Vatopedi Monastery, copper engraving from 1767

Impressive engraving on the subject of the Vatopedi Monastery. In the center of the copperplate engraving is depicted the building complex of the Monastery, with its garden and the environment around it. The lower part of the scene is occupied by the sea, full of sailing ships and boats, while on the right the litany of the icon of the Theotokos Vimatarissa can be seen. The scene is completed by two pairs of small scenes in the upper parts of the vertical sides, which are related to the history of the Monastery. A long inscription in the lower part of the engraving gives us the name of the donor, the hieromonk Gabriel of Vatopedinos, and informs us that it was published in Vienna in the year 1767. This is essentially the oldest print that survives today in Vatopedi and has the Monastery itself as its subject. Its inscription states that "the second one was engraved on copper", an element that indicates that this particular engraving is a repetition of an earlier edition. Possibly, a similar copy dated 1744 and published in Vienna belongs to the latter, and is located in the church of Agia Paraskevi Siatista.