num_pages: 383
description: An icon (from the Greek word "eikon," "image") is a wooden panel painting of a holy person or scene from Orthodox Christianity, the religion of the Byzantine Empire that is practiced today mainly in Greece and Russia. It was believed that these works acted as intermediaries between worshipersand the holy personages they depicted. Their pictorial language is stylized and primarily symbolic, rather than literal and narrative. Indeed, every attitude, pose, and color depicted in an icon has a precise meaning, and their painters--usually monks--followed prescribed models from iconographicmanuals.The goal of this book is to catalogue the vast heritage of images according to iconographic type and subject, from the most ancient at the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai to those from Greece, Constantinople, and Russia. Chapters focus on the role of icons in the Orthodox liturgy and oncommon iconic subjects, including the fathers and saints of the Eastern Church and the life of Jesus and his followers. As with other volumes in the Guide to Imagery series, this book includes a wealth of color illustrations in which details are called out for discussion.
language: English
title: Icons & Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
titlecomplete: Icons & Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
genres: Art, Religion, Theology, Russia, Art History, Church History, Reference, Nonfiction, History, Christianity
ratings_count: 123
series: Bildlexikon der Kunst, A Guide to Imagery
publisher: The J. Paul Getty Museum