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Icons and Iconography Orthodox iconography dates back to the
Apostle Luke who wrote several icons in his life time including
several of the Theotokos. Icons are not paintings and are not meant
to be a substitute for a photograph. In the Byzantine style, they
are not intended to look like reality or pictures. They are
intentionally written to symbolize the transfigured nature of Christ
and his Saints. Unlike Western paintings of religious themes which
show shockingly accurate and sometime grotesque scenes, Orthodox icons portray the spiritual and heavenly character of the scene
being portrayed. The inverse is sometimes also true. Many western
religious paintings show fluffy beautiful images meant to make you
feel good. An example is the portrayal of angels as fat little baby
like beings that are cute and cuddly. Contrast that to the Orthodox
Icon of Angels shown. Classical Byzantine Icons are written by
iconographers who are constantly praying while they create their
work. Every part of the Icon has meaning. Looking closely at icons
yields a world of information and meaning. Many times the main story
being told is only part of the Icon. Take as an example the Icon of
the Nativity. Not only is the style of an Icon important in Byzantine Iconography, but even the colors chosen have meaning. Traditional Icons are gilded with gold leaf. The gold shines through on the halos and other parts of the Icon. The gold symbolizes the eternal uncreated light of God and his heavenly kingdom. Purple was the Byzantine symbol of royalty. It is used in icons to represent Christ's Kingdom. Red is used in icons to represent humanity and the saving nature of the resurrection. It is the color of blood and thereby signifies life on earth. Blue signifies the heavens and the kingdom of God not on this earth. Byzantine icons of the Theotokos show her with red outer garments and blue ones on the inside. This signifies her original human nature by the red and her heavenly nature by the blue. Icons of Christ will show him with Blue outer clothing and red inner clothing. Signifying his Heavenly origins and earthly existence as being secondary. White is used to show heavenly purity and divinity. Icons of the resurrection will often show Christ in white robes pulling Adam and Eve from the depths. White is also used to depict swaddling clothes of babies, the shrouds of the dead and the robes of angels. Green is the color of the living earth and has been used to portray youth, hope and where life begins. This contrasts to brown which is meant to show our fallen nature on earth and that we will all eventually become dust. Black is used in Iconography to portray evil and death. Demons and satanic beings are portrayed in black.
In conclusion, Orthodox Icons are there to help people find their way to salvation. Like the services of the Church they are meant to teach the right path to salvation. They are windows to heaven to help us focus on our salvation and provide us with a visual reference of what awaits us. Therefore, they are written in a unworldly style because they are not meant to depict this world but the heavenly world. The Orthodox venerate Icons while praying to the Saints, the Theotokos and Christ for help and salvation. |
Paschalion |
Copyright 2005-2008
Icons are windows to heaven, a place for the soul to experience God.
They are not meant to be feel good items to soothe the senses. They
are meant to bring one closer to God through spiritual example just
as the services of the Church do.
In this Icon if one looks carefully one will see not just the actual
Nativity portrayed but also many other events related to this time.
While the above description of colors used
in Icons is the general concept used in Byzantine iconography there
are variations. First, many older Icons were written in different
parts of the world where some pigments were not available. There are
many classical Icons where green has been substituted for blue
because blue pigments were not available. Many older icons have been
retouched over the years and variation in colors occur on the same
Icon due to differences in pigments. Over the years many
Iconographers have deviated from the traditional styles and
incorporated new colors into Icons.