Christian Iconography.
What Is A Christian Sacred Icon?
Christian Icons were always created as unique hand-painted sacred images of Christ, Holy Mary, Christian Saints and Holy Events. They are made for long meditative prayer, spiritual communication with the represented holy person. Icons are not realistic portraits, but Christian church believes, that mystically the Holy Prototype is present in the Image.
In Sacred Murals Studio we do everything to make our icons and frescoes become places of real presence their Holy Prototypes. Traditionally Icons are created according to a special technology, with all the natural materials. Besides, every icon (and a mural fresco) must have a very fine and professional composition and correct drawing.
We study the our medieval models for every icon very carefully, we trace essential features, study them, and find the best possible solution for the new icon. As works of visual art, icons operate visual language and iconographers must study it very properly. There is nothing occasional in icon painting, every detail must be realized in a correct way, on it's right place and in harmony with the icon itself and the space around. A real Christian Sacred Icon can never be just a superficial copy of an old image.
Unfortunately in our time the maggiority of iconographers make icons as photo-copies from the old images. Compared with the old icons, sometimes they look very similar, but they are false images, because there is nothing, no Holy Prototype behind them. Technically they might be absolutely perfect, every line or brush-track is correct, but there is no creativity nor live spirit of prayer in them.
Usually we can say about any Christian sacred icon, that "through the image of the icon our soul is elevated to the Holy Prototype", but when we pray in front of such a false icon, we have just an appearance of an icon, but not sacred image. These painted photo-copies are sometimes extremely cheap, they are produced in series, and it does not take much time to "create" such an icon, but they do not help us pray, they are just empty imitations of icons.
We face now this problem, because some medieval Christian icons, compared with Rennaissance images, look much less complicated. For those people, who have never seen and studied well medieval icons it is very easy to suppose icons be simple things, which anybody may easily copy and reproduce. But, as we see, under the simplicity of real Christian icons there is a great amount of spirituality, theology, serious studies and professional experience.
Iconographers of Sacred Murals Studio work in a completely different way. First of all, before we begin the work, we gather maximum information about the place, where the icon or fresco image will stay. We find the best composition and coloristic solution, search fo rthe best ornaments and iconography for this concrete case. We make our sacred images harmonious part of the interior or exterior of church or home.
On this page we have presented some our icons. All of them are created according to the Christian church canons and traditional technology of icon painting.
"The icon comes from prayer and leads to prayer. The icon, rightly understood, leads us away from false questions about portraits, portraits comprehensible at the level of the senses, and thus enables us to discern the face of Christ and, in Him, of the Father. " - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Art and Liturgy. Read more in "Adoremus Bulletin">>
See more Christian frescoes in our Mural Gallery and icons in Icon Gallery.
Read more about Christian iconography>>
For ordering or buying any of our sacred icons, commissioning fresco murals, questions or proposals, just e-mail us, or call +7 950 00 58 293.
To see more sacred icons, frescoes, mosaics and miniatures, visit another internet gallery of Christian images at http://iconaantica.spb.ru.
