Russian Icon
What Is An Icon?
The word icon is derived from the Greek eikon, meaning an image. Icons are popularly known as the art of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, but they are really much more. Graphically, they illustrate the life of Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary, as well as saints and stories from the Bible and later Christian experiences. Physically and spiritually, icons fulfill a prayerful role in church services and in the lives of the faithful. Many paintings and objects in Western art have a Christian or religious theme, but they are not icons. Orthodox icons were, and still are, created for prayer and liturgical use in the church and for personal prayers at home or in travel. Icons often were so beautifully and skillfully made, however, that they also attracted the attention of private collectors and museums. Icons can be seen in churches and museums all over the world today. Some of the most famous icons are Byzantine, Greek and Russian paintings on wood. Countless other masterpieces also were made from a variety of materials. They were produced of gold, silver and copper, some with polychrome enamels and gemstones; from carved wood, stone and ivory; from embroidered textiles and from tiny pieces of glass, ceramic and stone arranged to form mosaics. According to custom, an icon artist was expected to be a person of high moral principle and Christian ideals who prepared for his work by fasting and praying. The iconography was neither a creation of the artist's imagination nor whim, but followed a prescribed pattern and subject according to Church tradition. In Russia, an icon is referred to as being "written." The "icon graphics" were designed to be so explicit that no words (except for the traditional titles and abbreviations), were needed to convey the meaning, and the story of an icon remained recognizable by conforming to iconographic tradition. Thus, icons also overcame problems of language and literacy.Source: Treasures of the Czars education guide by Vera B. Espinola.