To be
able to understand icons it is necessary to know how people of the Middle Ages
perceived and understood the concept of time. The difference between the
concept of time in Western Europe and that in Byzantium was formed in the
Renaissance period, when Europe, unlike Byzantium, acquired the new attitudes
and outlook towards the world.
To be
able to understand icons it is necessary to know how people of the Middle Ages
perceived and understood the concept of time. The difference between the
concept of time in Western Europe and that in Byzantium was formed in the
Renaissance period, when Europe, unlike Byzantium, acquired the new attitudes
and outlook towards the world. After temporal seizure of Constantinople by the
crusaders in 1204 the estrangement between Byzantium and Europe became even
more profound and implacable.
Different
attitudes towards time caused different attitudes towards the world; to the
events in it, and to the role of men in these events. As a result, the meaning
and objectives of art in Byzantium and Western Europe altered too. Because of
these fundamentally different artistic techniques were developed by the artists
of Western Europe and the icon-painters of the Orthodox countries.
The
Renaissance revived the notion of history and separated Holy History from lay
history. The prominent Italians – Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), Leonardo
Bruni (1374-1444) and Lorenzo Valla (1403-1457) began the study of scientific
history.
Lorenzo
Balla, the author of the famous work “Elegances of the Latin Language”, made it
his aim to revive classical Latin, where philosophy, rhetoric and language are
inseparable. Not only did he have to address the heritage of antiquity, but
also to explore the reasons for “language corruption” and culture decline
during “the time of barbarism”. All this led to a retrospective review of
history and historical time.
Time was
now related to change, to cause-and-effect relations of events in their
historical sequence. The conception of historical succession emerged and,
therefore so did the understanding of the depth of time and the awareness of
perspective. Discovery of perspective and historical time coincided, in fact,
with the emergence of the theories on aerial and linear perspective.
Awareness
of events, taking place in space and time, resulted in the fact that European
artists stopped depicting events that took place at different times
simultaneously in their pictures. For instance, in Giotto’s fresco “Birth of
Mary”, we can see the girl in two places at one time: in the midwife’s arms,
sitting on the floor by the bed, and near her Mother. Such examples are numerous.
New
attitudes to time and new theological thinking, which recognized free will in a
man through which God’s design could find realization, engendered a new man – a
man of conscious action. A man, who created the history of his own life, and
together with other people – the history of their nation (Leonardo Bruni). This
new man could say about himself: “…I make use of my time, being constantly
engaged in some kind of activity, I would prefer to lose my sleep rather than
waste my time.” (Leon Battista Alberti, “On the Family”).
This
approach was prominent in the fine arts. Artists began to study the movements
of the human body, changes in appearance caused by the mood (anger, joy,
laughter, sadness) or ageing processes. Fundamental discoveries were made in
this field and the role of muscles and their specialization was found.The
understanding of movement as opposed to equilibrium gave rise to new
composition methods, for instance removing the center of gravity from the body
and showing unfinished gestures in pictures. This technique makes the viewer
perceive a prolonged movement in the painting.
A passive
man of the Gothic period was replaced by a man of free will. Readiness for
action, for movement was revealed through the strained muscles and the expression
of face and eyes. Looking at the picture we are waiting for action and because
of this the picture is alive; the pulse of time is beating in it.
In the
East of Europe, in Byzantium and Ancient Rus, a previous concept of time and
history, dating back to the Fathers of the Church (St Augustine etc.) was
preserved. Life of a man is a period of time, having the beginning and the end
– from the moment of creation of a man by God to the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ. The event that divided history into two parts – the old and the new –
was the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s Incarnation.
Before
the Creation of the World there was no time either. The concept of time can not
be related to God. It is impossible to say that God “was” or “is” or “will be”.
In Russian it is translated as “existing”, the One who “always was”, “always
is” and “will always be” which is derived from the Hebrew name of God – Jahweh
– existing (He Brings Into Existence Whatever Exists).
God
created the world and time “began”. It began and will end with the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ, when “there will be no more time”. Thus, time itself
turns out to be “temporal”, transient. It is like a “short period” on the
background of eternity where God incarnates his design, creating Adam and knowing
from the very beginning the destiny of his descendants.
God’s
design already exists in complete fullness, which includes everything. Time,
history, life, all the objects, all the people, all the events, and everything
has been given its place. Thus, the cause for any event is not defined in our
earthly world but already exists in a different world. God is the source of
everything that was and will be.
The
earthly life of a man is an interval between the Creation of the World and the
Second Coming. It is a trial before eternity, when time stops. Eternal life is
in store for those who pass this trial.
The
saints depicted in the old icons have already been found worthy of eternal
life. They are devoid of movement and change in the ordinary sense. The blessing
fingers of the right hand are not a message from this world. Slender fingers
are lifted without effort. They do not have weight, for there is no heaviness
in the other world. The gaze of a saint is the look from eternity. It is not
blurred by passions – that is why we can only return it in the moments of
spiritual enlightenment. That is why the eyes looking at us from the icons
disturb us and make us feel apprehension, fear, and hope.
What the
old Russian icons depict, does not imply either spatial nor time localization.
The image exists beyond space and time.
Here is
the image “The Saviour” by Andrew Rublov (1360/70-about 1430). The eyes turned
to us from eternity see everything, understand everything and take in
everything and it is precisely for this reason that everything can be found in
the Saviour’s eyes, and everybody always, can apply to Him.
Peculiar
understanding of time and space in Old Russian icon-painting bore fundamental
dogmatic meaning. That is the reason why, in the second half of the 17th
century when Russian icon-painting started to be influenced by western
painting, it evoked so much protest and indignation. Reasons for this were not
the conservatism of icon-painting, but apprehensions of misinterpretation of
the very sense and essence of the icon. It is difficult to deny that mages can
not be painted as though they were alive in icons. The saints are in another
world; in eternity, they do not live earthly lives, characterized by time and
change.
Source: http://www.pravmir.com/time-in-icon/
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