Mother of God the Life-Giving Spring

A fountain dominates in the central part of the graphic. Above the fountain, up in the clouds and surrounded by angels, Virgin Mary with Christ is represented with two angels placing the crown on her head. Numerous sick gathered together around the fountain, both kings and beggars. The foreground features the disabled, being brought healing water, while behind the fountain, in a sweeping panorama, stretch the walls of Constantinople. Inscription in Greek is placed below the composition, which reads: You who are the living source of grace, feed all who rush to you. The Mother of God's theme as the spring of life - present in art since the Middle Ages - is presented in Žefarović's interpretation in a more aggregated form, with a larger number of figures and scenes. The artist's Mount Athos painting manual served as a source for the iconographic solution, and literary texts with descriptions of the Virgin's miracles, especially popular on the Holy Mountain since the 17th century, served as a literary basis. This copperplate engraving is considered to be one of the most successful of Žefarović's graphic masterpieces. The copy from the National Museum comes from a later edition.