Žemaitija
According to the Bible, when Jesus fell under the cross, a woman came out from the crowd and wiped the sweat from his face with a cloth. An image of his face was printed on the cloth, and is now called the Veronica (in Latin vera icon, ‘the true image’). The name Veronica derives from this episode. The cloth has been kept as a relic since the eighth century, and is now in St Peter’s in Rome. St Veronica is the patron saint of laundry workers and photographers.
In this sculpture by a Žemaitijan carver, St Veronica is portrayed standing and holding a cloth with the impression of Christ’s face on it. She is wearing a long dress, and a blue veil over her head and shoulders. Sculptures of St Veronica are rare; they were probably chosen to honour a patron saint. In addition to separate images, she is portrayed in folk sculpture in the Sixth Station of the Cross, called ‘Veronica wipes the face of Jesus’.
Text author Skaidrė Urbonienė
Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album
HEAVEN AND BEYOND (2016). Compiler Dalia Vasiliūnienė. Text authors Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė
Expositions: “Heaven and Beyond. Works of religious art from the collection of Rolandas Valiūnas and the law firm Valiunas Ellex“,
31 May–
24 September
2016, Church Heritage Museum, Vilnius (curators Dalia Vasiliūnienė, Skaidrė Urbonienė)
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