The Meaning Of Icons

The classic work on the techniques, language and interpretation of icons in the context of theology and faith. Commentary and analysis of the main types of icons. Lavishly illustrated, with 160 pages of text with drawings, 13 b/w and 51 color plates.

Solrunn Nes, one of Europe?s most admired iconographers, here illuminates the world of Christian icons, explaining the motifs, gestures, and colors common to these profound symbols of faith. Nes explores in depth a number of famous icons, including those of the Greater Feasts, the Mother of God, and a number of the better-known saints, enriching her discussion with references to Scripture, early Christian writings, and liturgy. She also leads readers through the process and techniques of icon painting, illustrating each step with photographs, and includes more than fifty of her own original works of art.

Catalogues the heritage of images according to type and subject, from the ancient at the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai to those from Greece, Constantinople, and Russia. This book includes chapters such as role of icons in the Orthodox liturgy and on common iconic subjects, including the fathers and saints of the Eastern Church.

Icons in Time, Persons in Eternity presents a critical, interdisciplinary examination of contemporary theological and philosophical studies of the Christian image and redefines this within the Orthodox tradition by exploring the ontological and aesthetic implications of Orthodox ascetic and mystical theology. It finds Modernist interest in the aesthetic peculiarity of icons significant, and essential for re-evaluating their relationship to non-representational art. Drawing on classical Greek art criticism, Byzantine ekphraseis and hymnography, and the theologies of St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Symeon the New Theologian and St. Gregory Palamas, the author argues that the ancient Greek concept of enargeia best conveys the expression of theophany and theosis in art. The qualities that define enargeia - inherent liveliness, expressive autonomy and self-subsisting form - are identified in exemplary Greek and Russian icons and considered in the context of the hesychastic theology that lies at the heart of Orthodox Christianity. An Orthodox aesthetics is thus outlined that recognizes the transcendent being of art and is open to dialogue with diverse pictorial and iconographic traditions. An examination of Ch’an (Zen) art theory and a comparison of icons with paintings by Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko and Marc Chagall, and by Japanese artists influenced by Zen Buddhism, reveal intriguing points of convergence and difference. The reader will find in these pages reasons to reconcile Modernism with the Christian image and Orthodox tradition with creative form in art.

This encyclopedic guide explores the rich and varied meanings of more than 2,000 symbols—from amethyst to Zodiac.

Presents historical information and cultural definitions of signs and symbols from mythology, folklore, and religion

An exquisite guidebook that explores the nature and purpose of icons and how they might enrich the spiritual lives of readers--Protestant and Catholic as well as Orthodox.

From blue jeans and surfboards to cosmetics and corporate logos, 12 everyday objects are recast as icons-single, physical forms that embody a complex universe of associations-and explored as benchmarks for the current state of design. Includes essays by Betsky, Chee Pearlman, and others.

This twentieth anniversary edition (more than 111,000 copies sold) brings Henri J.M. Nouwen's writings on Eastern Orthodox icons to a new generation and adds to the Nouwen collection published by Ave Maria Press. With a foreword by Br. Robert Lentz, a well-known painter of contemporary icons, this classic Nouwen book invites readers to pray with four Russian icons with their eyes open by emphasizing seeing or gazing, which are at the heart of Eastern spirituality. Nouwen's meditations reveal his viewing of the icons not as decorations, but holy places. The book includes four full-color icons for private contemplation or meditation.

Within the Eastern tradition of Christianity, the eikon, or religious image, has long held a place of honor. In the greater part of Western Christianity, however, discomfort with images in worship, both statues and panel icons, has been a relatively common current, particularly since the Reformation. In the Roman Catholic Church, after years of using religious statues, the Second Vatican Council’s call for “noble simplicity” in many cases led to a stripping of images that in some ways helped refocus attention on the eucharistic celebration itself but also led to a starkness that has left many Roman Catholics unsure of how to interact with the saints or with religious images at all. Today, Western interest in panel icons has been rising, yet we lack standards of quality or catechesis on what to do with them. This book makes the case that icons should have a role to play in the Western Church that goes beyond mere decoration. Citing theological and ecumenical reasons, Visel argues that, with regard to use of icons, the post–Vatican II Roman Catholic Church needs to give greater respect to the Eastern tradition. While Roman Catholics may never interact with icons in quite the same way that Eastern Christians do, we do need to come to terms with what icons are and how we should encounter them.

