The Virgin of Tenderness, or Virgin of Vladimir, is an ancient Byzantine icon, considered a masterpiece of Orthodox iconography. It is the most famous and celebrated of ancient Russian icons, as well as the most reproduced over the following centuries.

Its history begins in Constantinople, where it was painted in the early 12th century and later donated to the Prince of Kiev, Yuri Dolgoruky, by the Greek Patriarch Luke Chrysoberges. The panel was brought to Vladimir in 1155 and then ended up in Moscow during the invasion of Tamerlane. The icon has played a significant role in Russian history, being considered the great protector, venerated and implored by the people during all wars and tribulations.

This magnificent Marian image depicts the Virgin half-length, holding the Child in her arms and bowing her head toward her Creature. Their faces touch, expressing an intense emotional connection.

The enormous success and widespread diffusion of this depiction throughout the East spread to the West by the early 15th century, and was adopted by Italian, Flemish, Spanish, and German masters. (Lucas Cranach's Virgin of Tenderness, displayed in Innsbruck Cathedral, is a famous example.)

The painting published here excellently presents this iconographic typology, expressing the artist's personal artistic qualities with all the unmistakable characteristics of 17th-century Emilian painting.

The pictorial finesse and exceptional elegance of the composition are remarkable, with an extremely refined depiction of the Virgin's profile, which is of rare beauty, leaning over the Child's lively face.

The perfect application of the sfumato and the extremely sharp images express a closeness to the works of Sassoferrato as well as an interesting analogy with the paintings of the great Tuscan Renaissance masters, from which the landscape in the background draws.

The choice of color, with accentuated shades of green, gives the canvas a graceful and particularly pleasing effect.