...Being a Sacred Image and an integral part of Divine Liturgy, iconography is not free from limitations and should never be treated as an exercise in artistic freedom, or a novel amusement. There are many ways in which an aspiring artist can learn to paint and countless subjects on which one can train his ability to draw, use colors and experiment with various mediums. Holy Personages are not among them.
Aspiring iconographers should learn the craft from icon masters and imitate the best right down to the smallest details before allowing any of their own personality or "style" to show.
»Acrylic, oils, painting on canvas and other non-traditional mediums and supports
Acrylic painting of Mother of God with ChildAcrylic paints, oils and mediums other than egg tempera and encaustic can be applied with more or less skill, but in either case remain non-traditional means to illuminate Holy Figures. Acrylics are cheap, heavy (non-transparent) and plastic-looking. They are popular because they are inexpensive, because of the speed with which they can be applied, and for their even, heavy coverage (so one layer of acrylic paint achieves what three, four or more layers of egg tempera are needed for).
Unlike egg tempera or encaustic, traditional mediums that are not taught even at art academies, acrylics require no special knowledge, preparation or experience - even school children use them comfortably and with ease. In a word, acrylics are a medium of a modern man who wants everything fast, cheap and easy (an iconographer I know, who uses only acrylics, openly admits it takes him "two hours for a square meter of an icon", as if painting with a roller). But there are few problems with such approach: none of the great icon masters has been using modern mediums and non-traditional supports for their work, even when those were well known and available in the East too; sale and making extra income should never be the purpose of icon writing - we write icons to honor the Holy Personages, not to acquire material goods or artistic fame; iconographer writes icons through prayer, fast and faith, not through greed or for fun; instead of thinking how fast and how many icons one could make in a shortest time span, or how well can he sell them, a far greater value should be assigned to mastering the craft in the first place.
Heavy brush strokes, acrylic»Visible brush strokes
Brush strokes are almost always visible on paintings rendered with modern mediums, but they can also dominate icon images written in egg tempera. Although appreciated in modern art, where brush strokes are most often an artist's signature through which we can evaluate his assurance, skill, passion and emotion, visible brush strokes are considered a poor execution on behalf of iconographer.
The reason for this lies in the theology of Icon and a belief that the Holy Spirit is the only, ultimate Iconographer, while we only land our hand as His tool. Therefore, iconographer's own hand should never dominate the Holy Image, nor should his personality cover the image like a heavy overlay of moods, emotions and one's own ego. The iconographer should always strive to remain invisible, so that the Holy Figure shines through, evoking feelings of contrition and prayerful contemplation.
»Ethno 'icons'It is surprisingly common to find paintings advertised as icons, that are completely outside of tradition, Gospels, history and with no resemblance to actual icons. Images of "Black Madonna", Virgin shown in a Native American costume (topped off with feathers and head band), and other Holy Personages depicted as if they belong to other ethnic groups seem to be easier to find on the Western market than real icons. These are extremes that are wrong, irreverent and blasphemous. There are also more subtle distortions, even more common, that are no less sacrilegious, like painting Christ as a blond, blue-eyed man, Christ Child as red-haired boy with blue or green eyes, blond Virgin with rosy cheeks, blue eyes and sensuous curves... Established by the Church, prototypes should always be honored and respected, and instantly recognized as a representation of particular Holy Figure. Anything that veers off the traditional imagery and drifts into the world of one's imagination and artistic experiment can be a successful painting, but never an icon. |
Painting that claims a status of an icon, representing Archangel Gabriel, dressed as a Spanish aristocrat
Ethnic rendering of the Most Holy Theotokos
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