Transfiguration of Christ
(Medieval Europe )
An icon such as this would have been displayed in a church on the feast day of Christ's Transfiguration (August 6) to be venerated by the faithful. The abrasion of Christ's image on it bears witness to such veneration by touch and kiss. Because of its small size, the image may have also been used privately, possibly by a monk. Eastern Orthodox monks placed a special value on the Transfiguration because they believed that, like the apostles shown in the bottom of the panel, they too could see God's light through contemplation.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
1988-1990 | Holy Image, Holy Space: Icons and Frescoes from Greece. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Center for the Fine Arts, Miami; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. |
Geographies
Greece (Place of Origin)
Measurements
11 x 8 13/16 in. (27.9 x 22.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Byzantine, Russian, and Ethiopian Icons
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.1081