Greek icon from the 17th century.Tempera painting on wooden board.Measurements: 31 x 26 cm.Of Greek origin, the term "icon" corresponds to the meaning of image. In relation to art, it is presented to us as the denomination of a series of pictorial works made on wooden boards, generally of a portable nature, based on secular tradition and of a sacred character. The icons are works that transcend the material and the deep symbolism of which they are impregnated. The art of icons emerged as part of the artistic expressions of Byzantine culture, developed in the eastern Mediterranean environment during the Middle Ages and up to the date of the disappearance of the Empire, 1453. The production of icons beyond the 15th century is known as "post-Byzantine", a context in which distinctive features involved in the social and cultural histories of the peoples professing Orthodox Christianity developed. Greek icons are attributable to some recurring themes, and are characterized by common elements, as in this case, representing the Mother of God. These are dedicated to the widespread veneration in the Byzantine world of the Most Holy Mother of God (Yperaghia Theotòkos). Crete, mainland Greece and the Ionian islands were some of the new artistic centers that came to prominence after the fall of Constantinople, which preserved the Byzantine tradition and sometimes renewed it as well.