The Art of Iconography A Guide to Resources in Mount Angel Abbey Library

The art of iconography has been a tradition of the church for 1500 years and is currently seeing a resurgence in the West. Icons are described as "the Gospel in line and color," a depiction of the Incarnate Word. The close association of word and image is brought out as iconographers refer to their work as being written rather than painted. In the words of Theodore of Studios (759-826 A.D.), "his [Christ's] image was drawn in writing by the apostles and has been preserved up to the present. Whatever is marked there with paper and ink, the same is marked on the icon with various pigments or some other material. For the great Basil says 'Whatever the words of the narrative offer, the picture silently shows by imitation.'" "Hearing is equal to sight, and it is necessary to use both."

In Behold the Beauty of the Lord, Henri Nouwen says "icons...are created for the sole purpose of offering access, through the gate of the visible, to the mystery of the invisible." "This entry into the world of icons can at the same time be an entry into our own interior life, a passing through the 'narrow gate' that leads to Life" writes John Baggley in Doors of Perception.

Following is a partial list of the many books on the subject in the library's collection. See additional listings in the catalog under the subjects of Art, Christian Art, Images, Portraits, and Saints - Art.

• Abu Qurrah, Thawdhurus. A Treatise on the Veneration of the Holy Icons. Louvain : Peeters, 1997. (BX378.5 A165)
• Baggley, John. Doors of Perception : Icons and Their Spiritual Significances. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's, 1988. (N 8187 B3 )
• Besançon, Alain. The Forbidden Image : an intellectual history of iconoclasm. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2000. (BR115 A8B4713)
• Bihalji-Merin, Oto. Byzantine Frescoes and Icons in Yugoslavia. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1958. (ND 943 B513)
• Bouyer, Louis. Vérité des Icônes: la tradition iconographique chrétienne et sa signification. Criterion, 1984. (N 8187 B669)
• Cavarnos, Constantine. Guide to Byzantine Iconography. Boston, Massachusetts : Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1993. (BX323 .C38)
• Chavrukov, Georgi. Bulgarian Monasteries: Monuments of History, Culture, and Art. Sofia: Septemvri, 1978. (NA 5881 C39913)
• Cormack, Robin. Writing in Gold: Byzantine Society and its Icons. New York: Oxford UP, 1985. (N 6250 C813)
• Council of Nicaea. Icon and Logos: Sources in Eighth Century Iconoclasm: an Annotated Translation of the Sixth Session of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. tr. Daniel J. Sahas. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1986. (BR 240 C832)
• Cutler, Anthony. Transfigurations: Studies in the Dynamics of Byzantine Iconography. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1975. (ND 142 C87)
• Demus, Otto. Byzantine Art and the West. New York: New York UP, 1970. (N 5975 D4)
• Florenskii, P. A. Iconostasis. Crestwood, NY : St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1996. (BX378.5 .F5613)
• Galavaris, George. The Icon in the Life of the Church: Doctrine, Liturgy, Devotion. Leiden: Brill , 1981. (N 8187 G35)
• Galey, John. Sinai and the Monastery of St. Catherine. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980. (NA 4850 G132)
• Giakalis, Ambrosios. Images of the Divine : the Theology of Icons at the Seventh Ecumenical Council. New York : E.J. Brill, 1994. (BR240 G53)
• Gosudarstvennye muzei Moskovskogo Kremlia. Treasures from the Kremlin. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979. (N 8189 R9 G699)
• Huber, Paul. Athos: Miraculous Icons. Berne, Hallwag, 1968. (N 8080 H7613)
• Joannes of Damascus, Saint. On the Divine Images. tr. David Anderson. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's, 1980. (BR 65 J58 O7213)
• Jones-Frank, Michael. Iconography and Liturgy. Chicago, Ill. : Liturgy Training Publications, 1994. (NA5090 .J6)
• Kalokyris, Constantine D. The Essence of Orthodox Iconography. Brookline, Mass.: Holy Cross Orthodox, 1985. (BX 323 K3513)
• Klymasz, Robert B.  The Icon in Canada. Ottawa : Canadian Museum of Civilization, c1996. (N8187.C2 K59)
• Lazarev, Viktor. Old Russian murals & mosaics: From the 11th to the 16th Century. London: Phaidon, 1966. (ND 2767 L313)
• ---. Andrei Rublev. Moskva: Sovetskii khudozhnik, 1960. (ND 699 R8 L3)
• ---. Novgorodian Icon-Painting. Moskva: Iskusstvo, 1976. (N 8189 R92 N638)
• McKenzie, A. Dean. Greek and Russian Icons. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin, 1965. (N 7827 M3)
• Muzj, Maria. Transfiguration : Introduction to the Contemplation of Icons. Boston, MA : St. Paul Books & Media, <1991>. (BX323 .M6813)
• Nes, Solrunn. The Mystical Language of Icons. London : St Pauls, c2000. (OVERSIZE N8187 N47)
• Nouwen, Henri J.M. Behold the Beauty of the Lord. Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria Press, 1987. (BX 2350.2 N668)
• Onasch, Konrad. Russian Icons. Oxford: Phaidon, 1977. (N 8189 R9 O4913)
• Ouspensky, Leonide. Essai sur la théologie de l'icone dans l'Eglise orthodoxe. Paris, Éditions de l'Exarchat patriarcal russe en Europe occidentale, 1960. (BQX 5894 O8)
• --- and Vladimir Lossky. The Meaning of Icons. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's, 1982. (N 8189 S6 O9713)
• ---. Theology of the Icon. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's, 1978. (BX 323 O9713)
• Papageorgiou, Athenasios. Icons of Cyprus. New York: Cowles, 1970. (Oversize N 8189 C9 P19713)
• Playne, Beatrice. St. George for Ethiopia. London, Constable, 1954. (NA 6097 E5 P55)
• Rice, David Talbot. The Art of Byzantium. New York: Abrams, 1959. (N 6250 R46)
• --- and Tamara Talbot Rice. Icons and their Dating: a Comprehensive Study of their Chronology and Provenance. London: Thames and Hudson, 1974. (N 8187.5 R52)
• ---. Russian Icons. London: Spring Books, 1963. (N 7956 R57)
• Rublev, Andrei. Rubljov. Milano : Fratelli Fabbri, 1976. (ND699 R8 I83)
• Soloukhin, Vladimir Alekseevich. Searching for Icons in Russia. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972. (N 8186 R9 S613)
• Stylianou, Andreas and Judith A. Stylianou. The Painted Churches of Cyprus. London: Trigraph for the A.G. Leventis Foundation, 1985. (ND 2819 C9 S79)
• Theodore Studites, Saint. St. Theodore of Studites on the Holy Icons. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's, 1981. (BX 323 T44)
• Trubetskoi, Eugenii Nikolaevich Kniaz. Icons: Theology in Color. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's, 1973. (BQX 6134 T75)
• UNESCO. USSR Early Russian Icons. Greenwich, Conn.: New York Graphic Society by arrangement with UNESCO, 1958. (N 7956 U5)
• Uspensky, Boris. The Semiotics of the Russian Icon. Lisse: Peter de Ridder Press, 1976. (P99 U764)
• Werner, Alfred. Icons: Religious Art of Eastern Europe. New York: A.A. Wyn, 1949. (N 7956 W495)
• Weitzmann, Kurt. The Icon. New York: Knopf, 1982. (N 8187 I2513)
• ---. The Icon: Holy Images -- Sixth to Fourteenth Century. New York: G. Braziller, 1978. (N 8187 W44)
• ---. Studies in the Arts at Sinai: Essays. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1982. (N 7988 A1 W44)
• Wild, Doris. Holy Icons in the Religious Art of the Eastern Church. Berne: Hallwag, 1961. (N 7832 W54)
• Williams, Rowan. Ponder these things : praying with icons of the Virgin. Franklin, Wis. : Sheed & Ward, 2002. (BT608.5 W55)
• Zibawi, Mahmoud.  The Icon : Its Meaning and History. Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press, c1993. (BX378.5.Z52 I2613)

