Item 61
The Mother of God of Three Joys
19th century
Egg tempera, gold leaf on wood panel
12.25” x 10.25”
James and Tatiana Jackson Collection

This icon clearly illustrates the heavy influence of Western art onography. The story regarding the prototype of this miracle-working icon states that at the beginning of the 18th century it was brought to Moscow from Italy. There a troubled woman heard a voice telling her to seek out the image and pray before it. She did so and was granted “three joys:” her husband was returned from exile, her captive son was released, and seized property was returned. Thus the title “Three Joys.” Copies of this icon, originally called “The Holy Family,” show the Mother of God, the child Jesus, the infant John the Forerunner (Baptist) and Joseph. In many examples the icon is indistinguishable from the famous Raphael Madonna and Child painting titled “Madonna dela Sedia,” now housed in the Pitti Palace, Florence. In this example the infant John the Forerunner holds a scroll upon which begins “Pokaitesya, Priblizhibosya….” (Repent ye: for the Kingdom of ….). This is one of only a few icons inography in which Joseph appears. The others are “The Nativity of the Lord” and the “Meeting of the Lord.”