Tradition and Innovation in Orthodox Iconography
Tradition and Innovation in Orthodox Iconography

Summary/Abstract: The theme of this article, as part of a series of studies, addresses the possibility of the church painter introducing new compositional and chromatic visions into Orthodox religious painting. It gives a brief overview of the features and characteristics of early Byzantine style based on the theological foundations highlighted by the Fathers of the Church. Based on the Byzantine iconographical traditions, the iconographer ensures the unity of theological style and message which belong to Orthodoxy alone. The artistic freedom of the painter consists in the possibility for him to express, in new and different shades and accents, traditional Orthodox ecclesial faith. In religious painting, it is not the individual’s originality that is primary, but the renewed fidelity within the living tradition, which explains the diversity within Byzantine tradition itself.

• Details
• Contents