The icon is painted in the traditional style, with rich saturated colours, most likely in an old-believers’ icon-painting workshop of Vetka and can be dated back to the first third of the 19th century. The figures are placed against a stylised baroque architectural background.
The icon illustrates the opening words of the hymn “In Thee Rejoice” from the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great written by St. John Damascene and dedicated to the Theotokos. The verses are inscribed on the lower border of the panel: “In thee rejoiceth, O thou who art full of grace, all creation, the angelic assembly, and the race of man; O sanctified temple and noetical paradise, praise of virgins, of whom God was incarnate, and became a child, He that was before the ages, even our God; for, of thy body a throne He made, and thy womb He made more spacious than the heavens. In thee rejoiceth, O thou who art full of grace, all creation: glory to thee.”
The earliest examples of this iconography date back to the 15th century. The Mother of God is depicted enthroned in the centre of the composition, holding the Christ Child on her lap. The Virgin is encircled by a shining mandorla and surrounded by archangels. Behind the throne is the paradise garden full of beautiful trees and a splendid temple – the symbol of the Heavenly Jerusalem. At the foot of the throne, shown an assembly of saints: apostles, prophets, high priests, bishops, monastic saints, martyrs and pious women, all glorifying the Theotokos. St. John the Baptist with an unfurled scroll in his hands stands in the middle.
