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When talking about Greek Orthodox Icons, the term icon means the sacred painting created on a movable frame, mostly wooden. Before the colors are applied, the frame is carefully prepared with a background of chalk or alabaster dust.
In Greek orthodox icons, the depicted subjects are like those of the frescoes and include Christ, the Virgin, the Apostles, the Evangelists, the saints, the martyrs, the ascetics, the bishops, without omitting the most important scenes from the Old and the New Testament. Among them there are mainly pictorial themes of the twelve Great Feasts of the Byzantine liturgical year which are revived with miracles, parables, the life, passion and Resurrection of Christ, the lives of saints and martyrs and finally, compositions of theological inspiration.
The religious and spiritual meaning of orthodox icons
According to the Greek Orthodox Church, orthodox icons express the holiness and spiritual power of the persons they depict and elevate the one who looks at them to the archetypes of the holy images they represent: Christ, the Virgin and the Saints. These holy icons, by virtue of their sanctity, transmit grace and power to those who gaze upon them.
There are also so-called "miracle-working" orthodox icons which are especially numerous on Mt. Athos collection. and which, according to tradition, are capable of performing miracles.
The difference between Greek orthodox icons and frescoes or mosaics
The orthodox icons present mainly a less specific and "historical" character than the wall paintings, whether they are frescoes or mosaics. While the latter do depict biblical or hagiographic scenes, the orthodox icons are exclusively or almost exclusively cultic, endowed and almost representative of a supernatural power.
Consequently, the icon painter, conscious of the sacred character of his art, tends to attach less importance to the reality of phenomena and nature than the fresco painter. They give less importance to anatomy and assign to colors a symbolic meaning more than the representative content of the represented objects.
The unique craftsmanship and perspective of orthodox icons
What we call "inverted perspective", which was adopted by Byzantine painting, also contributes to assure the "presence" of the holy form being reproduced in orthodox icons. This is a perspective whose structure is the reverse of linear perspective: the lines of escape instead of meeting at a point behind the image, meet at a point in front, so that space develops from within of the image itself in the direction of the observer. The image depicted in orthodox icons is therefore not a window to the world, but a place of presence, a pole of attraction for the one who looks at it.
The gold leaf background, dear to the Byzantine illustrators, recalls, with its peculiar delicacy, heaven and contributes to the refinement of the forms, which also allows the creation of special effects that deceive the eye.
Notable examples of orthodox icons in religious art
A striking example of the icon of this period is offered to us in Mt. Athos by the icon of Panagia Odegetria of Chilandari, which dates back to the end of the 12th century. We find the same technical and functional features again in the icon of St. Nikolaos of the Stavronikita monastery, although it may be from a more recent era, possibly at the end of the 13th or the beginning of the 14th century.
Other representative examples of this 14th century iconographic technique preserved on Mount Athos are the Christ Pantokrator of Esphigmenou Monastery, the Crucifixion, the icon of Saint Anne of Vatopedi and Saint John the Baptist in the Great Lavra. The icon of Saint John Chrysostom, which is now part of the Dumbarton Oaks collection in Washington, also comes from Mt. Athos, specifically from Vatopedi.
The unique orthodox icons of the Mt. Athos monasteries
Orthodox icons can be classified into two categories: "portable" and "iconostasis". These so-called "portables" are images of worship intended to be displayed inside churches and chapels or in litanies. Those called the "iconostasis" are very special icons of worship, intended for the decoration of the iconostasis, this mainly wooden partition that separates the temple from the sanctuary.
Some monasteries on Mt. Athos proudly keep orthodox icons that is said that they were "not made by human hands" but miraculously sent by God or by the Virgin Mary. Among them, some are attributed to the Evangelist Luke, who according to tradition had painted over 70 orthodox icons. However, a full scientific analysis of the painting heritage of Mt. Athos has not yet been done, due to the inaccessible nature of the "miraculous" orthodox icons zealously guarded by the monks.
The most beautiful othodox icons are preserved in the catholicons, chapels and vaults of the monasteries of Mt. Athos and namely in the monasteries of Megistis Lavra, Vatopedi, Ibira, Chilandari, Dionysios, Agios Pavlos and Pantokratoros, without forgetting the church of the Protatos in Karies.
Greek Orthodox icons painting and tradition today
Today the Greek Orthodox painting tradition is very much alive. It is expressed in numerous workshops, where hagiographers (painters of saints) have dedicated themselves to the production of holy orthodox icons, perpetuating the style and technique of old painters.
To see more examples of hand painted icons of Jesus Christ, Mary, and the Saints, feel free to head over to our hand-painted Greek Orthodox MT. Athos Collection!
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