Icon of Our Lady of Tenderness Eleusa by Monika Frys-Żurek

I wrote this icon of the Virgin Mary of Tenderness (Eleusa) as a wedding gift - a symbol of love and quiet presence. It was created on a twelve-layered wooden panel, symbolically referring to the twelve apostles.

The gilding is made with 23¾-carat gold leaf, carefully protected with lustrine to preserve its glow. Every stage - from preparing the ground to applying pigments - was done entirely by hand, with full attention and prayerful focus. The faces and garments were built with light, for in the icon, light is the very sign of God’s presence.

Each of my icons is created individually, in respect for the traditional process of icon writing. This piece comes with a certificate of authenticity and is available exclusively on commission.

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This icon of the Virgin Mary of Tenderness (Eleusa) was written as a gift - a work born out of love, silence, and reflection. My intention was to create a piece that carries warmth and spiritual closeness, a sign of divine presence in everyday life.

The base is a twelve-layered wooden panel, symbolizing the twelve apostles. Before a single color was applied, the surface went through many stages: carving, sanding, coating with layers of shellac and polish until it became perfectly smooth. Then I laid 23¾-carat gold leaf, which I protected with lustrine. In iconography, gold is not mere decoration - it represents the eternal light of God.

Once the surface was ready, I began the painting process itself. I mixed all pigments by hand - umber, sienna, golden ochre, Prussian blue, and cadmium red. The faces were built with light rather than shadow, following the tradition of Eastern iconography, where illumination comes from within, not from an external source.

For the garments and hair, I used natural mineral pigments - green umber, golden ochre, burnt sienna, and titanium white - applied in many fine layers. The veil of the Virgin was adorned with Prussian blue and Royal Gold mineral pigment.

Each stage of this process is, for me, a meeting - with color, texture, and light. It requires patience and humility, but it brings peace and a deep sense of connection.

The icon is framed in wood (inner dimensions 21 × 29.5 cm, outer frame 28 × 36 × 5.5 cm, weight 1713 g).
Each icon I create is unique and may differ slightly in details - that is the nature and beauty of true handmade work.

This icon includes a certificate of authenticity and is available exclusively on commission.