Iconography
The Painter’s Manual of Dionysios of Fourna and the Byzantine Church of the Monastery of Saint Gregorios
Over the centuries it had been noticeable that the iconography of Byzantine churches was consistent in content and style. It was most likely that the artists of religious images were following rules on what was to be painted, how images were to be arranged, and how they were to be rendered. In 1839, a painter’s…
Continue reading »Review of “Festal Icons: History and Meaning” by Aidan Hart
In Aidan Hart’s new book, Festal Icons: History and Meaning, we find a major contribution to the current icon revival, one which will be hard to surpass for many years to come. It is an impressive volume, not only in its size and bulk — measuring 11 in. x 9 in., weighing 5.17 lbs.,…
Continue reading »Recent Fresco Iconography in Belgium
The rector, Fr. Dominique Verbeke, and his counsel, asked me to present a proposal on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Orthodox parish of the Holy Apostle Andrew in Ghent, Belgium. I was to decorate the ‘first church’, a big room in a house of the Old Beguinage (17th century)…
Continue reading »Interview with Iconographer Baker Galloway
Editor’s Note: Following upon Aidan Hart’s recent post about applications currently being accepted for the 3-year Icon Painting Programme taught by him, we present an interview with a 2019 graduate of that program, Baker Galloway, conducted by Seraphim O’Keefe on behalf of the OAJ. Introduction Baker Galloway is an American graduate of the 3-year Icon…
Continue reading »The Three-Year Icon Painting Programme for The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts
Editor’s Note: Spaces are currently available in Aidan Hart’s certificate program in icon painting – one of the world’s best opportunities for hands-on study in this field. This post is illustrated with examples of student work from the program, showing the wonderful success achieved by Aidan’s teaching method. As the demand for painted icons has…
Continue reading »A Byzantine Master in the New World – An Interview with Iconographer Dionysios Bouloubassis
Dionysios Boloubassis developed a reputation as a talented iconographer in Greece before he immigrated to the United States in 2013. Over the past ten years he built up a new portfolio of work in America, which together with his churches in Greece, demonstrates his experience and skill in carrying on the iconographic tradition. ORTHODOX ARTS…
Continue reading »Biblical Visions: Exterior Murals at the Monastery of the Transfiguration
Between 2016 and 2018 I created a series of wall paintings with scenes from the Old Testament for the exterior walls of a chapel in Dordogne, France. The chapel is located in the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration which was founded by Archimandrite Elie and is a dependency of the Monastery of Simonos Petras on…
Continue reading »Painting as Prayer, The Art of A. Sophrony Sakharov
Editorial note: This is the third part of a series on the artistic path and iconographic legacy of Saint Sophrony the Athonite (1896-1993) as seen through a collection of monographs written by Sister Gabriela, a member of his monastic community in Essex, England. The previous articles, Seeking Perfection in the World of Art can be…
Continue reading »Narthex Murals at St John of the Ladder
Introduction This article is the second in a series documenting the mural project at St John of the Ladder Orthodox Church in Greenville, South Carolina. This beautiful temple was designed by Andrew Gould. The previous article presented the murals in the two smaller rooms adjacent to the church’s sanctuary. Here, I will present the recently…
Continue reading »A New Icon – Saint Katherine Teaching the Philosophers of the Alexandrian Court
I would like to share an interesting project in which I collaborated with iconographer Natalia Aglitskaya to develop a new icon composition. The project was a commission from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, to commemorate their fiftieth anniversary of coeducation, which occurred in 2019. The college wanted a memorial to the admission of women to…
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