Making the Invisible Visible Icons are representations of divine and holy persons from the Other World.

1. The Other World

The Church Fathers of the fourth century combined Christianity with ancient philosophy in order to create a plausible doctrine of God that would also impress the intellectual late Hellenistic world. The distinction between the invisible realm of ideas and the visible world was derived from Neoplatonism, a philosophical-religious renaissance.

The world of ideas becomes the Other World, the transcendental (eternal) world of Christian faith. It is heaven, where our time does not exist, it is timelessness, eternity.God is obviously present in this world, the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), as well as Mary, the Mother of God. In addition, there are tens of thousands of saints who are pleasing to God and singing God's praises with the angels in eternal bliss. They are performing an eternal divine liturgy.

Ordinary mortals are not there; they are waiting in their graves for the Day of Judgment, when Christ will return. He will judge on the basis of His gospel and then the elect will also enter into ‘eternal life’.

2. How are Christ and the saints represented in icons?

God the Father and the Holy Spirit have never been seen by human eyes, so they cannot be depicted. God the Son, on the other hand, became man, so he can be depicted as a man; the saints, too, have lived on earth and can be depicted.

One of the essential purposes of icon painting is to record these human characteristics. In a response to iconoclasm around 730, John of Damascus described what icons also do: they provide an up-to-date image of the saint as he is at that moment: he is with God in the other world and has a transfigured or, alternatively, glorified body. The icon portrays transfigured persons.

Even before Neoplatonism philosophy was searching for a connection with the divine world. Today, the core of Eastern Christian spirituality is the principle that life and matter can be sanctified and earthly things can be led to heavenly and divine reality through prayer, contemplation, and participation in divinity. Transfiguration occurs through participation in divinity.

3. The way of the icon painter

The Transfiguration of Christ is described in the story of the Glorification on the Mount. The Bible says that His face shone like the sun and His clothes were white as light. Three disciples saw this. Now the icon painter must depict saints from the other world in a transfigured state.

In each case, an ideal, perfect image of the saint is created. If the saint was blind or crippled, such afflictions will not be depicted. The facial expression will be peaceful and not show extreme emotions. The saint will retain his own character. This follows from his transfiguration. But what comes next?

The icon painter also receives support from the Church. In Eastern Orthodoxy, "church" does not mean the administrative staff of the church or the church building, but to this day means the early Christian "community of believers," all the living and the dead gathered around Jesus Christ.

This church is a community and is timeless: the painter sits next to a saint from the 5th century, a patriarch from the 15th century and a painter from the 16th century. He overlooks the ages. He listens and watches and carries on the tradition. Fortunately, we have our tradition. Icons have been preserved since the sixth century. The disposition and composition of the icon are the responsibility of the teachers of the Church. For these aspects the books of the painters are consulted. The technical aspect is the domain of the painter.

In the old days painters were giants of hardship and devotion - very strange, different people. Staretses, for example. In Russia, in the Balkans, in Byzantium and in the monasteries they undertook the great "fast of the eyes" in order to achieve the testimony of the transcendental element through Bible study, meditation and prayer. In the 10th century, Father Gregory Krug was known to paint frescoes at night with the abbot reading from the Church Fathers, holding two candles for lighting.

4. The Tradition of Garments

The Gospel emphasizes that the garments are glorified in the Glorification. This proves once again that matter can be sanctified by becoming the dwelling place of God's glory. Traditionally, the saints wear Greek garments, the men a toga and a chiton, the women a maphorion, the hair covered with a cap. The painter constructs each part of the garment starting with a dark field of color. Lighter shades of color (usually three) are applied to the ground color, layer by layer, each smaller than the one before and with angular shapes. In theory, this results in a monochrome piece, with (for example) a blue piece of clothing with a black-blue ground color and highlights of blue, whitish blue and white with a hint of blue. This always creates the illusion of a precious, shiny fabric, which could be the reflection of a light source in the other world.

5. The tradition in the flesh

The faces, hands and feet are also constructed in highlights on a ground color, but more fluid and rounded. Again, these are monochromatic areas that go from umber to ochre to white. They resemble the shades of bronze. The saints are illuminated from within by a supernatural, uncreated light.

The face is not intended to be a portrait; if it were, the saint would pose haughtily. Instead, icons seek to show the inner life. And if one eye is different from the other, one might say that one eye looks inward and the other outward, or that two different eyes catch our eye and hold our attention wherever we are. The nose is long, thin, and noble. The mouth, like the eyes, is often highly stylized, without loss of expressiveness. The ears are always shown, otherwise the saint cannot hear the prayers. The fingers are long and slender.

The painter must know the saint to be able to portray him. The work of an icon painter is as timeless as his subject. In this realm, slow is better than fast, and waiting for inspiration (from the Holy Spirit) is better than rushing. A good icon painter must know the Bible. Much is explained in the liturgy. Prayers, instructions and rules are offered to the icon painter by the Orthodox Church.

6. The Iconographer's Prayer by Dionysus of Fourna (Greek)

Lord Jesus Christ our God:
Thou, who possess a divine and infinite nature, who for the salvation of mankind became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary;
Who, having imprinted on the holy veil the sacred features of Your immaculate face, and by healing the illness of Governor Abgar, brought about the enlightenment of his soul to the full knowledge of our true God;
Who, through Thy Holy Spirit, gave wisdom to Thy holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke to depict the beauty of Thy most innocent Mother, who held Thee in Her arms as a child and said, "May the grace of Him who was born of Me be imparted to them through Me,
You, Divine Master of all things:
Enlighten and bring wisdom to my soul and heart and mind;
Direct my hands to the flawless and excellent representation of the form of Thy Person and of Thy Immaculate Mother and of all Your Saints, for the glory and the splendor and the beautification of Thy (very) Holy Church;
Forgive the sins of those who will venerate these icons and who, by bowing down before them, will give honor to the prototype in heaven. Save them from every evil influence and instruct them with good counsel:
Through the prayers of Your Immaculate Mother, of the holy and illustrious Apostle and Evangelist Luke, and of all the saints.

AMEN

7. Rules for the Icon Painter (16th century, Russian)

(excerpt from the rules of a local synod)

Before beginning your work, make the sign of the cross, pray in silence, and forgive your enemies.

Devote yourself with love to every detail of the icon, as if you were working for the Lord Himself. Pray during the work to strengthen your inner self. Above all, avoid vain talk and remain silent.

Pray especially in union with the saint whose face you are painting. Do not let your mind be distracted and the saint will be with you.When choosing a color, reach out your spiritual hands to the Lord and ask Him for guidance.

When your icon is finished, thank the Lord that His mercy has given you the grace to paint holy images.

Never forget this:
The joy of spreading icons throughout the world;
The joy of the work itself;
The joy of giving the saint the opportunity to shine through his icon;
The joy of communion with the saint whose image you are painting.

Jan Verdonk MD