The paintings to be exhibited at the Saint Joseph's University Gala from Nov. 13 to Dec. 15 bear little trace of the artist who produced them. Brushstrokes are barely evident.
None carries a signature.
The artist, Susan vonMedicus, of Fort Washington, wouldn't have it any other way. Her upcoming Saint Joseph's show features religious icons painted in the traditional Byzantine style of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which emphasizes the art over the artist. The discipline of it, that you are working quietly, with great respect for what you're trying to depict, more as a service than as an artistic expression. It's not about the artist, and it's not about the piece of wood and the pigments on the wood. It's about the prototype you're depicting.