Icons in the Christian church are called picturesque images of the Mother of God, Jesus Christ and various saints. These are sacred objects. They serve for the religious celebration of deities. During prayer, the feelings and thoughts of believers are certainly directed to the images on the icons.
Similar images are an indispensable accessory of the Orthodox or Roman church, and are also present in the homes of Christian believers. Icons are created using iconography. What does this concept mean? What types of iconography and varieties do they share? Let's try to figure this out.
Definition of a concept
What is iconography? This word came from two concepts - “image” and “I write”. In the visual arts, this term includes a strictly established system for depicting particular plot scenes and characters.
Iconography is a set of rules that are associated with a religious cult. Their use helps the artist identify scenes or characters. At the same time, there is a coordination of a certain technological concept and image principles.
In the art history of iconography, a description and systematization of schemes, as well as typological features in the process of depicting scenes or characters are distinguished. In addition, such a system considers a set of plots and images that are characteristic of a direction in art or for any era.
Iconography in modern science
Previously, this concept applied, as a rule, to Christian art. At present, iconography is a term that encompasses all the pictorial activity of a person, starting from cave paintings made in prehistoric times, ending with modern images.
What is the main characteristic of iconography? These are the two most important points that lie in the repeatability of the features of the prototype, as well as in maintaining the same semantic content when repeating the picture.
As a rule, the concept of "iconography" is considered in the context of religious images, as well as official secular art. It is in these areas that image elements have semantic and symbolic meaning.
Iconographic Type
What is meant by this concept? The iconographic type, or canon, is designed not only to capture recognizable and characteristic features of a given character, but also to express the features inherent in his internal image. In this case, the viewer should be informed about the significance of this person in history or in the religious system. In other words, the iconographic type is intended to indicate what underlies the veneration of the depicted saint or public figure.
A similar system is certainly based on a real look. But at the same time, in most cases, she idealizes the image. It is worth noting that the iconography of a historical person, a mythological character or an individual saint forms various types of this direction.
Image Stories
Iconography of events is characterized by a certain schematism. Sometimes such image systems are sustainable. In this case, they are called iconographic editions.
One and the same event, which may be, for example, the plot of the gospel story, sometimes has several accepted versions of its image.
Changes in iconographic edits are caused not only by changes in the stylistic or artistic features of the era, but also by the authors' appeal to various literary sources.
Medieval artists had sample books. They contained a brief description of those typical features that the characters possess, as well as schemes for depicting plot compositions. All this allowed the painters to convey iconographic canons that were traditionally established without any errors.
Ritual actions
Christian iconography is not only involved in creating images. It is also used for ritual actions. For example, Christian culture has a developed iconography of prayer processions. In antiquity, it served to create the image of military triumph. The word "iconography" in a secular sacred cult is used when the king is crowned or during the organization of an imperial funeral.
System development
Iconography, as a rule, is associated with church rites and with worship. Indeed, it is in these areas that the application of strict rules and the regulation of the form are those necessary conditions that allow the content to be transmitted without errors and arbitrary interpretation.
Along with this, iconography is a system that objectively reflects the course of cultural and historical processes. She has an inextricable connection with the plot of the canvas, as well as with images, poetry and style, characteristic of a particular era. In this regard, despite its stability, iconographic schemes have a certain mobility. They develop thanks to the multifaceted connections of artistic images with various spheres of culture, as well as with political and social history.
Of course, the great importance that iconography had in religion and in the official ceremoniality of Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt, allowed it to become one of the constituent parts of art not only of these states, but of the whole Ancient World.
Iconography in Orthodoxy
Art in the Christian tradition has reached such an unprecedented height for the reason that the basis of this teaching is the need for the incarnation of God's Word, witnessed by His image. Iconography has become an important area of Orthodox art and because of the importance of the recognition of Christ. In addition, the church has always been of the opinion that the icon should have a dogmatic authenticity of the image, which is in accordance with the sacred text. At the same time, the meaning of the image of the church is revealed and clarified in the course of its sermons.
The theoretical basis of iconography
The Holy Fathers fought relentlessly against the iconoclastic heresy. To do this, they created the doctrine of the image. It was the theoretical basis of Orthodox iconography. According to him, all images must certainly be correlated with the texts of the Bible, works of hymnography, worship, homiletics and hagiography. This was the reason for the invariance of some of the iconographic schemes that came to us in an unchanged state from the early Christian time. However, on the other hand, the emergence of a new direction in graphic forms was noted. Such dynamics was a peculiar response to the existing theological problems.
