PROSKYNETARION ICON 19th Century Jerusalem. H. 1850 Oil on canvas size 97 x 152 cm At the end of the 18th century ...

PROSKYNETARION ICON 19th Century Jerusalem. H. 1850 Oil on canvas size 97 x 152 cm At the end of the 18th century, a prototype of an icon that they used to take back to their countries of origin as a souvenir called the proskynetarion icon became popular among Orthodox pilgrims who came to the Holy Land. These oil paintings were made in Jerusalem by Greek Orthodox monks on rectangular canvases that were then rolled up for easy transport. Its composition used to follow the same scheme. The right and left ends are dedicated to Christ and the Virgin Mary respectively, each surrounded in turn by the main scenes of their lives. In the center of the composition you can see the interior of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher -the Anastasis- where the solemn procession of the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch takes place with his entourage carrying the candles of the Sacred Fire. In the upper part the most represented scenes are Jonah and the whale, the Last Judgment, the story of Lot or the tree of life. Flanking one scene from another we see prophets, apostles, Eastern church fathers, and saints like Saint George or Elijah.