Icons – TIPs

Black Madonna of Częstochowa (icon)

The first line in Song of Songs 1:5 has served as an inspiration for the so-called Black Madonnas in the catholic and Orthodox churches.

Peppard (2024, p. 176) explains: “One of the first things the beloved says in the poem is ‘Black am I, and beautiful.’ Due to the typological connections between this bride and Mary, the textual bride’s blackness seems to have influenced the artistic tradition of ‘Black Madonnas’ (or ‘Black Virgins’) throughout the Catholic world. These are sculptures or painted icons — some dating to the medieval period — that depict Mary (or Mary and Jesus together) carved of dark material or painted with dark skin tones. One catalog of Black Madonnas attests almost two hundred examples, mostly in Europe, with some in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. Among the most famous in Europe are Our Lady of Einsiedeln (fifteenth century, Austria) and Our Lady of Częstochowa (ninth – fourteenth century, Poland), the latter of which is among the most popular pilgrimage destinations in Europe. Most of them have mysterious origins and wondrous effects on individual pilgrims and national identities.”

Image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa (source: Wikimedia ):

Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

The Circumcision of Christ (icon)

Following is an Albanian Orthodox icon of the circumcision of Christ of ca. 1760-1780 by Athanasios of Korcë (located in the Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin, Tirane).

source: Tourta 2006, p. 165

“The Circumcision of Christ is not depicted very often in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine painting, and is not included amongst the Twelve Great Feasts. According to the Gospel of Saint Luke (2:21), Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple when he was eight months old to have him circumcised and named. In the Orthodox Church, the Circumcision is celebrated on 1 January together with the memory of Basil the Great, which accounts for the depiction in the present icon of Saint Basil, who often accompanies the Circumcision in both earlier and later works. In the icon from the church of the Annunciation at Tirane, the painter followed a westernizing model presumably derived from an engraving, as in the other works in the same church. The representation is dominated by the ciborium with its rich curtain and decoration, and also by the round altar with its gold-embroidered cover, on which Christ lies, enveloped in a lacy fabric. The luxurious garments worn by the priests contrast with the plain appearance of Joseph and Mary, who are standing nearby.

“The predominant color in the representation is red, contrasting with the gold-yellow used for the background, clothes and halos.

“Equally impressive are the meticulous workmanship in the luxurious garments and diaphanous fabrics, and the naturalistic rendering of objects such as the scissors in the hands of the priest.” (Source: Tourta 2006, p. 164ff.)

The person depicted in the foreground is Basil of Caesarea .

Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )