Madonna And Child

Title

Madonna And Child

Artist

Michelle Deyna-Hayward

Medium

Painting - Egg Tempura And Gold Leaf On Gesso Board

Description

The word icon means image but since the early centuries of Christianity, the term is usually associated with a two dimensional, mosaic, painting, enamel or miniature of religious content.
Icons are painted or written onto wooden boards that are covered in a thin material canvas, onto which, a chalk or gesso surface is applied. This surface perfectly imitates the limestone walls on which Ancient Egyptians painted.
Implicit geometry and rich symbolism employed as far back as the time of Christ himself, is still crucial in designing an icon ready for painting.
The powdered pigment used to create an icon is known as egg tempura as the base is egg yolk mixed and thinned with vinegar (Byzantine and Russian iconographers used Vodka instead of vinegar).
There are two techniques but usually an icon is created by painting on the darkest colours first, adding successive layers of lighter, brighter paint with each layer. This process produces an extremely rich graduation of colours and a beautiful shine to the faces of the icon.
It may take 20 to 24 hours to complete an Icon as small as A4 or 250-300 hours for an icon 4ft x 8ft but this does include cutting and priming the wooden board with gesso.
Many assume an icon to be of the Byzantine or Russian style but other Orthodox Christian cultures have their own traditional styles, such as Greek and Indian. During the Muslim invasion of Egypt, Syria and Iraq, virtually all icons fell into Muslim hands and were destroyed. An icon was considered not merely a piece of art but carried a spiritual meaning and message. Egyptian Copts, the native Christians of Egypt, have made huge efforts to regain their lost language, music, poetry and artwork of the period.
I have recently studied under Neo-Coptic Iconographer Fadi Mikhail at the Coptic Church Centre and can now say I can paint like an Egyptian Coptic Iconographer!
Madonna and child. Gesso board with egg tempura and gold leaf.

Uploaded

March 30th, 2015

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