Otherwise, the icon would have no meaning. Since the person depicted is a bearer of divine grace, the icon must portray his holiness to us. The historical reality alone, even when it is very precise, does not constitute an icon. Much of their writing was therefore centred on developing what we might call a “mystagogy of style”. Here, I will therefore only give a summary of the matter as it relates to our subject of training.įor the past century the most commonly held view, led by Pavel Florensky, Photis Kontoglou (1895-1865), and Leonid Ouspensky is that the stylistic abstractions found in traditional icons exist to indicate the transfigured world, and that this style is integral to what makes a traditional icon what it is.Īlthough patristic writings dwell not on the formal quality of icons but on the theological fact that the icon is holy because it depicts holy persons, these writers argued strongly that icons, to be worthy of the name, must reflect spiritual realities in their style or form.
#Jovan athan... iconographer series
Silouan Justiniano has already covered this subject admirably in his series of three articles in OAJ, “ The Pictorial Metaphysics of the Icon”. It is an important debate since the outcome will affect the future of icon painting and the training of iconographers. I will begin by outlining a debate current among some Orthodox writers regarding why icons tend to be painted the way they are, what distinguishes them stylistically from other paintings. To illustrate my points I have mostly chosen examples from contemporary iconographers, and especially from some of those who tried to go beyond mere copying. I will attempt to relate these principles to the theology of the Church as expressed through her liturgical texts, the Scriptures and writings of the Fathers, and also to current debate among Orthodox thinkers.
#Jovan athan... iconographer full
I have arrived at this “list” through a combination of close observation of actual icons over the past thirty years that I have been a full time iconographer, and from my teaching – in particular the Diploma in Icon Painting that I run for The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts. Some of these are theological, some aesthetic, some practical. Most of the article will outline various qualities which I believe are fundamental to well made icons. I will give particular consideration to the role of illumination because this has the most importance for the formal or stylistic qualities of icons, and therefore on the ability and training of the iconographer. Icons fulfil many roles, but I would like to concentrate here on two main functions that can be summarized with the words communion and illumination. So is a good icon simply an accurate copy of a past masterpiece, or are there timeless principles within which there is room for creativity and variation, both from artist to artist and from epoch to epoch? Or perhaps the formal qualities of an icon have little theological significance and it suffices that the image simply bears the name of its subject? According to the master iconographer Archimandrite Zenon, 10,000 hours of practice are needed to become proficient. It takes many years to become a good painter. Also, Roman Catholic and Anglican/Episcopalian churches and individuals are increasingly wanting icons.īut given this demand, churches will be filled with mediocre work if our training of iconographers is mediocre. As the number of Orthodox churches increases, both in the West and in traditionally Orthodox countries, more icons and wall paintings are required. The effective training of iconographers is a pressing and practical issue. Or to put the question another way: What constitutes a well painted icon? Icon schools and teachers are working blind if we do not first give deep consideration to the qualities that we wish to nurture in the works of our students.
In this article I discuss the training of iconographers, not primarily the practical ways that this can be achieved, but the more fundamental question of what sort of iconographers we are trying to train. TODAY AND TOMORROW: PRINCIPLES IN THE TRAINING OF FUTURE ICONOGRAPHERS Today and Tomorrow: Principles in the Training of Future Iconographers pt.2.Today and Tomorrow: Principles in the Training of Future Iconographers pt.1.
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