Under the mantle of Our Lady
COMMISSIONERS
Vítor Serrão and Irina Marcelo CurtoORGANISATION
Câmara Municipal de Cascais | Fundação D. Luís I | Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa | Direção Geral do Património CulturalThe exhibition is based on two private donations made to public museums: that of Ana Maria Pereira da Gama to the Grão Vasco National Museum, in Viseu, and that of Pedro Vieira da Fonseca to the Counts of Castro Guimarães Municipal Museum, in Cascais.
Dedicated to the various iconic images of Virgin Mary, which in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church comprises about 260 images, but amounts to 860 different Marian iconographies, it addresses the most important devotion of the Russian people – Holy Mary – whose mantle continues to protect them. The veneration of these Marian images leads us to successive dramatic pages of Russian history, remembered in chronicles, historical novels, narrations, and in special liturgical services that glorify the icons of Our Lady. The exhibition now on view is therefore a bridge between the two extremities of Europe, linked by traders during the reign of King John V, and with diplomatic representation precisely 240 years ago.
