Icons and Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church

by Alfredo Tradigo

Overview

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 worshipers and 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 iconographic manuals.
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 on common 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892368457
Publisher:	Getty Publications
Publication date:	09/01/2006
Series:	A Guide to Imagery
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	246,298
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.75(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Alfredo Tradigo is the artistic director and art critic for Famiglia Cristiana magazine and has devoted thirty years to research on Christian iconography.

Editorial Reviews

A beautiful, informative read.”
 

Tui Motu InterIslands Magazine - Ann Hassan