icons

[Erik3]

I've noticed all the icons I've seen are very caucasian looking are there any that are more middle eastern looking. I ask because that is the ethnicity that I assume the apostles and Jesus himself were/are?

Also, were icons part of the early church? I mean the kind of icons we see in Orthodox churches today?

If not, when did the tradition of icons as it is now, come about?

Thanks, God Bless

 

[sin_vladimirov]

Misposted.
http://aggreen.net/iconography/icons.html

 

[Lotar]

Many people for the near east are no darker than any other people from around the Mediterranean.

 

[The Prokeimenon!]

My Patron Saint is black.

Moses

 

[Erik3]

thanks guys,

that was a very cool website sin_vladimirov, thanks!

Lotar, your right, many people in the near east are not any darker than other people from around the mediterranean, I meant no disprespect. Sorry. However, there are also many people in the near east who are darker than other people from around the mediterranean. I was just wondering if there were any icons of people that were darker. Again sorry if I was inconsiderate or offensive. That was not my intention.

MosestheBlack, thanks for the icon.

Thanks, God Bless

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

Jesus had a nickname.... the pale Nazarene (sp?)

I thought that was interesting....

Yes icons were part of the early Church, in fact, Mary, the Theotokos approved of the first icon of herself written by St. Luke before her death... that's pretty early...

Chirst is Risen!

Forgive me....

 

[Rilian]

If not, when did the tradition of icons as it is now, come about?

Hi Erik, iconography has certainly undergone a process of development over time. There are distinct differences also in the way it is done across cultures. It is not something that was just part of the early church, but is rooted in the Jewish heritage of the church and pre-dates Christianity. Here's a short article in wikipedia about icons and here's a good article about them.

 

[Michael G]

The skin color of a saint as depicted in iconography has more to do with the region the icon came from than anything else. Icons which come from the mediteranean region tend to have much paler skin tha icons which were written in Russia and the Slavic lands. It has more to do with the base skin color (called Sankir in Russian) than anything else. I write in a classical Russian style and thus use a much darker Sankir than someone who would write in a Byzantine/Greek style.

 

[sin_vladimirov]

Michael, greetings.

What are the basic rules for Iconography?

 

[gtsecc]

We have found what seems to be icons in some pre Christian Synoguges.