This web page mirrors* the page
The
Prince's School of Traditional Arts - Sacred Iconography.
It also uses
a few items from the page
The
Temenos Academy - Sacred Iconography Exhibition.
Zoom works in IE
only
|
|
Christ Pantokrator - Aidan Hart
St. Nicholas - Tatiana Kolibaba
Gebre Merhe
|
|
SACRED
ICONOGRAPHY: A LIVING TRADITION”
19 April – 12 May 2006
The
Gallery, 19 -22 Charlotte Road, London EC2A 3SG Sacred Iconography: a Living Tradition
opens at the Prince's School of the Traditional
Arts’ gallery on 19th April and continues until
the 12th May 2006.
Click
here for a PDF of this event
Top of
Page
A unique exhibition of sacred
icons painted in the Russian, Greek, Coptic and Ethiopian styles of orthodox
iconography will be shown at The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts,
19-22 Charlotte Road, London EC2A 3SG from 19 April to 12 May 2006. This event
will bring together artists from parts of the world where the art continues to
be practiced as part of a living tradition.
The aim of the exhibition is to celebrate the sacred art of the
Orthodox Church in its many forms and demonstrates that iconography is still
practiced today and, to some extent, experiencing a renaissance in countries
like Egypt and Russia. Even in our own overwhelmingly materialistic society,
interest is growing for this sacred art form, not only for its aesthetic and
artistic qualities, but for its profound spirituality.
Iconography was
traditionally passed on from master to disciple and involved years of dedicated
apprenticeship in a workshop environment practising age old recipes and skills
as well as learning the visual theology and symbolism that inform them. The art
of the icon died in Western Europe with the coming of the Renaissance. There is
a need today to reconnect with this sacred tradition, to return to the source,
in order to fill a void in the contemporary sacred imagery of the Christian
West, which over time has lost its vision. Thus a resurgence of the sacred art
of the icon creates a need for its systematic tuition as demand steadily rises
both from the church and the wider public.
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales
took the lead on the subject by initiating a Summer School in iconography at
Mount Athos, Greece, the first of which took place in June 2005. This unique
opportunity was given to a handful of VITA students and tutor who spent 10 days
at an Athonite monastery attending daily workshops with a master iconographer.
The group experienced firsthand, and within its traditional context, the
rigorous training which is required from aspirants.
Top of
Page
As early as the 5-6th centuries, a fully
developed Byzantine style had already emerged as seen in the famous group of
encaustic icons from St Catherine’s monastery, Sinai. From the same period
are the wall mosaics of the church of St. Apollinare Nuovo and St. Vitale in
Ravenna, Italy, dating from the time of Justinian (c. 550), demonstrating that
the Byzantine style of iconography was the norm in both Eastern and Western
empires. This period, known as pre- iconoclastic, saw some of the greatest
works of Christian art, of which, unfortunately, so few have survived. The same
period saw the zenith of Coptic art in Egypt, exemplified in the wall paintings
and icons from Bawit, Saqqara and the Kelias to which the Neo-Coptic School
owes so much.
Throughout the history of iconography certain schools
developed particular styles, such as the Novgorod School in 13th-15th century
Russia or the Cretan School from a slightly later period. Around the same time
thrived the Gondarene School (15th-17th c) in Ethiopia, with a style of great
beauty and sophistication yet remaining highly symbolic, much akin to its
Coptic neighbour.
The Contemporary or Neo-Coptic School of iconography
was established under the patronage of Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, by Prof.
Isaac Fanous Youssef, in the early 1960’s. The Coptic icon is the direct
heir to the spirituality of the Desert Fathers who flourished during the Coptic
Period (4th to 7th c.). The Neo-Coptic style derives much of its unique
identity from its ancestral Pharaonic roots, with its hieratic style,
uncluttered designs and profound symbolism.
Top of Page |
|
|
| |
|
EXHIBITORS |
| |
|
St Panteleimon, Alexander
Gormatiuk
|
|
DR ALEXANDER
GORMATIUK is Head of the Restoration Department of
the Russian Institute of Egyptology in Cairo, Egypt. He was born in Russia
where he received his B. Sc. Restorer from the Moscow State Art College (1984),
his M. Sc. Historian of Art (2000) from Moscow St.Tichon Theological University
and a Ph. D. (2004) from The Surikov Moscow State Art Institute, Russian
Academy of Art. He was the winner of the 2005 State prize of Metropolitan
Makarija for his contribution to the development of Russian historical
science.
