Greek Orthodox Icon, with Christ and Saints, Eighteenth to Nineteenth Century AD
Gold and Pigment on Wood
23.2 x 17.2 x 2.7 cm
9 1/8 x 6 3/4 x 1 1/8 in
9 1/8 x 6 3/4 x 1 1/8 in
GM.0105
Further images
In the Greek Orthodox monastery at Mount Athos, perhaps the most famous religious community on Earth, females are not allowed, a rule known as baton (‘untrodden’). Even Britain’s late Queen...
In the Greek Orthodox monastery at Mount Athos, perhaps the most famous religious community on Earth, females are not allowed, a rule known as baton (‘untrodden’). Even Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II was unable to accompany her husband on his visit to the peninsula in AD 1992, despite her apparent wish to do so. This prohibition is so strict that it even applies to animals. The monks there, despite being self-sufficient in all other things, must import their dairy products, since they are unable to keep female cows, sheep or goats. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule. The first is wild or stray animals which happen to find themselves at Mount Athos. It would be impossible for the monks there to police the gender of every songbird or feral cat which finds itself in the precincts of the monastery. The second exception is more deliberate: hens. This is not for food, though the monks there have been known to enjoy eggs as part of their strict Orthodox diet, but rather for art. The albumen of eggs has long been used as a binding substance for paint, and this was necessary for the production of icons, small painted portraits of religious figures which are a focus of devotional worship in the Orthodox World. The importance of these icons is so great that the monks of Athos tolerate intimate contact with the monastery’s hens alone among female creatures, so that icons which have fallen into disrepair can be fixed or replaced to ensure the seamless continuation of their liturgical mission.
Icons are known in Greek as hagiographia, ‘holy writings’, a class of objects which also includes the Bible as the central liturgical text. They are not considered to be drawings or creations of the human imagination, but, like for the Bible itself, the hand and mind of the artist are considered to have been guided by those of God himself. As representations of things no longer of this world, they are thought to be windows into the heaven. As a result, they are highly stylised. They are not supposed to be direct graphical representations of the physical appearance of a saint or of the Holy Family, but rather representations of the spiritual truth of a holy person or event. The mythical background of icons begins with Saint Luke the Apostle, one of Christ’s close companions, who represented Mary as theotokos (the Mother of God), as well as Saints Paul and Peter, following their martyrdoms. Despite this apparent pedigree, icons have not always been uncontroversial in the Orthodox tradition. Between AD 730 and AD 843, icons were banned, since veneration of images was prohibited by the commandment ‘thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is on the Earth beneath, or that is in the water under the Earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor to serve them’ (Exodus 20:4-6). This passage is unclear in regards to paintings, since the Hebrew word used to render ‘graven images’ is pesel, which is best translated as ‘sculptures’, since it specifically refers to the process of being carved or hewn. The balance was tipped back in favour of iconography by the Byzantine Empress Theodora, who ruled in place of her young son Michael III following his father’s death.
This remarkable icon of the Greek Orthodox tradition follows the Byzantine tradition closely. The portraits are, on the whole, frontal, with proportionally large almond-shaped eyes, and straight, even severe, features. It consists of three registers, each of three portraits, with only a thin black line separating them. Each portrait is individually executed in a free, engaging, style, with delicate outlines and clear contrast of shadow and light. Presented against a background of gold leaf, these tempera portraits appear almost shadowy against the shining backdrop of heavenly light. One can imagine, in the dim light of an Orthodox church or monastery, where the only illumination was from small slit windows letting glimpses of Aegean sun through, and hanging oil lamps, that the flickering reflections against the gold would have lent this work a mystical aspect. Jesus Christ, in his guise as pantokrator (‘ruler of everything’), is depicted in the centre of the top register. Two fingers of his right hand are raised, in common with the liturgical practice of making the sign of the cross, which is far more frequent in Eastern Orthodoxy than it is in either Catholicism or Anglicanism. The two fingers were thought by the Russian Orthodox Church to symbolise the dual nature of Christ as man and God. In his other hand, he carries a Bible, representative of his role in the transmission of the word of God. The Bible is closed, unlike in Russian Orthodox iconography, where the Bible is always presented as open. At the left of the first register is Mary, the mother of Christ, with her hands outstretched to her son, and another, unidentified, male in a parallel pose. Like the saints depicted on the rows below, the figures in the top registered are labelled in red Greek cursive, but unfortunately the label for the right-hand figure is illegible. The same is sadly also true for the middle register, where three further saints – all bearded older men in priestly garb – are presented. All three mimic the pose of Christ in the register above, carrying a closed Bible and with their remaining hands in a guise of blessing. The central figure, with luxuriant white beard, a high forehead, and red ecclesiastical robe, may well be Saint Nicholas, the Miracle-Worker, who was one of the most popular saints in the Orthodox tradition. The bottommost register depicts another three saints, the labels of two of which can be read. The central figure is ‘Georgi’, St George, who is one of the Greek Orthodox Church’s most venerated megalomartia (‘Great Martyrs’). He is shown as a young man, in accordance with his historical age at martyrdom. Another young saint, Demetrios, is shown next to him; both George and Demetrios were soldiers in the Roman Army, who were martyred for their continued adherence to the Christian faith during the Great Persecution of the early Fourth Century AD.
