Icons in Western type civilisation and Byzantine culture

By: Lucia Tarbajovská, Slovak Radio

---

The north east part of the Slovak Republic is a very special region when viewed in terms of the whole of Europe. The area marks the line which splits the European territory into two dominant parts: the West Roman or Western type civilisation and Eastern or Byzantine culture. Here the two intermingle, creating an interesting mixture not only of artistic styles but also of language and philosophy. The main, and the most visible representative of the West in this area is the Gothic cathedral of St Egidius, which stands at the centre of Bardejov's square. The eastern influence is evident in the number of wooden churches scattered all over the place.The penetration of Catholicism from the West and Byzantine culture from the East has marked not only the architecture of the wooden churches but also their interior decoration represented by specific paintings. Icons represent the art of symbols. The beautifully decorated pictures should demonstrate that the reality we know is only a cover under which a higher principle is hidden. A real icon does not depict reality but the eternal idea."An icon is a holy picture and a highly worshipped cult object of the eastern liturgies.

According to the Byzantine author Pseudodionysius the Areopagite from the 5th century, the icon is a visualisation of the invisible because it depicts an invisible spirit that dwells in a visible body. " ( Wooden Churches in the Vicinity of Bardejov, SAJANCY, Bardejov, 1997)The painting of icons reached its peak during the Byzantine empire. Their cult spread to all regions influenced by the eastern liturgies. The first icons found in Slovakia date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. They are of the so called Carpathian style and can be found at the museum in Bardejov. During the 15th and 16th century, anonymous authors strictly followed the religious dogmas set for the painting of icons, for example prescribed symbolicism, the canon in the depiction of figures, obligatory colours, etc. The second stage of the development of the so-called Carpathian icons signified a simplification of composition and an incorporation of features of folk art into the paintings. The whole process of this development concluded at the beginning of the 19th century when the original icons were transformed into plain sacred pictures of Western art - Roman liturgy. The icons can be found on the church's main wall, which has a similar function to an altar in the Latin liturgy. It is similar to the Old Testament's curtain in a Jerusalem Temple: this wall represents a certain symbolic line between the earth and heaven.

The iconostasis in eastern Slovakia is devided into 5 vertical sections. There are three doors in the first row, which is unique to a particular church. These are two side doors and the central Royal door. Only the latter can be used by ordained priests. The most remarkable icons depicted on the Royal door are the picture of Christ and that depicting his mother, Hodegetria. The icon representing the Lord's Last Supper and the icon of Mandylion, which depicts the image of the face of Christ projected on a sheet, can be found in the middle section, right above the Royal door. The line of Deesis is situated in the third row, the apostle line is followed by pictures of Old Testament prophets in the row above. The whole iconostasis is often topped with an image of Calvary, inlcuding the figures of the crucified Christ, the Holy Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist.Although the icons are painted according to a specific canon, they are different. Some of them are very bright in colour and depict a great variety of images. Some of them appear pale. The most precious pieces displayed at the Museum of ?ari? region in Bardejov are in the set of icons which dates back to the 16th century. Here the Byzantine influenced is clearly traceable. The background is painted all in gold, the colours are bright and the figures, with their individual attributes, are depicted without any influence of folk art.

These icons differ from the paintings made in the 17th century and later. The painters started to incorporate motives from their everyday lives into the strict icon structure. Another masterpiece is a complete iconostasis from 1766. Priceless and very attractive pictures include the Last Judgement icons."Few of these icons have been preserved in this territory. Two of them can be found in our collection. But if I can recommend at least one, the Last Judgement icon in the Lukov wooden church is really worth seeing. It's rare, rich in symbolism and you can spend hours upon hours looking just at this one picture. There is a lot to pick up on and notice in it," says Mrs Bo?vá, the museum representative and you can be sure she is right.The icon painters never called themselves artists. To paint a picture was not a way of expressing themselves. According to them, they created icons according to strict rules. Painting was not a self-presentation. People should not concentrate on the artist but on the picture itself. The painters are mortal while the icons and especially their content are eternal. Some of this immortality can be even glimpsed in Bardejov.