Religious art
Virgin and Child
Virgin "Eleousa"
Virgin Eleousa (the merciful)
Although the Virgin Eleousa is termed the "Virgin of Loving Kindness" or the "Virgin of Tenderness" in the western world, the literal translation from Greek is "the merciful." The Eleousa is a variation of the Hodigitria in which mutual gestures of loving kindness are portrayed between the figures. While the Hodigitria emphasizes the divinity of the Christ Child, the Eleousa focuses on His human nature.

While Jesus focuses His attention on His mother, she continues to gaze at the onlooker. She bends her head toward the Child, and the Mother and Child’s faces touch. Jesus embraces His mother with at least one hand, while the other may hold a scroll.
The Theotokos is pensive; she envisions Christ’s suffering and His way of the Cross. In this type of icon, the Virgin’s pain and compassion for her Child become a universal anguish for all those who suffer in a profane world. The icon’s majesty, however, is not stained by such emotion. The expression is not one of meek suffering, but rather profound compassion.
Our Lady of Vladimir is probably the most widely known of the Virgin Eleousa; it is seen in the second thumbnail.