Illustrating dictionary – glossary of iconographic terms.

We would like to bring to Your attention our small experimental illustrated glossary. It might be incomplete, but our own. We give an explanation of specific words, terms and concepts related to icon painting in this glossary. Articles are very brief, but nevertheless, it is better to know a little about everything than a lot of about nothing. The dictionary will be gradually updating.

To whom this dictionary is intended? Our glossary is rely on a wide range of the icon fans.

How to use our dictionary? Dictionary is built on the principle of the alphabet. Here is given the original Russian version of the term . It is given as well as a well-established translation and a little sensible article with a picture.

A

Ark (knows as “kovcheg”)

It is the middle absorbed field in the icon's board in icon painting. Sometimes it can be double, with a recessed inner ark.

Assiste (knows as „assist“)(from lat. ingressed)

Assist or Inakop – 1) rays and glare, which are made with gold or silver and which are component illustration of clothes, hair, etc. It symbolizes the presence of Divine light.2. Adhesive composition for the gluing gold, with the form of a thick sticky mass of dark brown color, which is made by slops of beer and garlic garlic by heating in an oven to the desired state. When used, it is diluted with water so, that it was possible to hold a brush very thin lines. Gold keeps very well and does not lose its luster on the assiste.

B

Blackening (knows as „Chernenie”)

Before faces painting (knows as „Dolichnoe pismo“)

In icon-painting - methods of images of garments and of other elements of the icon, except of open parts of the body and faces.

D

Drying Oil - (knows as Olifa)

F

Final higlights (knows as “ozhivki”) (highlighting), marks (pl.)

Bleach highlights, laid on top of ohrenie(multi-layered application of tempera paints) in a personal letter. May take the form of smears, spots, lines, etc.

Fryaz- style of icon painting

“Fryazhskoe” iconpainting, fryaz (from old Russian language - "fryazhsky" is Italian, "fryazi" – are the Italians, from the Greek. φραγκος - Franc) - the name of the icon painting style , different by external credibility in the transfer of the material world. Fryazhskaya manner of icon painting appears in Russia in the second half of the XVII century under the influence of the Western art."

Faces painting (knows as „Lichnoe pismo“)

in icon-painting - images receptions faces, hands and other exposed parts of the body.

G

Grafja- scratched drawing(knows as Grafja)

In-depth line, describing the outline of the picture,which are scratched on the surface of the priming (plaster or levkas).

Gold leaf

Thinnest sheets of gold or silver for gilding (gilding works).

Gesso (knows as „Lefkas“)

(Greek λευκος - bright, shiny, white) - it the name of the priming in icon-painting, which is a chalky powder, and which is mixed with the animal or fish glue. It is put on several layers of specially prepared board. Once dry, it is grinded.

I

Inverted perspective

A characteristic way for icon painting to represent the object at which the furthest objects from the viewer are represented by large, in comparison with the closest objects.

L

Luzga (knows as “luzga”)

A small bevel in the icon’s board between the field and the ark, or between the first and the second ark.A shallow angled edge.

M

Melted gold (grinded gold).

Grinded gold or silver to the powder, which is used as a paint.

Mother of God of Kazan

According to the records of the contemporary Patriarch Hermogenes (at the time the priest of the Gostinodvorskaya church of Kazan - Yermolay), after the fire in Kazan in 1579, which has destroyed part of the city, the Mother of God appeared in the dream of a nine-year old Matrona, and ordered to dig out her icon from the ashes.The icon was indeed found in the specified location at a depth of one meter.The appearance day of the Kazan Icon - July 8, according to the Julian calendar - in our days the general church festival in the Russian Church. At the place where was the appearance of the icon, was built nunnery of the Mother of God, and the first nun became the Matron, who has adopted the name - Mavra. Iconographic the icon of Mother of God of Kazan is usually referred to an abbreviated version of the Hodegetria. The Mother of God is depicted in the typical garb, with a slight inclination of the head of the Child. The infant Christ is presented strictly full-face, the figure is limited to the waist,only the right hand with the blessing gesture is visible. The Mother of God of Kazan, of our research, - one of the most revered and most reproducible icon of all icons in Russia.

O

Ohrenie, vohrenie - multi-layered application of tempera paints (knows as “Ohrenie“).

Thin putted layer of ocher paint colors, and a totality of layers of modeling illumination of parts of a personal letter. Ohrenie is achieved a gradual transition from the basic dark tone (sankirya) to the lighter tone by applying layers of ocher, with the addition of whitewash (sometimes just a whitewash.) Distinguish ohrenie by melt and in the picking.

Otborka - (knows as “Otborka“).

A method for personal letters. Modeling of convex parts of the face and body with thin bright short lines-strokes. Otborka in a bast mat - Modeling by strokes, which a putted in the grid.

P

Poliment (knows as ”Poliment”)

Red-brown mixture under leaf gilding. Consists of red clay, soap, beeswax, whale oil and specially prepared egg white.

Plav - wash(knows as “Plav“).

Technique of ohrenie, a liquid layer of transparent tempera paint. The borders of the wash (plav) layer are shaded. There are several layers of wash (plav) are used in a personal letter. In English Plav is closer to the wash.

R

Riza (knows as „Oklad“)

Laid on decoration, which is covering an icon on top of the paint layer. It may be covering only parts or the whole surface of painting, except the face, hands and feet. The setting expresses reverence for the icon, and it is understood in the religious consciousness of the sacred, as a precious gift, the gift of the image.

S

Special icon-painting guides

A special guide for icon-painting, a collection of samples, which are defining all the details of the canonical images of different persons and events (up to the techniques of writing). Manuals of icon painting are divided into monolingual and facial (illustrated).

Silver leaf

Thinnest sheets of gold or silver for gilding (gilding works).

Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas - the most revered saint in the world. There is no Orthodox church, where there would be a great icon of the saint of God, and in the West Santa Claus (St. Nicholas in the translation), even became a symbol of Christmas. It is impossible to describe all the wonders revealed by St. Nicholas: he raised the dead, healed the terminally ill, was saving from the death doomed people and performed many other deeds, that famed him as a miracle worker during his lifetime. The great thing for the Church which St. Nicholas did, was during the first ecumenical council, where he rejected the heresy of Arius, who denied the divinity of Christ. St Nicholas could not withstand the profanity of the Arius and he slapped Arius in the face. After that St. Nicholas was deprived of his episcopal rank and incarcerated in a prison tower. However, soon to many participants in the cathedral came a vision, in which God gave the Saint Nicholas the Gospel, and the Mother of God put on him omophorion (distinguishing sign of the bishop). The saint was released and reinstated in his dignity and the teaching of Arius was given to the anathematized. In memory of this event St. Nicholas is always depicted on icons with the Gospel and omophorion. Saint died in 342 in the city of Myra, where he carried out his episcopal ministry. In 1087 imperishable relics of the saint, have been moved to the city of Bari, so to avoid desecration them of the Turkish invaders (Italy). The relics are remained there until now. Memory of the holy celebrated May 22 (moving the relics), August 11 and December 19.

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