Iconography
Apsidal Wall Painting for St. Christopher’s Church, Codsell, UK
Definition of Apse: A large semi-circular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof and typically at the church’s eastern end. Via Latin from Greek hapsis ‘arch, vault’, perhaps from haptein ‘fasten, join’. In astronomy, either of two points on the orbit of a planet or satellite that are nearest to…
Continue reading »Lecture: The Neptic Icon and Orthodox Tradition
I am delighted to announce that Professor Cornelia Tsakiridou, author of several exceptional books on the holy icon, will be giving a special lecture on the evening of Tuesday 14th March 2023 at the Hellenic Centre in London, UK. The lecture is organised by The Prince’s Foundation, School of Traditional Arts and generously made possible…
Continue reading »The Birth of a Cathedral; the Pinnacle of the Life’s Work of Grigore Popescu – Part 1
The divine depths of the Beautiful, the Good and the True do not have a static manifestation in our sublunar sphere, in History. There are times of retreat, when the cultural landscape may be likened to a desert, devoid of beauty; when a space larger than a country can turn into a gloomy prison. Ash…
Continue reading »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…
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