MOSCOW, May 11th. Modern icon painting in Russia has remained traditional. At the same time, the church goods market offers different images, including those printed on a printer. When buying, there is a risk of making a mistake. Which icons are created according to the rules blessed by the Russian Orthodox Church, and which are even considered «devilish» — in the material.
Like under Rublev: the Russian Orthodox Church has its own centuries-old tradition
In the Western tradition, the Mother of God was often painted from noble ladies, and saints from different kings. The Russian icon, on the other hand, has practically not changed over the centuries.
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“The main principle, preserved from antiquity, from the time of Simon Ushakov, Andrei Rublev or Theophan the Greek, is that symbolic load is more important than credibility. Another feature is the reverse perspective: the image is not what is being looked at, but the one who is looking. The language of the signatures (Old Church Slavonic), their location does not change,” says icon painter Elena Sergienko.
Composition and the main plots are the same as before, the expert adds. This is Christmas, Baptism, Assumption, Ascension, descent into hell, crucifixion.
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“Even the gestures remained the same: Christ blesses the faithful from the icons in the same way as in the 17th century,” Sergienko cites the example. can be modern
However, new stories have appeared.
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"For example, the icon of the Mother of God "The Conqueror of Breads" written during the famine in the Chernozem region at the end of the 19th century with the blessing of the elder Ambrose of Optina. And this is a completely original iconographic plot: the Mother of God blesses the grain field, says Sergienko. “And St. Seraphim of Sarov in Russia is depicted with a bear.”
Themes come along with a special veneration of a certain saint, who is less known in other countries of the Orthodox world.
Anna Golubkova, artistic director of the Sophia icon-painting school, member of the Union of Artists, warns: it is necessary to separate the concepts of «icon» and «religious painting».
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» Religious painting is any image that carries a sacred theme. You can draw an abstraction — circles, waves — and call it «Creation of the World.» But it won’t be an icon,” the expert explains.Back in the 16th century, a terrible legend arose in Russia about «hellish» images, allegedly created for the glory of the devil. A description of such an icon is found in the life of St. Basil.
It was believed that the icon became «satanic», an artist taught by demons could do two things: either write images of devils under the images of saints, or simply slightly change facial features and gestures of miracle workers. For example, draw a blessing not with the right hand, but with the left. Therefore, believers have always been suspicious of novelties.
The right material: from wood to cardboard
The workshops use traditional materials, both in the manufacture of new icons and in the restoration of old ones.
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“Carved iconostases made of wood, bone, and stone are still common,” Sergienko enumerates. — Images are embroidered, minted on metal, written on the walls. There are no obvious restrictions on materials, but natural rather than, say, plastics are preferred.
As a rule, an icon has several layers: a wooden base, canvas (linen fabric), coating with gold leaf and paints. They are modern, chemical, but often masters order mineral ones from geologists.
Precious stones and pearls are sometimes used for decoration.
The cost of an icon on a linden board with incised dowels, an ark and gilding of a halo is from seven to 25 thousand rubles, depending on the size. The more jewelry and fine workmanship, the more expensive.
Printed on a printer: still an icon with exceptions
At the end of the 20th century, images created using silk-screen printing came to Russia from Greece. Some were so similar to the picturesque that dishonest traders sold them at inflated prices.
Printing did not fit the traditional pavoloka very well, and the craftsmen began to take cardboard as the basis, and the wooden fasteners were replaced with MDF. However, silk-screened icons were often of high quality, and were created in single copies. crop-ratio=»0.650778519224658″ data-crop-width=»600″ data-crop-height=»390″ data-source-sid=»rian_photo» class=»lazyload» width=»1920″ height=»1249″ decoding =»async» />
In the 21st century, images are printed on plastic, paper (in the form of a poster) and cardboard.
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"The Orthodox glorify the Archetype, therefore it is not so important what the image consecrated in the temple is made of. The main thing is that when looking at it, a person tunes in to communication with God. And here the observance of the canons of iconography helps, and not the base material,» notes Sergienko. photo» data-crop-ratio=»1.460431654676259″ data-crop-width=»600″ data-crop-height=»876″ data-source-sid=»rian_photo» class=»m-vertical lazyload» width=»1920 «height=»2804″ decoding=»async» />
However, Golubkova clarifies that traditional materials and technologies are still preferable.
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» An ancient icon is a wooden base, gold leaf, egg yolk pigments. Such images have been stored for 800 years,” says the expert. We write for future generations. Can modern technology guarantee that the images will not collapse in 20 years? No, they can't.»
Icon painters: purity, prayer and faith
There are special requirements for the artist.
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“He (or she) must be Orthodox, churched,” explains Sergienko. – While working on the icon, the master is obliged to fast, not to neglect morning and evening prayers, and to keep himself clean. To put it simply, you won't be able to indulge in vices at night and write during the day.»
You can't learn iconography from videos on the Internet. Canons and traditions of depicting saints are passed from mouth to mouth. From master to apprentice — and only in this way, Golubkova emphasizes.