Icons: The Fascination & the Reality
Icons as religious images and art forms have a lengthy and detailed heritage. Onasch (Christian archaeology and ecclesiastical art, Martin Luther Univ., Halle-Wittenburg, Germany) and art historian and journalist Schnieper-Muller here take a broad view of the subject. Rather than simply cataloging examples by period and place, they systematically follow the development of this distinct art form in a thematic survey of consistent motifs that is both articulate and engrossing. Without illustrations, the comparison of themes would have been meaningless. Happily, the burnished golds, rich reds, and subtle browns of the illustrations decorate almost every page. This book is more encompassing than other recent texts, such as Liudmila Miliayeva's The Ukranian Icon (LJ 10/15/97), and is recommended for academic and larger public libraries.?Karen Ellis, Baldwin Boettcher Lib., Humble, Tex.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.