Global Icons considers how highly visible public figures such as Mother Theresa become global icons capable of galvanizing intense affect and sometimes even catalyzing social change.

The Eiffel Tower—this symbol of industrial development and the French Republic is now associated with a romantic vacation in Paris. Nelson Mandela—the hero of the struggle against apartheid was featured in a British Airways magazine article called “The Power of Brand Mandela.” This book explores these and other contemporary cultural icons that, over time, have been endowed with a complex and powerful layering of meanings. The authors analyze the way in which such icons, whether objects or persons, living or mythical, are constructed and disseminated. They also critically investigate the implications, in semiotic and cultural terms, of the accretion of meaning and popular recognition attached to them, their moral and aesthetic ambiguity, and their enduring appeal to a fascinated public. This slim and provocative volume is ideal for courses in and related to cultural studies.

Ro murmurs into my ear. "Don't be afraid, Dol. They're not coming for us." Still, he slips his arm around me and we wait until the sky is clear. Because he doesn't know. Not really. Everything changed on The Day. The day the Icon appeared in Los Angeles. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting. Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside with fellow survivor Ro-safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid. They're different. They survived. Why? When the government discovers their secret, they are forced to join faint-hearted Tima and charismatic Lucas in captivity. Called the Icon Children, the four are the only humans on Earth immune to the power of the Icons. Torn between brooding Ro and her evolving feelings for Lucas, between a past and a future, Dol's heart has never been more vulnerable. And as tensions escalate, the Icon Children discover that their explosive emotions-which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses-may actually be their greatest strengths. Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers a thrilling novel set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts-in order to save their future.

Everything you were taught about evolution is wrong.

Available for the first time in English, An Introduction to Iconography explains the ways that artists use references and allusions to create meaning. The book presents the historical, theoretical, and practical aspects of iconography and ICONCLASS, the comprehensive iconographical indexing system developed by Henri van de Waal. It gives particular emphasis to the history of iconography, personification, allegory, and symbols, and the literary sources that inform iconographic readings, and includes annotated bibliographies of books and journal articles from around the world that are associated with iconographic research. The author of numerous articles and a four-volume reference work on Italian prints, Roelof van Straten is currently working on an iconographic index covering the prints of Goltzius and his school.

Orthodox Christian theology is often presented as the direct inheritor of the doctrine and tradition of the early Church. But continuity with the past is only part of the truth; it would be false to conclude that the eastern section of the Christian Church is in any way static. Orthodoxy, building on its patristic foundations, has blossomed in the modern period. This volume focuses on the way Orthodox theological tradition is understood and lived today. It explores the Orthodox understanding of what theology is: an expression of the Church's life of prayer, both corporate and personal, from which it can never be separated. Besides discussing aspects of doctrine, the book portrays the main figures, themes and developments that have shaped Orthodox thought. There is particular focus on the Russian and Greek traditions, as well as the dynamic but less well-known Antiochian tradition and the Orthodox presence in the West.

This lovely gift book about approaching and praying with icons everyday has over 60 full color images of Sr. Faith's icons, each paired with a scripture and an inspirational word. Experience how these beautiful icons help us live a good life, what they have to offer, what they did for Sr. Faith, and what they can do for you. Icons are an invitation to go beyond our world; to take a moment to look as through a window into heaven. The space they create gives us a wonderful and open access to reach out toward God and know him deeply in a new way. They are meant to enrich our spiritual lives. They were created to touch and form us and have an ability to soothe and confront where necessary. They provide a place to gather our wandering attention and direct it toward God. Click here to see the book trailer!