The Hymn to the Virgin, "Eπί Σοί Xαίρει" ("In Thee Rejoiceth...")

The Hymn to the Virgin, "Eπί Σοί Xαίρει" ("In Thee Rejoiceth..."), an icon depicting a multitude of scenes; it is signed by the Cretan painter Theodoros Poulakis. In the circular arrangement of the miniature scenes, centred around the figure of the Virgin holding the Christ Child, the artist illustrates themes from the Old Testament, the verses of the Akathistos Hymn, and the Twelve Great Feasts of the Church. The lower portion contains the Last Judgement, and in the left-hand corner Alexander the Great is portrayed among the rulers Darius, Augustus and Constantine the Great. The icon comes from Corfu and demonstrates the influential presence of the Cretan painter on that Ionian island. Second half of the 17th c. 0.918x0.643 m. (ΓΕ 3008)