Church architecture
In what other area is the concept of "iconography" used? This word is used in modern science to describe church architecture. Iconography is inseparable from architecture. This concept applies to architectural designs of buildings, as well as those elements that have historical or sacred significance.
Iconography also means sacred units. For example, "the measure of the Holy Sepulcher." Iconography is capable of endowing architectural monuments with some symbolic meaning. And if we observe a steady repetition of certain typological features, then we can not talk about tribute to artistic traditions. This is a kind of technique that allows you to create a fairly meaningful image of the structure.
Art History
In this area, iconography is a scientific field. Her main subject of research is motives and themes of fine art.
In this context, iconography is used to interpret the plot, characters and figures. This method was developed in the middle of the 19th century. Scientists from Russia, Great Britain, Germany and France began to apply it in order to solve the problems of studying medieval art.
With the help of iconography, it becomes possible to explore the direct relationship between text and image.
By the middle of the second half of the 19th century. this direction has become considered the main discipline about Christian antiquities, which is based on the church-historical approach and descriptive principles of image classification.
In Russia, the iconographic method was greatly developed thanks to the works of F. I. Buslaev. Pursuing the study of ancient manuscripts decorated with miniatures, he came to the conclusion that there are some deep connections of the word and image. Moreover, they are a specific feature of medieval culture. Buslaev saw the features of the icon in its content. According to the researcher, church art is an immense illustration of scripture. He noticed the stylistic unity of the monuments of fine art and literature created in the same era.
Iconography in the writing of the faces of the Saints
The word "icon" has Greek roots. Translated from this language, it means “portrait” or “image”. At the time when the formation of Christian art took place in Byzantium, this word was used to refer to any image of the Mother of God, the Savior, the Holy Angel and the events of the Holy History. Moreover, it was regardless of whether this painting was easel, monumental or sculptural.
Currently, the word “icon” is pronounced in relation to the image to which the believers ask. Moreover, it can be mosaic, carved or painted with paint. In this sense, art historians as well as archaeologists began to use this word.
Coming to church, we also distinguish between wall paintings and the image written on the board.
The emergence of the Christian image
There are many scientific hypotheses about the appearance of a certain pattern in the writing of the faces of the Saints. Moreover, these theories are quite contradictory. However, the Orthodox Church has a clear answer to this question. She claims that the sacred image is the result of the Incarnation. It is based on it, which is the essence of Christianity itself.
From the moment of the emergence of the Orthodox faith, an icon is considered an object that cannot be changed. Such a view was fixed by strict rules for writing it, called the canon. They first formed in Byzantium in the 11-12th centuries, and after they were adopted in Russia.
From the point of view of Christian doctrine, the icon is a special kind of self-disclosure and self-expression of the Orthodox direction, manifested by the Councils and the Holy Fathers.
The canon, adopted by the church, fixed and fixed some features of the images of the Deities that separated them from the earthly world.
To this end, in Orthodox iconography, artists adhered to the following rules:
- The figures were depicted as motionless (static).
- The iconography of the saints emphasized the unearthly beginning in their faces.
- The conventions of color and reflection of images on a gold background were observed.
Over the years, art has been enriched with new content. Iconography of icons gradually changed. Her schemes were constantly getting complicated. In iconographic art, a creative trend began to be present. Artists began to more freely interpret traditional religious scenes. All this led to the fact that the images of iconography became not so strictly regulated in their execution.
Images of Christ
It is known that in the iconography of the Savior is called the Savior. His image is central to Orthodox fine art. The first masters, who laid the foundations of Christian icon painting, sought to comprehend, as well as describe the Lord.
Today we can say that the iconography of Jesus Christ is filled with symbolism. However, it is very diverse. The desire of the masters to present the Divine image as an incomprehensible higher essence caused a lot of interpretations. Jesus was both a good shepherd and Judge, king of Judea and youth.
According to legend, the first icon of Christ was his miraculous image. It appeared on the fabric with which the Son of God wiped his face. This icon miraculously healed the king of Ostroeny Avgar, who was sick with leprosy. Subsequently, this face formed the basis of the iconography of Jesus, in particular, the Holy Savior.
The most ancient icon that has survived to this day was the painting painted in the 6th century, which is now kept in the Egyptian Sinai Monastery.
There is a special direction in the iconography of Christ. It is an allegorical image, especially popular in the very early stages of the development of Christianity. The most famous of these are the Shepherd and the Lamb. Sometimes you can see the image of the Savior in the form of a pelican. In those days it was claimed that this bird feeds the chicks with its own flesh, and this symbolizes the sacrifice. In ancient paintings, you can also find the image of a dolphin. In its literal interpretation, it means "the salvation of the drowning", which implies human souls.
