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Icon nb 11
Size : 31 x 24 cm.
Linden board
Gilded haloes and background. Egg tempera.
The icon is composed as a cross in which Christ is the center. The vertical area in the center recalls the passage of the "lower waters" (Genesis) to the Heavens represented at the top by the beginning of a blue sphere (Exodus 24, 10) from which a ray of the light of God descends. The horizontal area depicts Christ, coming from the celestial world represented by the three angels, descending to the river Jordan and approaching the human world personified by saint John the Baptist, the last Prophet of the Old Alliance.
In the left corner of the icon, a little tree with an axe at its base summarizes in a poignant way a lesson for each baptized: "Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(...) I am baptizing you with water (...) He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire." (Matthew. 3, 10-11)
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