Modern Russian Relief Icons

The Work of Olga Shalamova and Philip Davydov at Sacred Murals Studio

It is imagined by some today that the iconographic tradition, which we tend to associate first with the styles of Greek and Russian icons, is an unbroken tradition. The Eastern iconographers, it is said, remained true to its principles, unbending, while the artistic traditions of the Roman Catholic Church degenerated under the influence of the Enlightenment and modernity.

In fact, the story is not so simple as that. While there was no High Renaissance in Russia, for example, some aspects of the Enlightenment did take hold there, and we see neo-classical influences in Russian icons after the time of Peter the Great.

The great work of restoring the tradition was done largely, but not exclusively, by Russian expatriates living in Paris in the mid-20th century. These are both theorists such as Leonid Ouspensky, Vladimir Lossky, and Paul Evdokimov, and painters who worked them with such as Gregory Kroug, Ouspensky again (who was both painter and theorist), the Greek Fotius Kontoglou, and the Egyptian Copt Isaac Fanous, who died in 1970.

It is a tribute to how successful they were that many today are unaware of their importance. The quality of iconography we see painted today is so high and consistent with the works of the past that many imagine that the line of quality was never broken. This should be an encouragement to those of us who are seeking to see a similar regeneration of the Western traditions. It is possible!

Another mark of a living tradition is that it continually reinvents itself without contravening the core principles that define it. Every tradition must reapply its core principles to speak to the people of its age, otherwise it will die. It must discerningly engage with the culture outside the church building, taking those elements that are consistent with its Christian form. Then it is equipped to speak to contemporary man and will, in turn, enrich the contemporary culture in which it now participates.

This adaptation to the modern age in a way that does not compromise the essential elements is what we are seeing happening in modern iconography. It is exciting to see how iconographers from Russia, for example, are so sure of their own foundations that they can create an authentic 21st-century iconography that nevertheless is connected to that of Andrei Rublev and Dionysius, artists of the medieval Novgorod school.

The work of Olga Shalamova and Philip Davydov, who together founded the Sacred Murals Studio in St Petersberg, in my opinion conforms to this ideal. Theirs is work that could never have been done in the 15th century; the color palette and the film-animation influenced flow of the line that defines the forms is of today. Yet they are authentic and beautiful holy icons. They are also excellent teachers who regularly give workshops in the US, Italy, and Australia, and I would encourage anyone who is serious about learning to paint icons to consider them as teachers.

I intend to show some of Philip’s icons next week, but this week offer the relief sculpture of Olga. She “sculpts”, because she builds up layers of gesso (ground chalk set in animal glue) in selected areas, bit by bit, rather than carving, which is cutting down into a deep, flat layer. Gesso is the ground which is usually used in icons as the surface put onto the wooden substrate and on which one paints. This how Olga is able to combine the relief image with some restrained use of color.

St Isaias the Prophet

The Adoration of the Magi

An Online Source for Ceramic Images and Hand-Carved Shrines

Following on from recent articles about ceramic icon corners that can be beautiful and discreet, yet clearly visible signs of faith (here and here), several reader requested more ideas on a similar line, and especially information about places that might be able to help provide materials. Here is someone who can create such images, and also carve beautiful shrines in wood or stone to house them in, Jerome Quigley of www.waysideshrines.com

I met Jerome this past week at an Art and Faith event at St Pius X Catholic Church in Rock Island, Illinois; he explained to me that he creates the carvings himself in wood or an artificial granite, a kind used for heavy kitchen surfaces and which can be carved like wood.

Jerome can respond to commission, and even more interestingly, he has a process whereby he can set images into porcelain. This is not a print, but rather one in which the pigment is set directly into the chemical structure of the substrate porcelain, similar to the way in which pigment is incorporated into the plaster in frescoes. From these photos taken from his website, you can see that thus far, he has been responding to a market that is looking for outdoor shrines in a garden or woodland setting, but it does not need to be so.

The tradition of reproducing paintings on porcelain goes back to the 19th century at least. I have recently seen several handpainted porcelain copies of the highest quality made in that era. The look of these hand-painted antique reproductions is the same those that Jerome makes. Here is a 19th-century example, in which you can really see the innate luminosity of the porcelain.

I spoke to him about the possibility of creating icon corners consisting of three images, and he was confident that he could produce something beautiful, either set into one of his standing shrines, or a different design that might be set into a building wall. It would need demand from customers for this to happen, but I am sure if the demand was there he could help create outdoor icon corners.

Here are some more examples of his work. Once again his website is www.waysideshrines.com.

Where Can Catholics Learn to Paint or Carve Icons? Go to Hexaemeron.org

I am often asked for recommendations of classes that would be good for Catholics to learn traditional iconography. One place to consider is Hexaemeron.org, which has just announced the first of its icon painting and icon carving courses for 2018. They are now taking students for their “Six Days of Creation” integrated series of workshops for different levels of experience. Go to their site for more details.

Hexaemeron.org a non-profit based in the US, founded in 2003, which offers short courses and workshops in a variety of locations around the world, but has its main focus in North America. It is founded by Orthodox Christians, and is welcoming and respectful to Roman and Byzantine Catholics.

All their classes in painting, carving and embroidery are always of the highest quality, and the work of two of their teachers has been featured in the past on this site. Some readers will be familiar with painter Marek Czarnecki, who is Catholic. I wrote about two icons of Western saints that he painted for Our Lady of the Mountains, in Jasper Georgia, here.

Here is his Saint Cecilia:

Another teacher that readers may be familiar with is the Canadian icon carver, Jonathan Pageau. Here is his icon of Jonah.