Three Treatises on the Divine Images


Book Description

In AD 726, the Byzantine emperor ordered the destruction of all icons, or religious images, throughout the empire, and icons were subject to an imperial ban that was to last, with a brief remission, until AD 843. A defender of icons, St John of Damascus wrote three treatises against "those who attack the holy images." He differentiates between the veneration of icons, which is a matter of expressing honor, and idolatry, which is offering worship to something other than God.




Orthodox Iconography


Book Description

"Four essays dealing with the history of Orthodox iconography, the iconographic decoration of churches, the functions of icons, and the theology and aesthetics of Byzantine iconography. In addition, three appendixes containing authoritative early Christian texts on icons, explanations of the techniques of iconography, and a discussion of two Russian books on icons.




Icon Painting Technique


Book Description

Mary Jane Miller discusses her Icon Painting technique, the history and meaning of icon painting. The How to book orients icon painters and examines why icons continue to be a spiritual tool. From a uniquely Western perspective, this step-by-step study of art and teaching of a practical course in Icon Painting technique. The religion and spirituality of this technique brings to life the sacred and beautiful art of egg tempera painting. Included are egg tempera recipe guides and patterns to work from. Beginners, intermediate, and advanced iconographers will all find new insights.With in-depth information, invaluable advice, and superb illustrations of each step, this is a most comprehensive guide to the philosophy and practice of icon painting. In addition, this Icon Painting technique book can be read as a step-by-step guide of how to create your own icon. The 12-step sequence put forth here is a guideline or road map for the process from vision to creation. However, while easy to follow detailed instructions about technique and materials are provided, my main objective is to emphasize the mystical experience of the process itself, bringing the the Icon Painting technique to a better understanding of the two natures of Christ - flesh and spirit. Details; Looking at Icons Revealed, One Secret Prayer Method, Brief History of Iconography, Organic Egg Tempera, Icon of St Luke, Overview of How to Paint Icons, Wood, Linen, Gesso and Gold, First lines, Chaos of Color, Second lines, Highlights and Veils, Final Lines, Analysis of Icon Images, Mixing Paint for Lettering, Prayers for an Iconographer Egg Temepra and Earth Pigments 41 Rules for the Iconographer 42 Conclusion




Byzantine Sacred Art


Book Description




Color As Light in Byzantine Painting


Book Description

This book records the many years of experience of George Kordis' use of egg tempera, which after many tests and research he combines with a specific type of sub-painting. It shows that this technique, which is a personal technological proposal, can be combined with the traditional Byzantine style, established for centuries in the Hellenic lands as the appropriate way for the rendering of Orthodox images.In the first chapters of the first part, the Byzantine painting system's visual autonomy is examined, with reference to the western naturalistic painting system and other contemporary artistic proposals. The foundation of the findings is attempted with an analysis of selected works of Byzantine and post-Byzantine painting. A detailed description of the egg tempera technique is given by sub-painting and evaluation based on its functionality in the Byzantine painting system.In the second part, the technique of egg tempera with sub-painting is presented on a laboratory level. More specifically, methods of preparation of the host (wood) are presented, gilding techniques, and mainly how landscapes, clothes, objects, faces, and compositions are painted with the technique of egg tempera with sub-painting. Also included are appendices from fresco paintings and icons painted with the method presented in the book.




The sensual icon


Book Description

"Explores the Byzantine aesthetic of fugitive appearances by placing and filming art objects in spaces of changing light, and by uncovering the shifting appearances expressed in poetry, descriptions of art, and liturgical performance"--Provided by publisher.




A Companion to Byzantine Iconoclasm


Book Description

Twelve scholars contextualize and critically examine the key debates about the controversy over icons and their veneration that would fundamentally shape Byzantium and Orthodox Christianity.




Byzantine Art


Book Description

A beautifully illustrated, new edition of the best single-volume guide to Byzantine art, providing an introduction to the whole period and range of styles.




Reconstructing the Reality of Images


Book Description

This examination of realia in Byzantine religious painting provides valuable information on Byzantine dress, household effects and implements, while introducing at the same time an alternative, literally 'objective', approach to the study of the formative processes of Byzantine art.




Icons and Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church


Book Description

An icon (from the Greek word "eikon," "image") is a wooden panel painting of a holy person or scene from Orthodox Christianity, the religion of the Byzantine Empire that is practiced today mainly in Greece and Russia. It was believed that these works acted as intermediaries between worshipers and the holy personages they depicted. Their pictorial language is stylized and primarily symbolic, rather than literal and narrative. Indeed, every attitude, pose, and color depicted in an icon has a precise meaning, and their painters--usually monks--followed prescribed models from iconographic manuals. The goal of this book is to catalogue the vast heritage of images according to iconographic type and subject, from the most ancient at the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai to those from Greece, Constantinople, and Russia. Chapters focus on the role of icons in the Orthodox liturgy and on common iconic subjects, including the fathers and saints of the Eastern Church and the life of Jesus and his followers. As with other volumes in the Guide to Imagery series, this book includes a wealth of color illustrations in which details are called out for discussion.