executed with great precision in details that often associated with Palekh and painted in extremely vibrant color hues, including rare pink, the icon shows Virgin Mary standing upon a cloud and holding her veil, surrounded by the apostles and Church Fathers, led by Peter, Paul and John the Baptist; below is hymnographer Romanos the Melodist, holding his hymn (kontakion) to the Virgin, while the 10th-century Byzantine saint Andrew the Fool points out to his disciple Epiphanius a vision that came to him while praying in the Church of the Blachernae in Constantinople, which domes we see behind the Virgin. Egg tempera, gold leaf, and gesso on a wood panel. Two insert splints on the back. 31.1 x 26.3 cm. (12 1/4 x 10 3/8 in.)