The Mother of God with Wings: In Quest of a Model

This article examines the origins and diffusion of the winged image of the Virgin Mary in Eastern European religious art of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, situating it within a broader iconographic and cultural framework. The discussion begins with the renowned Govora Monastery fresco (1710–1711), painted by artists of the Brâncoveanu school, which reinterprets the traditional Protection motif through the addition of wings and a wide mantle—features previously unknown in Orthodox Marian iconography. The study traces the historical development of the Intercession iconography from Byzantine Constantinople to Kyivan Rus', emphasizing the Novgorodian and Suzdal–Moscow variants. It then examines apocalyptic motifs and the imagery of Sophia, the Wisdom of God, which introduced winged figures into Orthodox art and provided a conceptual bridge to Marian representations. Western engravings by Dürer, Master MS, and Virgil Solis are identified as important sources, particularly in shaping new iconographic types. The Catholic model of the Madonna della Misericordia is shown to have played a decisive role in the adoption of the wide protective mantle, transmitted into Orthodox contexts through seventeenth-century Ukrainian art, most notably the Kozatska Pokrova. Further attention is given to the Russian icon of the Mother of God of Azov, which exemplifies the integration of imperial symbolism into Marian imagery. Chernihiv engravings of 1696, published in Dimitrii of Rostov's book "The Dew-Covered Fleece", are analyzed as key prototypes that disseminated the winged Virgin motif. These engravings influenced Romanian frescoes but remained absent from Ukrainian icon painting, a divergence that highlights differing cultural priorities within Orthodoxy. The article concludes that the winged Virgin represents a complex synthesis of Orthodox spirituality, apocalyptic symbolism, Western artistic models, and imperial ideology. Its trajectory—from Byzantine visions to Russian imperial art and Romanian monumental painting—demonstrates the dynamic interplay of tradition and innovation in early modern religious art. By situating Romanian frescoes within this transregional context, the study contributes to a clearer understanding of cultural transfer, iconographic adaptation, and the evolving boundaries of Marian representation in Eastern Europe.