The Eleusa (or ''Eleousa''; el, Ἐλεούσα – ''tenderness'' or ''showing mercy'') is a type of depiction of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...

s in which the

Christ Child The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, ...

is nestled against her cheek. In the Western Church the type is often known as the Virgin of Tenderness.

Depictions

Such icons have been venerated in the

Eastern Church Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

for centuries. Similar types of depiction are also found in Madonna paintings in the

Western Church Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

where they are called the Madonna Eleusa, or the Virgin of Tenderness. By the 19th century examples such as th '' Lady of Refuge'' type (e.g. the '' Refugium Peccatorum Madonna'' by Luigi Crosio) were widespread and they were also used in

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

s in

Mexican art Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the colonial period, with the period after Me ...

.''Art and faith in Mexico: the nineteenth-century retablo tradition'' by Charles Muir Lovell pages 93–94 In

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonica ...

the term Panagia Eleousa is often used. The

Theotokos of Vladimir , other_title_1 = Our Lady of Vladimir , other_language_2 = uk, Вишгородська ікона Божої Матері , other_title_2 = Vyshgorod Mother of God , wikidata = Q546241 , image = Virgin of Vladimir.jpg , image_upright = 1 ...

and Theotokos of Pochayiv are well-known examples of this type of icon. Eleusa is also used as epithet for describing and praising the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or '' Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are ...

(Virgin Mary) in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. While the Eastern Church does not generally create three-dimensional religious art, Eleusa-style

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s and sculptures, as well as icons, have also been used in the Western Church. The Pelagonitissa is a variant in which the infant Jesus makes an abrupt movement.

Gallery

Eastern icons

File:Vladimirskaya.jpg, Vladimirskaya File:Feodorovskaya ikona so skazaniem.jpg, Fyodorovskaya File:Theotokos of Tolga (fragment).jpg, Tolgskaya File:Feofan Donskaja.jpg, Donskaja

Western icons

File:The Cambrai Madonna.jpg, '' Cambrai Madonna'', Italo-Byzantine, c. 1340, Cambrai Cathedral File:Angelos Akotantos - Icon of the Mother of God and Infant Christ (Virgin Eleousa) - 2010.154 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, '' The Virgin Eleousa'', Crete, c. 1425,

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egypt ...

File:Tempi Madonna by Raffaello Sanzio - Alte Pinakothek - Munich - Germany 2017.jpg, '' Tempi Madonna'',

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

, 1508,

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinak ...

File:Della-Robbia-Sevilla1.jpg, "Eleusa style"

Relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

by Andrea della Robbia in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

File:Wga Pompeo Batoni Madonna and Child.jpg,

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

, c. 1742

Sources

External links