example, the famous Our Lady of Vladimir and the lesser-known Our Lady of Lyubyatovo (Lyubyatovskaya), which we will examine today.
Our Lady of Tenderness (Lyubyatovskaya). Pskov. Early 15th century. State Tretyakov Gallery
The Virgin of Tenderness (Lyubyatovskaya): History and Miracles
Our Lady of Lyubyatovo is one of the numerous Russian icons of the Virgin of Tenderness type, or Our Lady Eleusa in Greek. It received its name from the place of its provenance, the monastery of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lyubyatov (now Pskov), where it was venerated as a miracle-working icon.
Like other icons of the Virgin of Tenderness type, the Lyubyatovo icon depicts Our Lady with Christ sitting on her left arm and pressing His cheek against the Mother’s face. A rather unusual detail is the right hand of Christ, which also touches the face of the Virgin. More often, in the icons of the Virgin of Tenderness type, the Child embraces the Virgin Mary’s neck with His hand, as, for example, in the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir of the first third of the 12th century (currently in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow).
Our Lady of Vladimir. Constantinople. First third of the 12th century. State Tretyakov Gallery
However, this detail can hardly be called an unintentional transformation of a revered iconographic type. Although the protographer of the Lyubyatov icon of the Virgin of Tenderness is not known, there are a number of iconographies of the Mother of God that could have influenced the composition of this unique image. For example, a similar gesture of Christ’s hand is found in the iconography of Our Lady of Vzygranie (Pelagonitissa), which, however, assumes a much less solemn pose of the Child playing in the Mother’s arms than in our case. Despite all the tenderness with which He is nestled in the Virgin’s arms, His pose is rather restrained and even austere, with the Virgin Mary pointing at Him with her right hand. This monumental and even triumphal pose is characteristic of the iconography of Our Lady of Hodegetria, the whole idea of which lies in the representation of Christ, the King of Heaven, by His Mother who brought Him to the earthly world. Thus, this unique icon incorporated details and meanings from a variety of iconographic types.
Our Lady of Vzygranie (Pelagonitissa). 1316-1318. Church of St. George, Staro Nagoričane, Macedonia
In 1928, an expedition of the Central State Restoration Workshops (now the I.E. Grabar All-Russian Art Research and Restoration Center) came to Pskov. It was directed by the famous art historian, conservator, and connoisseur of Old Russian art A.I. Anisimov, the repressed and executed in Sandarmokh I.E. Grabar’s colleague in the preservation of medieval Russian culture in the Soviet years. It was he who compiled the list of ancient icons discovered during the study of the closed Pskov churches. The Lyubyatovskaya Virgin of Tenderness was included in the list, after which it was taken to Moscow for restoration in Central State Restoration Workshops, and then transferred to the Tretyakov Gallery in 1930, at the time when the exposition of the finest examples of Russian medieval painting was being formed. However, before the restoration and arrival at the museum, the icon was covered by a double-sided silver oklad (cover) of the late 19th century, and its original painting of the early 15th century was repainted twice, with the last time, apparently, in 1832 when, according to historical sources, the iconostasis of St. Nicholas Cathedral in the Lyubyatovsky Monastery was being renovated.
Although the location of the cover is currently unknown, it was described and photographed in detail during the restoration work carried out by G. O. Chirikov, the legendary conservator of Old Russian art. On this cover, on the reverse side of the icon, two inscriptions were engraved, connected with the miracles of this icon and, at the same time, with the most important events of Pskov history. The first one is connected with the siege of the city by the Polish king Stephen Báthory in 1581. His plan was to surround Pskov from the direction of Lyubyatov. Seeing the oncoming army, the monks ascended the walls of the monastery with the miracle-working icon of the Virgin of Tenderness. According to legend, the soldiers who shot at the icon were immediately confused by the collapse of the bridge across the Pskova River near the monastery, causing the frightened Stefan Batory to retreat. The second inscription is connected with an equally dramatic event: “In the summer of 1570, on Saturday of the second week of the Lent, Tsar Ioann Vasilievich the Terrible, going to execute the Pskovites, spent the night in this monastery of St. Nicholas in Lyubyatovo, where during the morning worship, standing in the church, looking at the miraculous icon of the Tenderness of the Mother of God, being pacified in his heart, said to his soldiers: step swords against the stone and let the killing stop.”
Thus, the medieval icon of the Virgin of Tenderness (Lyubyatovskaya) became not only a miracle-working image and an object of religious worship but also a document of Russian history, a witness of the most dramatic events in the life of Pskov, and a remarkable example of the art of the early 15th century, the time of Andrei Rublev, outside Moscow.