Byzantine Iconography and Western Sacred Art
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Joined October 2022
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Shayne Swenson Icons ☦︎ retweeted
The Lumbards are from my parish, please help
gofundme.com/f/support-sarah…
I’m soon starting a series of icons of Western saints. The originals will be available for purchase as well as hq wood-mounted prints from my new icon printing partner company(which I will announce tomorrow😎).
-St Benedict of Nursia
-St Augustine of Hippo
-St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
-St. Bede the Venerable
-Our Lady of Walsingham
If there are any others you’d like to see please reply below!
I painted this icon over the course of approximately 2 months, working on it in between panel commissions and mural/monumental projects.
This icon is the called
"Eleousa" or "Virgin of Tenderness". It's an ancient Byzantine prototype depicting the Theotokos and Christ Child cheek to cheek, emphasizing the tenderness between Mother and Son. Developed from the earlier Hodegetria tradition, this icon has become one of the most beloved icons of the Theotokos in the Church.
This icon is currently available for purchase on my webstore.
It is 12"x16" and painted on a handmade icon panel from Serbia. Traditional natural pigments and 23.5k gold gilding throughout.
It would work well at a home prayer corner or on an analogion in a parish.
Link in the replies below ⬇️
I spoke on the phone with an old friend on Monday who is an amazing Western Rite Antiochian priest over on the east coast. During our conversation I brought up that in all the years I’ve been Orthodox I’ve actually never gone to a Western Rite Mass. He encouraged me to go so this evening I did just that. I’m totally hooked.
I converted to Orthodoxy from Catholicism many years ago and tonight I felt a deep sense of “home” during that Mass that I’ve not felt in ages. Like visiting family or your home town. It was amazing.
God bless our hierarchs for blessing us with such a gift.❤️☦️
“Proud” isn’t the word I’d use, but every day I wake up feeling blessed(and somewhat fearful tbh)that I’m able to contribute my efforts to the 2k year collective iconographic tradition of the church.
I’ve encountered quite a few people over the years who misunderstand the principle of “fidelity to tradition” in regard to Orthodox iconography. They assume that iconography should not develop or evolve over time, or that the iconographer’s job is to make rote copies of “golden age” icon prototypes. This sort of thinking has the best of intentions, but it is not in keeping with reality. It is also a grave misunderstanding not only of the objective historical development of the various iconographic traditions of the broader Byzantine East, but more specifically, of the utility of iconography within the context of the culture from whence it came. More on that at a later date. 👀
These icons below are a great example of the proper application of iconographic development. They depict a real historic event passed through the artistic prism of Orthodox iconography. This is one of several ways in which our Church’s sacred art organically develops, while at the same time respecting the canonical boundaries providentially erected by the icon painting giants of past generations, upon whose shoulders we stand and whose icons we adore.
It reminds me of the famous quote by Gustav Mahler:
“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”
I’m going to meet with a property broker next week to tour a potential location for an offsite workshop. As it stands now I am running out of room in my home studio(as seen below) and I need a larger warehouse space for my bigger projects.
Please say a prayer all goes well.🙂☦️
