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Icon "Do Not Weep for Me, Mother", inv. no. Ж-476: photo 1 of 5
Photo 1 of 5
Icon "Do Not Weep for Me, Mother", inv. no. Ж-476: photo 1 of 5
Image 1 of 5
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Painting and graphics · Icons

Icon "Do Not Weep for Me, Mother"

Inv. no. Ж-476 · Painting and graphics

Project: Sloboda Ukraine Code. Church Antiquities

At the center of the composition are the Mother of God and Christ. Christ's body is placed half within a tomb, supported from behind with both hands by the Mother of God. Full description

Date
19th century
Material
Wood
Technique
Tempera, gilding
Dimensions
36.2 × 30.2 × 3.2 cm

Photo: M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum · CC BY 4.0

Description

At the center of the composition are the Mother of God and Christ. Christ's body is placed half within a tomb, supported from behind with both hands by the Mother of God.

Christ is shown half-length, in a three-quarter turn to the left, with long hair falling to his shoulders, his eyes closed, and his hands crossed at waist level; the lower part of his body is wrapped in a yellow himation. To his left is a half-length image of the Mother of God, in a three-quarter turn to the right, wearing a red maphorion with a gold border. Around the Virgin Mary's head is a round golden halo with a red border, and around Christ's head a cruciform halo bearing the letters "O," "ō," and "N" [Ho Ōn, "He Who Is"]. Behind the Son of God and the Mother of God is a wooden cross inscribed "INRI" ("Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"). The background of the icon and the field of the frame are golden, with a lavish floral ornament. Around the perimeter of the icon is a border in green and red. At the top of the icon is the inscription "Weep Not for Me, Mother" (in Church Slavonic).

The icon belonged to the collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. During the Second World War it was evacuated and returned to Kharkiv in 1944.

The icon "Weep Not for Me, Mother" is not merely a work of art but also a source of spiritual support. It reminds us of the boundless love of the Mother of God for humankind and her intercession before her Son.

Record

Inventory number
Ж-476
Title
Icon "Do Not Weep for Me, Mother"
Collection group
Painting and graphics · Icons
Date
19th century
Material
Wood
Technique
Tempera, gilding
Dimensions
36.2 × 30.2 × 3.2 cm
Place of creation
Слобожанщина
Digitisation
Project “Sloboda Ukraine Code. Church Antiquities”, 2026
Tradition
Orthodoxy

Updated 15 Oct 2026

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