 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Religious image" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Areligious image is a work ofvisual art that is representational and has a religious purpose, subject or connection. All majorhistorical religions have made some use of religious images, although their use is strictly controlled and often controversial in many religions, especiallyAbrahamic ones.[citation needed] General terms associated with religious images includecult image, a term for images, especially insculpture which are or have been claimed to be the object ofreligious worship in their own right,[citation needed] andicon strictly a term forEastern Orthodox religious images,[citation needed] but often used more widely, in and outside the area of religion.
Images flourished within the Christian world, but by the 6th century,certain factions arose within the Eastern Church to challenge the use of icons, and in 726-30 they won Imperial support.[citation needed] TheIconoclasts actively destroyed icons in most public places, replacing them with the only religious depiction allowed,the cross. TheIconodules (those who favored the veneration of images), on the other hand, argued that icons had always been used by Christians and should continue to be allowed. They further argued that not only should the use of icons be permitted, it was necessary to the Christian faith as a testimony of thedogma of theIncarnation of Christ.Saint John Damascene argued:
"Of old God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was not depicted at all. But now that God has appeared in the flesh and lived among men, I make an image of the God who can be seen. I do not worship matter, but I worship the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation."[2]
Finally, after much debate at theSecond Council of Nicaea, held in 787, the Iconodules, supported by the Empress, upheld the use of icons as an integral part of Christiantradition[citation needed], and the Western Church, which had been almost totally unaffected by the dispute, confirmed this.[citation needed] According to the definition of the council, icons of Jesus are not intended to depict his divinity, but only theIncarnate Word. Saints are depicted because they reflect the grace of God, as depicted by theirhalos.
TheEastern Orthodox Church fully ascribes to the teachings of theSeventh Ecumenical Council and celebrates the restoration of the use of icons after the period of Iconoclasm on the First Sunday ofGreat Lent. So important are the icons in Orthodox theology that the ceremony celebrating their restoration is known as theTriumph of Orthodoxy.[citation needed]
In the traditions ofEastern Christianity, only flat images orbas relief images are used (no more than 3/4relief). Because the Eastern Church teaches that icons should represent the spiritual reality rather than the physical reality, the traditional style of Orthodox iconography was developed in which figures were stylized in a manner that emphasized their holiness rather than their humanity.[citation needed]
Traditional icons differ fromWestern art in that they are not romantic or emotional, but call the viewer to "sobriety" (nipsis). The manner of depicting the face, and especially the eyes, is intended to produce in the viewer a sense of calm, devotion, and a desire forasceticism. Icons also differ from Western art in that they useinverse perspective (giving the impression that the icon itself is the source of light), and for this reason make very little use of shadow or highlight. The background of icons is usually covered withgold leaf to remind the viewer that the subject pictured is not earthly but otherworldly (gold being the closest earthly medium in which to signify heavenly glory).
Jesus and theApostles are depicted wearing the robes ofphilosophers. The precise manner of depicting the face of Jesus and many of the saints is also fixed by tradition. Even the colors used in depicting the clothing of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and other saints are fixed bytradition, with symbolic meaning attached to each color.[citation needed] Icons of Jesus depict him with a halo that displays three bars of a cross and the Greek letters which signifyI AM (the Divine Name which God revealed toMoses at theBurning Bush). The halos of saints, even theTheotokos (Mother of God) are usually simple circles, filled with gold leaf. Over the centuries, painter's manuals have developed to help preserve the traditions and techniques of Orthodox iconography, one of the best-known is the manual from theStroganov school of iconography in Russia.[citation needed] Despite these strict guidelines, the Orthodox iconographic style is not stilted, and the individual artist is always permitted to bring his own style and spiritual insight into his work, so long as he remains faithful toSacred Tradition, and many icons display remarkable movement and depth.
The thoughtful use of symbolism allows the icon to present complex teaching in a simple way, making it possible to educate even the illiterate in theology. The interiors of Orthodox Churches are often completely covered in icons of Christ, Mary and the saints. Most are portrait figures in various conventional poses, but many narrative scenes are also depicted. It is not unusual in narrative icons for the same individual to be depicted more than one time.
Orthodox Christians do not pray "to" icons; rather, they pray "before" them. An icon is a medium of communication, rather than a medium of art. Gazing at, an icon is intended to help draw the worshipper into the heavenly kingdom. As with all of Orthodox theology, the purpose istheosis (mystical union with God).[citation needed]
Icons arevenerated by the faithful bybowing and kissing them. Traditionally, the faithful would not kiss the face of the one depicted on the icon, but rather the right hand or foot depicted on the icon. The composition of an icon is planned with this veneration in mind, and the iconographer will usually portray his subject so that the right hand is raised in blessing, or if it is the saint's full figure is depicted, the right foot is visible.
Icons are also honored withincense and by burninglampadas (oil lamps) in front of them. Icons are carried inprocessions, and thebishop orpriest maybless the people by holding an icon upright and making thesign of the cross with it over them.
