---
title: "Our Lady of the Don — Icons"
description: "The Mother of God inclines toward the Christ Child, who presses close to her. The icon is revered as one of the most important Marian images of the Russian…"
url: "https://spas.life/en/orthodoxy/icons/our-lady-of-the-don"
language: "en"
---

Historical icon

# Our Lady of the Don

[![Detail of Our Lady of the Don: the faces of the Mother of God and the Christ Child pressing his cheek to hers.](https://spas.life/_astro/our-lady-of-the-don.C0lmO4Lb_2dtSdq.webp)](https://spas.life/_astro/our-lady-of-the-don.C0lmO4Lb.webp)

Detail of the icon: the faces of the Mother of God and the Child. An image of the whole icon has not been added yet.

[Open the image at full size](https://spas.life/_astro/our-lady-of-the-don.C0lmO4Lb.webp)

Dating

Late 14th century, approximately 1380–1395

Origin

Medieval Rus'

Author / school

Traditionally associated with Theophanes the Greek or his workshop; attribution is not definitive

Iconographic type

[Eleousa (“Tenderness”) — iconographic type](https://spas.life/en/orthodoxy/icons/type-eleousa)

## About the icon

The Mother of God inclines toward the Christ Child, who presses close to her. The icon is revered as one of the most important Marian images of the Russian tradition. It is traditionally associated with Theophanes the Greek or his workshop, but this attribution is not definitive.

An icon is an image for prayer. The description explains theological meaning and prayer tradition; it does not promise an outcome.

**Source and image rights**

Our Lady of the Don, late 14th century; public-domain faithful reproduction via Wikimedia Commons.

Public domain

[Open the source page (Wikimedia Commons)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Donskaya_bogomater.jpg)