Icons are known in Greek as hagiographia, ‘holy writings’, a class of objects which also includes the Bible as the central liturgical text. They are not considered to be drawings or creations of the human imagination, but, like for the Bible itself, the hand and mind of the artist are considered to have been guided by those of God himself. As representations of things no longer of this world, they are thought to be windows into the heaven. As a result, they are highly stylised. They are not supposed to be direct graphical representations of the physical appearance of a saint or of the Holy Family, but rather representations of the spiritual truth of a holy person or event. The mythical background of icons begins with Saint Luke the Apostle, one of Christ’s close companions, who represented Mary as theotokos (the Mother of God), as well as Saints Paul and Peter, following their martyrdoms. Despite this apparent pedigree, icons have not always been uncontroversial in the Orthodox tradition. Between AD 730 and AD 843, icons were banned, since veneration of images was prohibited by the commandment ‘thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is on the Earth beneath, or that is in the water under the Earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor to serve them’ (Exodus 20:4-6). This passage is unclear in regards to paintings, since the Hebrew word used to render ‘graven images’ is pesel, which is best translated as ‘sculptures’, since it specifically refers to the process of being carved or hewn. The balance was tipped back in favour of iconography by the Byzantine Empress Theodora, who ruled in place of her young son Michael III following his father’s death.
This remarkable icon of the Greek Orthodox tradition follows the Byzantine tradition closely. The portraits are, on the whole, frontal, with proportionally large almond-shaped eyes, and straight, even severe, features. It consists of three registers, each of three portraits, with only a thin black line separating them. Each portrait is individually executed in a free, engaging, style, with delicate outlines and clear contrast of shadow and light. Presented against a background of gold leaf, these tempera portraits appear almost shadowy against the shining backdrop of heavenly light. One can imagine, in the dim light of an Orthodox church or monastery, where the only illumination was from small slit windows letting glimpses of Aegean sun through, and hanging oil lamps, that the flickering reflections against the gold would have lent this work a mystical aspect. Jesus Christ, in his guise as pantokrator (‘ruler of everything’), is depicted in the centre of the top register. Two fingers of his right hand are raised, in common with the liturgical practice of making the sign of the cross, which is far more frequent in Eastern Orthodoxy than it is in either Catholicism or Anglicanism. The two fingers were thought by the Russian Orthodox Church to symbolise the dual nature of Christ as man and God. In his other hand, he carries a Bible, representative of his role in the transmission of the word of God. The Bible is closed, unlike in Russian Orthodox iconography, where the Bible is always presented as open. At the left of the first register is Mary, the mother of Christ, with her hands outstretched to her son, and another, unidentified, male in a parallel pose. Like the saints depicted on the rows below, the figures in the top registered are labelled in red Greek cursive, but unfortunately the label for the right-hand figure is illegible. The same is sadly also true for the middle register, where three further saints – all bearded older men in priestly garb – are presented. All three mimic the pose of Christ in the register above, carrying a closed Bible and with their remaining hands in a guise of blessing. The central figure, with luxuriant white beard, a high forehead, and red ecclesiastical robe, may well be Saint Nicholas, the Miracle-Worker, who was one of the most popular saints in the Orthodox tradition. The bottommost register depicts another three saints, the labels of two of which can be read. The central figure is ‘Georgi’, St George, who is one of the Greek Orthodox Church’s most venerated megalomartia (‘Great Martyrs’). He is shown as a young man, in accordance with his historical age at martyrdom. Another young saint, Demetrios, is shown next to him; both George and Demetrios were soldiers in the Roman Army, who were martyred for their continued adherence to the Christian faith during the Great Persecution of the early Fourth Century AD.