In this icon, whose frame is made of the same piece of wood, Dead Christ is represented with his hands crossed on the chest upon the right part of a sarcophagus. He is flanked by Virgin Mary who embraces his body, covering it with her dress (maphorion).

The subject of the Ultimate Humiliation (Man of Sorrows) was shaped in late 11th century in Byzantium. The shaping of this new iconographic type was aided by the influence of hymns related to the mourning of Virgin Mary, which were established in the typika of the private monasteries of Constantinople. The earliest known example of the type is found in Kastoria and it is dated from the 12th century.