On Icons of the Theotokos

Iconography of the Theotokos has a private significance for each human being because it symbolizes his materiality, physicality, and the relation of this matter to the spirit within the person. Through icons of the Theotokos we can observe sublimation and exhalation of this relationship between matter and spirit. In the pagan world, the conflict of this dualism was the most important problem. Through icons we can see that this relationship should manifest like the relationship between mother and son, so that the perfection of the human being is fulfilled - Vladislav Andrejev.