Introduction
In his book Likeness and Presence, art historian Hans Belting dwells upon early Byzantine art, concentrating in one of the chapters on the history of icons.
The author begins by saying that in the 11th-century icons began to comprise unconventional narrative elements and “depict states of emotion, whether motherly love or of mourning” (Belting 261). This alternation contradicted common beliefs that the character depicted in the icon should lack any expression of human feelings. Such themes as the miracle of Archangel Michael and the Annunciation to the Virgin began to prevail, which marked a new era in icon painting.
Icons as “living paintings”
Belting points out that the new style of icon painting allows the icon to speak, thus, making it a “living painting” (Belting 261). The term, coined by a renowned eleventh-century writer M. Psellus, was greatly criticized for setting the icon equal to poetry that aims at appealing to human feelings. In this respect, the icon becomes “full of life and nowhere lacks movement” (Belting 261). Belting provides the example of Prince Isaac who claimed that the icons on the iconostasis in his monastery spoke to him as if being alive. For Prince Isaac’s contemporaries, it was hard to take in the fact that the icons could speak, so they tended to perceive it as the creator’s interference in the act of the icon creation.
The premises to the changes
Belting emphasizes that the shift to new themes and the small size of the icons indicate that they were created for private collections. Alongside this, the themes depicted on the icons began to reflect human ethical ideals, as, for instance, the icons that presented the depiction of the Virgin implied the necessity of salvation. According to the author, despite these ideals were centuries-old the introduction of icons both to private and liturgical use allowed them to be freely applied to icons. The innovations that were implemented were approved by the clergy as they were based on liturgy.
However, it allowed the painters to tackle many controversial points in icons, such as the relations of God and man. The author illustrates this suggestion by the example of the icon of the Mother of God “who carries her Creator on her arm like an ordinary baby” (Belting 263). Besides, icons and poetry become closely related: epigrams appear on the frames of icons. Usually, epigrams concerned the themes that were depicted in the icon, prayers, or some theological definitions.
Aesthetics, Ethics, and Theology
Another tendency singled out by Belting is the aesthetic of icons, comprising formal reasons, such as the composition of the icon, and philosophical ones. It was typical for icon painters to depict the characters with their eyes “turned away from the body axis” to emphasize the soul rather than on the body. Thus, icons encapsulated two essences: they depicted some character in a life-like manner and transmitted some supernatural existence of this character to attach some higher theological meaning to the icon.
Poetic community in a changing society
Talking about a poetic community in a changing society, Belting raises two questions about the origin of the ideas for new icons and the reasons for their appearance at a particular time. The author states that the changes in icon painting arise from the ancient Byzantine tradition. The reason that underlies the appearance of new themes in a style of icon painting is the development of rhetoric in the society of those times that were studied from the texts of ancient writers. Thus, with the increasing interest in the theme of lamentation there appeared “a need for deep feeling and human drama” (Belting 268).
In addition, Belting states that in the society of those times some groups denied some religious norms and provided their own controversial beliefs, which lead to the persecution of such groups. That is why a new style of icon painting appeared to strengthen people’s belief in religion and draw their attention to theology.
Icons of Crucifixion
As far as the depiction of Crucifixion is concerned, it gave rise to several debatable issues. First, the icon should depict a dead body of a man and a God as if it were alive. Second, this dead person should depict the living God. Third, the difficulty was how to present the Holy Spirit in the dead body. The epigrams that the icons of Crucifixion were usually supplied with served to enhance the theological implications.
Four “new-style icons”
Furthermore, the author points out that the invention of four “new-style icons” that presented a saint or a feast-day topic is accounted for by the need to develop narrative structures in the icons (Belting 280). Such icons developed the themes concerning the Ladder of Virtue or the miracle of Michael at Chonae and were made for private use. The most unique among such icons is the icon that depicts the Christmas story in ten different very detailed scenes and serves as a hymn about the birth of God.
New Images of the Virgin
Alongside these new icons, there appear new images of the virgin, such as the Virgin of Tenderness or Mercy invented by two famous icons (Belting 281). It is stated that few original icons have survived; one of them is the Victory Bringer. However, several replicas are available nowadays, such as Constantinopolitan replicas or a double icon of Annunciation. The icon’s title and the icon itself often were related to the name of a monastery dedicated to this or that saint. Thus, the icon Eleousa was named after the monastery where the Virgin’s icon was kept. Being proof of God’s incarnation the icons of the Virgin became increasingly popular (Belting 284).
Moreover, “described both in her ethical perfection as a person and in the theological role that she plays in the divine work of salvation”, the Virgin becomes even more appealing. Besides, there existed certain variants of the Mother of Tenderness, such as the Virgin of Vladimir, the Virgin of Kykkos, and the Virgin of Pelagonia that depicted the mother with a saint child but differed in some details (Belting 293).
Conclusion
Concluding, it should be said that Hans Belting has made a great contribution in the study of the developments of icon painting by defining the main changes, tendencies, and premises that occurred in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries.
Works Cited
Belting, Hans. Likeness and Presence: a History of the Image before the Era of Art. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.