The icon of Christ Emmanuel, the Infant Christ, known as “The Unsleeping Eye” (Slavonic: Nedremanoe Oko), is not an ancient composition. It first appeared in Russia, most probably in the Moscow region, around the end of the 15th century.

Unlike strictly defined devotional icons, portraying one figure or a group of figures in formal poses of benediction or veneration, the Unsleeping Eye is an icon which depicts neither a specific subject nor a specific action but, rather, a “state of being.” This state of being is that of the All-Protective Vigilance of the Son of God.

The Unsleeping Eye is an icon of the Infant Christ. Its central field is occupied by an outsized figure of the reclining Child, flanked by the Holy Theotokos and the Archangel Michael. Trees and shrubbery fill out its lower and lateral border areas, while in its upper range is painted a representation of the Angel of the Passion, hovering over the entire scene. Biblical accounts of the Nativity and Childhood, in the books of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew and Saint Luke, give no direct indication of the meaning of this composition. 

Size 11x14 inch, Egg tempera and metal leaf on gessoed wood, hand-painted frame, 2014. This icon is painted on a custom-made icon panel (linden wood and natural gesso), imported from Ukraine. Wired and ready to hang.