Until the 13th century, icons followed a broadly similar pattern in West and East, although very few such early examples survive from either tradition. Western icons, which are not usually so termed, were largely patterned on Byzantine works, and equally conventional in composition and depiction.[citation needed] From this point on the Western tradition came slowly to allow the artist far more flexibility, and a more realistic approach to the figures.
In the 15th century the use of icons in the West was enormously increased by the introduction ofprints onpaper, mostlywoodcuts which were produced in vast numbers. With theReformation, after an initial uncertainty among earlyLutherans,Protestants came down firmly against icon-like portraits, especially larger ones, even of Christ. Many Protestants found theseidolatrous.[citation needed] Catholics maintained and even intensified the traditional use of icons, both printed and on paper, using the different styles of theRenaissance andBaroque. Popular Catholic imagery to a certain extent has remained attached to aBaroque style of about 1650, especially inItaly andSpain.
In theChurch of England, theRoyal Arms of the United Kingdom has been used like an icon, owing to its absence of human portraiture, as a representation of the sovereign as Head of the Church. It has been carved in relief out of wood and stone as well as painted on canvas and paper.[3]
Representations ofHindu deities are rich in symbolism as well as interpretation. Deities are popularly portrayed in the form of paintings, statues, devotional images calledmurtis, as well as in abstract forms found in the natural environment. Deities often bear a number of attributes associated with them, such as weapons like the discusSudarshana Chakra ofVishnu,[4]mounts such as the peacock ofKartikeya,[5] sacred objects such as thelotus ofLakshmi,[6] as well as regalia such as crowns and necklaces, and traditional attires such as thesari.[7] Some gods and goddesses are depicted with a multiplicity of features, such aschaturbhuja (four hands) orpanchamukha (five faces), both of which highlight divinity.[8] Some deities such as Vishnu and hisincarnations are depicted blue, which represents the colour of the sky, with the belief that the deity is omnipresent.[9]
Some of the most common religious symbols in the religion are theOm, the sacred syllable regarded to represent theUltimate Reality, and theSwastika, a symbol of auspiciousness.[10]
The mode of worshipping deities through religious images is described inHindu texts such as thePuranas, with prescriptions of the manner in which an image should be installed, consecrated, decorated, as well as venerated.[11][12]
Muslims view sanctified icons as idols, and strictly forbid theirworship, nor do they pray in front of one.[citation needed] However, the variousdivisions of Islam take different positions on the role of visual depictions of living (or once-living) creatures, including people. At one end of the spectrum, sects such as theWahhabis totally ban drawings and photography.[citation needed] Some branches of Islam forbid only the former but allow the latter. The majority ofSunni Muslims permit both. SomeShia allow eventhe depiction ofMuhammad and thetwelve Imams, a position totally unacceptable to most Sunnis.[citation needed]
It is commonly thought that theJews absolutely prohibit "graven images"; this, however, is not entirely true. There are numerous instances withinthe scriptures that describe the creation and use of images for religious purposes (the angels on theArk of the Covenant, the bronze snakeMoses mounted on a pole, etc.). What is important to note is that none of these are worshipped asGod. Since God is incorporeal and has no form, He cannot be depicted. During the Late Antique period ofJewish history it is clear that restrictions on representation were relaxed considerably; for example, the synagogue atDura Europas had large figurative wall paintings.[citation needed] It is also clear there was a tradition of paintedscrolls, of which theJoshua Roll and theUtrecht Psalter are medieval Christian copies, none of the originals having survived.[citation needed] There are also many medievalilluminated manuscripts, especially of theHaggadah of Pesach (Passover).
A unique Jewish tradition of animal iconography was developed in Eastern Europe, which included symbolic depictions of God's attributes and powers as various animal scenes and plant ornaments in thewooden synagogues in thePolish-Lithuanian commonwealth, as well as some mystical imagery on the gravestones. A part of the same imagery also appears on theAshkenazicShivisi - meditative images used for contemplation over God's name, not unlike the EasternMandalas.
Some synagogue wall paintings contained over 80 various animals, including lions,unicorns,dragons, lion-headed mermaids,three hares, three intertwined fishes,Uroboros, elephants, deer, leopards, bears, foxes, wolves, squirrels, turkeys, ostriches and many others.
God himself was usually represented as a two-headed golden eagle in the center of the Sun, painted on the ceiling of the synagogue, and surrounded by the Zodiac circle. This system was based on theKabbalistic symbolictradition; unfortunately, the meaning of some forgotten symbols is hard to recover.
Thomas Hubka has traced the style of decorative painting in the wooden synagogues to the medieval Hebrew illuminated manuscripts of Ashkenazi Jewry, and its meaning to theJewishmysticalliterature, such as theZohar and the works of RabbiElazar Rokeach.[13]
Isaias predicts the birth of the Messiah from the Virgin
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)