Oliver Samsinger

Virgin of Tijvin, after a Russian icon of the 17th Century.

Icon of THE KORSUN VIRGIN (KORSUNSKAYA), egg tempera, and gold leave on gesso, over a piece of wood. Dimensions: (H) 26.5 x (W) 23.5 x (D) 3 cm. Also called The Holy Virgin of Tenderness, represents the Mother of God and infant Christ in a tender cheek-to-cheek embrace. The Virgin's hands tenderly surround the head and hands of the Child Jesus while he takes the cloak of the Mother of God with his left hand and plays with the fingers of his right hand, between his mother's neck and his own. Two very old icons, from the 12th and 13th Centuries, painted on the same theme, are respectively in the Uspenskii Cathedral in Moscow and in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. This is how the artist sums up the technique used by him to create the icon: “The aim of these steps is to create a durable painting. The icon is eternal. The first step is to choose a support, traditionally made of wood, from the center of the trunk to avoid warping it. For this purpose, two hardwood bolts were often used on the back to give the picture panel additional stability. Often a frame is milled out. Then the image carrier is sanded smooth and now 12 or 14 thin layers of gesso are applied and sanded smooth as well. Then the preliminary drawing is applied and the drawing board is prepared with a special preparation called bolus. This bolus can be polished to a high gloss. Afterward, the gold leaf is "shot" with special brushes. It dries up within a few hours and can now be polished with agate. Gold leaf is real 24-carat gold. Now, the actual process of painting begins. Egg tempera is made fresh from egg yolk, water and a little vinegar. This is used to prepare the color pigments. Tempera painting is done in numerous layers from dark to light. When the icon is finished, it is left to dry for a few months and varnished with a special varnish called Olifa made from boiled linseed oil and other ingredients”. ABOUT THE ARTIST Oliver Samsinger...

The Virgin of Kataphyge with Saint John the Evangelist, after a Bulgarian Byzantine icon of the 14th Century. Egg tempera and gold leaf on gesso and wood. Author: Oliver Samsinger...

Icon of Our Lady of Jerusalem. Egg tempera on gesso and over a wooden board. Dimensions in centimeters: 42 x 34 x 2 cm / In inches: 16.54 x 13-39 x 0-79 " Author: Oliver Samsinger...

"Birth of Christ", after a Russian icon of the 15th century. Tempera and gold leaves on gesso, wooden board. Dimensions: (H) 68 x (W) 52 x (D) 4 cm. The Nativity of Christ. This icon, created by the Viennese artist Oliver...

Beautiful Russian icon of Our Lady of the Sign, known in the Orthodox tradition as "Znameniye", painted on a wooden panel during the 18th or 19th century. This revered iconographic t...

Russia / 19th century / Icon The Virgin of Tenderness or Eleousa / wood / Religious This poignant 19th-century Russian icon depicts The Virgin of Tenderness, also known as Eleousa, ...

Russia, circa 1900 A finely painted Russian Orthodox icon depicting the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, one of the most venerated Marian icons in the Russian Orthodox tradition. ...

A beautifully engaging, darkly nuanced Theotokos of Vladimir Russian icon (or possibly Our Lady of Kazan Icon/Mother of God of Kazan) tempera painting (and possibly gold leaf) on a wooden panel featuring the Madonna (Mother Mary) and infant child (a baby Jesus Christ) in her arms. Theotokos is the term for an Eastern icon...