An unusual non-canonical representation of the a very popular type of icon Mother of God, Joy of All Who Sorrow with figures rendered lifelike with classical composition evoking Italian paintings.
Mother of God, Joy of All Who Sorrow of Moscow is the name of a popular wonderworking Russian Orthodox icon dating to a miracle that occurred in 1688, when a woman named Euphymia received healing from sickness after obeying a voice telling her to find this icon and have the priest celebrate a prayer with blessing of water. The design of this icon depicts the Mother of God, standing among the flowers of paradise flanked suppliants asking for her intercession.