Religious icon portraits are usually painted on a flat surface such as wood or ivory.  Before the Russian Revolution, icons were placed in the churches and taken with armies into battle.  The portraits would be highly reverenced but only Christ’s image could be adored. All the world’s major religions revere saints but in different ways. For artists and musicians, the story of Mary has always been a favorite subject and one of the most important inspirations of the Christian Religion.  The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, lived quietly and humbly in Nazareth and gave birth to Jesus in a stable at Bethlehem.  The sufferings of Jesus brought great sorrow into Mary’s life and little is known of her later life following His crucifixion.