Our Lady of Perpetual Help is one of the great icons of Christendom. Over the centuries, it has been done by a multitude of icon "writers" (they call painting their icons 'writing' because it's like writing out a prayer). We love the colors of this one! It is the same basic color scheme of the standard version, blue mantle, etc., but we love the rich subtleties. The pastels are gorgeous, the golds and blues are strong and glorious, yet the beauty of the icon also conveys the gravity of the prospects for the child Jesus.

The original icon is in the St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome and is attributed to St. Luke, although this is legendary. This particular version of it, with the angels at her shoulders holding the instruments of the Passion, is dated from the 1400s and hangs in the Church of Saint Alphonse of Liguori in Rome. The idea of it is that as a child, Jesus foresaw the suffering he was to face and his death. As a frightened child, he ran to the arms of his mother, and she comforted him and gave him strength. She helped her son, and she has been helping the rest of us ever since. She is the Lady of Perpetual Help. She's always there to help, ready to listen to you and do what she can. Which is a lot.

We don't know the author of this particular iteration. It is extremely similar to one published around 1880 by Treutler, Conrad & Taube, of Neurode in Silesia, part of Poland. The similarities are such that we assume this one was written by the same artist, or by one of their students.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the icon is known as "Virgin Theotokos of the Passion," because of the instruments of the Passion held by the angels.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.

- Acid-free paper
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks!
Sue & John

"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - CatholicArtAndJewelry.