Top of
Page |
|
|
The Annunciation - Stéphane
René |
|
DR. STEPHANE RENE was born
in Versailles, France. He is a London-based iconographer working in the
Contemporary Coptic style and one of very few exponents of this sacred artistic
tradition in the West. He trained at the Institute of Coptic Studies, Cairo,
under Prof. Isaac Fanous, where he received his Master’s degree. He
completed his PhD at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1990 and has since
fulfilled several large commissions in the UK and abroad, notably the Coptic
Orthodox Cathedral of the Archangel Mikhail, Santa Ana, California, and St
Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in London. Dr René is a lecturer in
Christian Art and is associated with the Prince’s School of the
Traditional Arts and the Temenos Academy.
THE
CONTEMPORARY OR NEO-COPTIC SCHOOL of
iconography was established under the patronage of Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria,
by Prof. Isaac Fanous Youssef, in the early 1960’s. The Coptic icon is the
direct heir to the spirituality of the Desert Fathers who flourished during the
Coptic Period (4th to 7th c.). The Neo-Coptic style derives much of its unique
identity from its ancestral Pharaonic roots, with its hieratic style,
uncluttered designs and profound symbolism.
Top of Page |
|
|
The Annunciation - Aidan Hart |
|
AIDAN HART,
was born in England and has been a professional icon painter, carver and fresco
painter for over 20 years. He obtained a degree in English literature in New
Zealand where he grew up and later worked as a professional sculptor. On
becoming a member of the Orthodox Church he returned to England and has studied
the art of iconography in this country and for three years in Thessalonica and
Mount Athos. He has had works commissioned by HRH The Prince of Wales, the
Cathedrals of Hereford, Lichfield and Newcastle, Hexham Abbey, Iviron Monastery
in Mount Athos Greece, and Saint John’s Abbey USA for The Saint
John’s Bible, and has icons in the collections of His Holiness the
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos and of other collections around the world. He
is a visiting tutor at The Prince’s School of Traditional Art, London.
Top of Page |
|
|
Mother of God
"Console my sorrow"
Tatiana Kolibaba |
|
TATIANA KOLIBABA was born in Nijnyi
Tagil, Russia. She studied at the Polytechnic University, St-Petersburg from
1980 – 1986. From 1989 to1997 she worked in the Mining Institute
(Technique University), St-Petersburg. She has been studying and working in an
icon painting studio since 1992 and in 2001 became a member of the Union of
artists of Russia. Tatiana has exhibited internationally. Her main works
include:
- Iconostasis of the St. Apostles Peter and Paul’s Church,
St. Petersburg
- Iconostasis of the St. Pantheleimon’s Church Church,
Novgorod’s region
- Iconostasis of the Savior’s Church,
Novosibirsk’s region
- Iconostasis of the St. Varlaam’s of Kereth,
Karelia.
Top of
Page |
|
|
Gebre Merhe |
|
GEBRE MERHE was born and raised in the
ancient Holy City and former Imperial capital city of Aksum, Ethiopia. He now
resides in Addis Ababa where he has a small studio. He learned iconography in
the traditional manner as it has been passed down for generations in his family
in Aksum. He still works in collaboration with his family who provide him with
the wood for his paintings from the mountains surrounding Aksum where the trees
are still felled by hand-ax.
Top of Page |
|
|
Mother of God "Truly Meet"
Fr Ilie
Dantes |
|
Father Ilie Dantes is a monk at the
Slanic Monastery in Arges, Romania, who serves as Icon Master in the community.
He was born in Tagiu Jiu, Romania and educated at the Nicole Tonitza Art School
in Bucharest. He then studied in the Department of Iconography at the Academy
of Art in Bucharest.
Top of
Page |
|
The Passion of
Christ
Yordanos Tekle Tsion |
|
Yordanos Tekle Tsion is an iconographer
from Aksum, Ethiopia. She comes from a famous family of iconographers
accredited with the iconography of the Cathedral of St Mary of Tsion in Aksum,
one of the holiest places in Ethiopia. This holy site is reputed to be the
keeper of the legendary Ark of the Covenant. Yordanos has no formal training
but learned her craft directly from her family. She works in tempera on
gesso.
Top of
Page |
|
The Mother of God - Protoklis
Nicola |
|
Protoklis Nicola was born in London of
Greek Cypriote parents. He obtained the BA and MA from London University and
has been studying iconography for the past 6 years with Dr Stephane Rene. He is
presently researching a PhD by project at the Prince’s School of
Traditional Arts, London.
Top
of Page |
|