I
Irish_Melkite
Guest
Examples
The Orthodox Church & Its Icons is a fantastic collection of links indicating various styles of iconography.
Greek Iconography is relatively familiar to the Western eye and is often less stylized than that in some of the other traditions.
Bulgarian Iconography - My personal description would be that Bulgarian icons use gilt more generously, are unusually busy in detail, and are somewhat less stylized - more humanized - than others (a bit at odds with how you saw them).
Embroidered Iconography is primarily a traditional Russian and Ukrainian usage. Presbytera Galina Tregubov writes beautiful pieces in this medium.
Slovakian Icons and Czech icons tend to a folk art style. (There is a site with particularly wonderful examples of both Czech and Russian iconography, broken out into icons of the Theotokos, Saints, etc, but I can’t find the link
.)
Serb iconography has, to my untrained eye, some particularity in the look of the eyes and noses that I find lets me identify it from other styles.
Greek, Russian, and Arabic styles of iconography, with specific differences among them noted, are illustrated side-by-side in a brief piece on the site of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton.
Russian iconography includes a recently revived tradition of carved wooden icons.
Belarusian iconography was somewhat influenced by Western European art techniques of the Renaissance period and, consequently, includes more attention to perspective, as well as to light and shadow.
Maronite iconography was pretty much lost in the extreme latinization of that Church by French missioners and you’re more likely to find statues than icons in many Maronite churches. Efforts to revive a style have produced what always appears, to me, to be a somewhat bland facial appearance. There has also been some departure from traditional subject matter.
Byzantine iconographic style is probably the one most familiar to the Western eye. There are some excellent examples on this page.
Russian iconography often uses brighter colors than other styles, although antique icons themselves are often considerably darkened by centuries of candle smoke and incense.
Coptic iconography has a “new” and “old” style. To my own eye, the new style is not so “gentle” (for lack of a better word) as the old… This commercial gallery offers a good visual comparison of the two.
Ethiopian icons are frequently painted on diptychs or triptychs, rather than single panels. They tend to use perhaps the most brilliant color palette found among any of the styles and many have a folk art style to them.
Mosaic iconography is very common among the Armenians.
Romanian iconography includes a tradition of icons on glass.
Macedonian iconography often seems to reflect a somewhat surprised or slightly amused countenance on the subjects, making them very human; the posing of the Infant and the Theotokos is also quite refreshingly unique in some of the icons from this culture. Macedonia also has traditions of both Frescoed iconography (use the horizontal scroll bar at bottom of page) and Terra-Cotta iconography
Georgian iconography tends to a softness, with older examples being best described as primitive art. This Church also has a strong history of enameled icons. (patience - the page to which I linked is very slow to load)
Albanian iconography tends to depict the Theotokos with particularly tender eyes to my way of thinking (the 5th icon in the 5th row of icons is among my personal favorites)
(continued)
The Orthodox Church & Its Icons is a fantastic collection of links indicating various styles of iconography.
Greek Iconography is relatively familiar to the Western eye and is often less stylized than that in some of the other traditions.
Bulgarian Iconography - My personal description would be that Bulgarian icons use gilt more generously, are unusually busy in detail, and are somewhat less stylized - more humanized - than others (a bit at odds with how you saw them).
Embroidered Iconography is primarily a traditional Russian and Ukrainian usage. Presbytera Galina Tregubov writes beautiful pieces in this medium.
Slovakian Icons and Czech icons tend to a folk art style. (There is a site with particularly wonderful examples of both Czech and Russian iconography, broken out into icons of the Theotokos, Saints, etc, but I can’t find the link
.)Serb iconography has, to my untrained eye, some particularity in the look of the eyes and noses that I find lets me identify it from other styles.
Greek, Russian, and Arabic styles of iconography, with specific differences among them noted, are illustrated side-by-side in a brief piece on the site of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton.
Russian iconography includes a recently revived tradition of carved wooden icons.
Belarusian iconography was somewhat influenced by Western European art techniques of the Renaissance period and, consequently, includes more attention to perspective, as well as to light and shadow.
Maronite iconography was pretty much lost in the extreme latinization of that Church by French missioners and you’re more likely to find statues than icons in many Maronite churches. Efforts to revive a style have produced what always appears, to me, to be a somewhat bland facial appearance. There has also been some departure from traditional subject matter.
Byzantine iconographic style is probably the one most familiar to the Western eye. There are some excellent examples on this page.
Russian iconography often uses brighter colors than other styles, although antique icons themselves are often considerably darkened by centuries of candle smoke and incense.
Coptic iconography has a “new” and “old” style. To my own eye, the new style is not so “gentle” (for lack of a better word) as the old… This commercial gallery offers a good visual comparison of the two.
Ethiopian icons are frequently painted on diptychs or triptychs, rather than single panels. They tend to use perhaps the most brilliant color palette found among any of the styles and many have a folk art style to them.
Mosaic iconography is very common among the Armenians.
Romanian iconography includes a tradition of icons on glass.
Macedonian iconography often seems to reflect a somewhat surprised or slightly amused countenance on the subjects, making them very human; the posing of the Infant and the Theotokos is also quite refreshingly unique in some of the icons from this culture. Macedonia also has traditions of both Frescoed iconography (use the horizontal scroll bar at bottom of page) and Terra-Cotta iconography
Georgian iconography tends to a softness, with older examples being best described as primitive art. This Church also has a strong history of enameled icons. (patience - the page to which I linked is very slow to load)
Albanian iconography tends to depict the Theotokos with particularly tender eyes to my way of thinking (the 5th icon in the 5th row of icons is among my personal favorites)
(continued)
and couldn’t adequately address the scope of Russian iconography.