VIDEOS

• Andrei Rublev (In Russian with English subtitles). New York : Fox Lorber Home Video, c1992. (ACV1 T37 A5274)
• Contemplating Icons an Introduction to Icons and Prayer. Donnellson, Iowa : Heartbeat [distributor], 1989. (ACV10 I26 C66)
• The Form of Iconography.  Orthodox Liturgical Arts Association, Inc., c1990. (ACV3 .F6756)
• Iconography, Egg Yolk Tempera Technique. Winter Park Fla. : Orthodox Liturgical Arts Association, Inc., c1986. (ACV1 .I2666)

WEB LINKS

• Orthodox Icons. Presented by the Orthodox Christian Foundation, this web page contains many beautiful images. (www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPag/icons/icons.html)
• Novgorod Icon Gallery. This excellent site gives an explanation of the importance of icons in Russian religion and culture, as well as providing over 100 images of Russian icons from the 11th through 18th centuries. (copy-www.novsu.ac.ru/novgorod/icon_gallery/english/nig_main.html)
• Russian Icons. Images of 81 Russian icons.(www.auburn.edu/academic/liberal_arts/foreign/russian/icons/)
• Orientale Lumen A collection of links to articles on Christian Iconography and Christian Icons. (www.mliles.com/jimcndf/icons/articles.shtml)

Last updated April 2003