Russian iconography of Christ took shape in the 11-12th centuries. It was expressed by two main types of images:
- Miraculous Spas. In this case, the face of Jesus the master placed on a gold or white background.
- Christ Pantocrator. This image stood at the center of the Christological cycle. This group of icons is represented by “Savior on the Throne”, “Savior in the Forces”, “Savior”, “Psychososter”, “Eleemon” (Pardon) and some other images. In this case, the Lord was portrayed by the masters as they sat on the throne, shoulder-length, waist-high or full-length. In his left hand he held the gospel or scroll. The right one was bent for a blessing gesture. Around the head of the Savior was a cross-shaped halo. This special element is considered mandatory in the iconography of Christ. As well as a combination of red and blue colors of clothing.
In general, Orthodox iconography contains more than ten directions of images of Jesus. One of them is the image in adolescence (type of "Savior Emanuel"). On some icons, Christ appears to the viewer as a gray-haired old man. This is his image of the Old Denmy. A special area is the “Passion Cycle”. This includes the icons "Crucifixion" and "Position in the grave", as well as "Do not cry for Men Mati" and "Descent into Hell." Some images are presented to the audience of Christ in the angelic rank. They affirm his heavenly divine essence. This, for example, the icon "Angel Good Silence."
The iconography of the resurrection reflects the traditional Orthodox teaching about the Lord's descent into hell, about His victory over death and the resurrection of the dead, which He leads out of hell.
Images of the Mother of God
The image of the Virgin reveals to believers the depth that God-man relations have. Virgin Mary became the mother of God. That is, the Virgin. She gave the Savior life in human nature. This motherhood is supernatural. After all, it also notes the inexplicable sacrament that preserved Her virginity. The veneration of the Virgin is connected with this.
The appearance of the Mother of God is known to us from her most ancient images. In addition, there are descriptions about it left by church historians.
The iconography of the Mother of God provides for her image in certain clothes. First of all, icon painters dress the Virgin Mary in a maforium. This is a wide outerwear that, when unfolded, forms a circle. In the middle of the maforia there is a round slot for the head. Its edges near the neck are trimmed with a narrow or wide border. Maforians were always worn over tunics. In length, he was slightly below his knees. A tunic is the bottom shirt to the floor. In the iconography of the Mother of God, these clothes are always blue. This color is considered a symbol of pristine purity. Nevertheless, quite rarely the tunic is of different shades - dark green or dark blue.
Women of that time always covered their heads. This is taken into account in the iconography of the Virgin. On the head of the Virgin Mary, we always see a light cap (boards), covering and picking up hair. A blanket is worn over it. This clothing item, like the maforium, is round. For the face, there is a slot in it. The length of the bedspread is up to the elbows.
In the iconography of the Virgin, such a veil has dark red tones. This technique is a reminder of the royal origin of the Virgin Mary and the suffering that she had to endure. In addition, the red color of the veil indicates that the Son of God borrowed His blood and flesh from the Virgin. On the edges of the circuit board is decorated with gold fringe or border. This color is a sign of the glorification of the Virgin Mary. He is considered a symbol of Her presence in the Divine light, as well as Her involvement in the glory of Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit, which poured out on the Most Holy at the time of conception.
Sometimes the clothes of the Virgin are depicted in gold color. This technique symbolizes the grace of God. Sometimes masters of icon painting dress the Virgin Mary in a blue maforium.
An indispensable accessory of the head cover of the Virgin is three stars. They symbolize Her Evergrimony. , , , . , .
The first icons of the Virgin Mary are believed to have been created by the Evangelist Luke. The most ancient images of the Virgin Mary date back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Their researchers found in Roman catacombs. More often than not, the Mother of God is represented sitting with the Baby Jesus in her arms. In the iconography of the Virgin Mary, located on the throne, many researchers see this type of image as Hodegetria.
Another of the most common images of the Virgin Mary is Eleusa, or Tenderness. Before the 10th century, this type of iconography did not occur.
The scheme of the Mother of God Oranta found its place in the painting of temples. In icon painting she is known as the Sign. A similar type of icon is All-Merciful. On them the Mother of God sits on the throne and holds the Infant Christ on her lap. Quite rarely Virgin Mary is portrayed without God's Son. This type of icon is called Deesis. On them you can see the image of the Virgin, standing in a prayer position.