THE MOTHER OF GOD SOURCE OF LIFE' ICON Russia, early 19th century wood, levkas, gold leaf, tempera 30.5 x 25 cm Condition: restorations, retouching The Mother of God Source of Life' is a highly venerated icon in the Orthodox world. The ancient tradition of the Church has preserved the memory of three shrines in Constantinople associated with numerous miracles and the healing of serious illnesses through the intercession of the Mother of God: a sacred spring that flowed near Constantinople in the middle of a grove, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Emperor Leo I, who witnessed a miraculous event, and then the icon and the Source of Life church that he ordered to be painted and built to the glory of the Mother of God. The spread of this subject in Russian icon painting and the veneration of 'Source of Life' icons are linked to the Byzantine tradition and the appearance in Russia of stories about the Source of Life in the 18th century. ICON 'THE MOTHER OF GOD SOURCE OF LIFE Russia, early 19th century wood, levkas, gold leaf, tempera 30.5 x 25 cm Condition: restorations, retouching The Mother of God Source of Life' is a highly venerated icon in the Orthodox world. The ancient tradition of the Church has preserved the memory of three shrines in Constantinople associated with numerous miracles and the healing of serious illnesses through the intercession of the Mother of God: a sacred spring that flowed near Constantinople in the middle of a grove, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Emperor Leo I, who witnessed a miraculous event, and then the icon and the church 'Source of Life', which he ordered to be painted and built to the glory of the Mother of God. The spread of this subject in Russian icon painting and the veneration of 'Source of Life' icons are related to the Byzantine tradition and the appearance in the 18th century in Russia of stories about the Source of Life.