Icon - from the Greek "image", "image" - an artistic image of a saint, an angel, God incarnate (Jesus Christ). Sometimes the icons depict people who are not recognized as saints or have no direct relation to Christianity at all: friends and relatives who accompanied the life of a saint, tormentors, emperors, and so on. Ordinary people differ from saints by the absence of a halo - a golden circle above their heads.
Instructions
Step 1
Certain canons used in traditional icon painting help to define the icon. The first canon is the absence of the author's signature on the icon. This tradition has its roots in the early centuries of Christianity, when artists shied away from attribution for fear of death. Later, when Christianity became the state religion of Byzantium, authorship was also not indicated: the artist created an icon for God and the emperor, and not for his own glory. Therefore, only a few mentions of some icon painters have survived.
Step 2
The name of the author is hushed up, but the name of the saint must be indicated. This canon is not as old as the anonymity of icons, but from the inscription next to the face (silhouette of the saint) you can determine his name. As a rule, the name is written in Church Slavonic, Ancient Greek, or another language close to the specifics of the culture of a particular country in which the icon painter lives and works.
Step 3
The symbolism of color is developed in icon painting. Purple, crimson, is a symbol of royal power: God in heaven and the emperor on earth. The emperor signed in purple ink and sat on a purple throne, wearing purple robes and boots. The leather or wood bindings of the Gospel in temples were covered with purple cloth. This color is used to paint the clothes of the Virgin Mary. Red is the color of warmth, love, life, life-giving energy, blood, resurrection. The garments of the martyrs and the wings of the seraphim were depicted in red.
White is a symbol of Divine light, purity, holiness and simplicity. In clothes of this color, they depicted saints and the righteous, the veils of babies, the souls of dead people and angels.
The blue and blue colors symbolize the sky and the Mother of God, combining the heavenly and earthly principles.
Green - grass, leaves, youth, hope, bloom. It was often used in scenes of the Nativity, in the clothes of monks and youths (the great martyr Panteleimon, who died young, was depicted in red and green clothes).
