Emmanuel Benakis (1843-1929), Greek merchant, philanthropist and politician, ordered this icon from Moscow together with an accompanying icon of the Mother of God sometime around 1900. The pair of icons hung in the bedroom he shared with his wife, Virginia Choremi Benaki (1848-1928) until the end of his life. The icons passed to his daughter, the author Penelope Delta, and thereafter to her descendants before being gifted to a family friend. The Benakis were one of the most prominent Greek families of the period: Emmanuel Benakis served in the Hellenic Parliament, and was a Minister of Agriculture and Industry as well as Mayor of Athens.  His son Antonis Benakis (1873-1954), influenced by his father’s ideals, donated his considerable collection and the family’s Athens mansion to the Greek nation. The Benaki Museum, home to one of the greatest collections of Greek art, opened to the public in 1931.