Theological Book Review “This beautifully illustrated book provides the reader with and excellent guide to understanding icons….For anyone interested in the production and meaning of icons, this book will be essential reading.”
New Directions “I guarantee you will not be disappointed by the reproductions in this book of Solrunn Nes’ icons. The colours are vibrant and the faces of the figures arrest the attention of the viewer — as of course they should.”
Dallas Morning News “Nes offers a fascinating survey of Christian icons … accompanied by full-color images of her work.”
General Description:
This lavishly illustrated guide to iconography explains through words and pictures the history, meaning, and purpose of Christian icons as well as the traditional methods that religious painters use to create these luminous, spiritually enlivened works of art.
Solrunn Nes, one of Europe's most admired iconographers, 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, showing each step with photographs, and includes more than fifty of her own original works of art.
Deeply inspiring and utterly unique, The Mystical Language of Icons will inform both those who are familiar with the rich tradition of religious art and those who are not. It also serves as a powerful devotional resource in its own right, one that Christians everywhere can turn to again and again.
Table of Contents:
THE ICON — A GLIMPSE OF THE DIVINE
The Technique of Icon Painting Beauty and Truth Art and Sacred Object The Status and Function of the Icon Iconoclasm and the Triumph of Orthodoxy Nicaea II The Incarnation and the Art of Icons Motif Range The Church as Microcosmos Prefiguration and Hierarchical Model Celebration and Expectation Characteristics of Form
PRESENTATION OF ICON MOTIFS
Christ Pantocrator Triptych with Deesis King and High Priest Christ Immanuel Christ Enthroned Mandylion The Old Testament Trinity The Annunciation The Archangel Gabriel Mother of God with resting Jesus The Nativity of Christ The Presentation in the temple Christ of Silence Christ among the Doctors Our Lady of the Sign Mother of God Platytera Mother of God Hodegetria Our Lady of Tenderness The Nursing Mother of God Mother of God Pelagonitissa Our Lady of Perpetual Help Joseph with the Child Jesus Simeon with the Child Jesus The Prophet Elijah John the Baptist The Baptism of Christ The Transfiguration The Raising of Lazarus The Entry into Jerusalem The Mystical Supper The Agony in the Garden Processional Cross Epitaphios The Descent into Hell The Doubting of Thomas The Ascension St George and the Dragon Daniel in the Lion's Den The Archangels Michael and Gabriel The Assembly of the Archangels Sts Peter and Paul St Paul St John the Theologian St John at Patmos St Macarios of Egypt St Nicholas of Myra St Simeon the Stylite St Gerasimos and the Lion St Mary of Egypt St Gregory Palamas
The new Crucifix in St Paul's Church, Bergen Reviews Curriculum Vitae Bibliography
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