An interview with an icon painter: The Icon is an Outlook into the Heavenly Kingdom
Father Sergius Nezhbort, head of the icon-painting
workshop of St. Elisabeth Convent: “The icon is born through
prayer of many people”
How did you become an icon-painter?
It is hard to say how I became an icon-painter and
whether I became one at all. First, I had a dream. It turned out that when I
came to the Church, the Lord revealed Himself to me through the icon. This
event changed everything in my life: I started attending church, I was
baptized, and the icon became a window into the Heavenly Kingdom for me. At
that time I wanted to believe that I would be painting icons one day. I was
just an artist then. I studied in a school of art. I dreamt of painting icons
but time flied, and life was going on and on, and one day I realized that it
was not possible, as I had neither an opportunity, nor a person who would teach
me. I forgot about my dream for a while. Five years passed, and this dream came
true one day. It happened so that I had an opportunity to get involved in
icon-painting. This has become an integral part of my life. However, it is far
too daring to call myself an icon-painter.
The History of the Workshop
Larisa Nezhbort, nun Ludmila (Leiko) and I were
blessed by Fr Andrew Lemeshonok to work in the icon-painting workshop in spring
1999. Each one of us had their own way to the icon. At that time there was
daring and great desire to do that but we were not skilled to paint icons and
we had practically nothing to start with. We were doing our best. Gradually,
year by year, new people kept coming… and the workshop grew steadily. Much has
changed since then. At that time, we did not know the most basic principles:
how to gild an icon and how to rub up colors. Our first icons were like sand
paper because we were bad at rubbing up the pigments. Now everything is
different. Then we had little materials and we had no opportunity to work with
good samples. There were a couple of books and albums from home libraries, and
this was not enough, of course. I reviewed our old photos several days ago, and
I was ashamed when I saw what we were making at that time. Probably, this was a
certain stage of our development and we had to go through it. Now there is
another stage. When new people come in our workshop willing to paint icons,
they can have answers to their questions from our own experience. Skills we had
to acquire for years (painting, gilding, using a sample), can be used by the
students after a month of learning.
Who taught you to paint icons?
Our first steps were assisted by Archpriest Igor
Latushko. We all knew him and asked him questions concerning the substance side
of the icon in the first place. For example, he could clearly explain why a
certain saint must be painted exactly that way, and what was the meaning and
the symbolism of a festive icon. It was vital for us at that time because we
all had just artistic education. Personally, I had a very important experience
in my life when I helped the icon-painter Andrew Kosikov. Working in his
workshop as an apprentice, I saw the inner side of an icon-painter’s work and
understood how hard it was. I did not know much at that time but I could gesso
the boards, I could wash a palette or the floor…
I was very pleased to take
part in all this. Now when I paint icons myself I can see that it would be more
difficult for me if I did not have such experience. These two people helped me
a lot in the very beginning. We do not have certain teachers, though. We
learned from each other most likely. We learned from books, we learned by
studying icon-painter’s samples carefully, we learned from prayer and faith. We
traveled to Fr Zinon several times but I cannot say he was our teacher. He was
always very hospitable to us and that was important for us at that moment.
Well, and surely, when you see the icons of this master, when you see him at
work, you can understand a lot.
How do you paint an icon?
Like a human, an icon maybe has the body, the soul and
the spirit. It is always difficult to speak about the spiritual side of the
matter. It is easier to speak from the craftsman’s point of view. An icon is
painted in a traditional way. From the very beginning we decided that we would
paint traditional icons, without using new technologies, modern colors or
primers. We try to paint icons as they were painted in ancient times. We paint
them on a lime or pine board with a nitch. The board is primed in a special
way. The priming consists of chalk and glue, it is applied in several coats and
gives a flat and smooth surface. The pigments we use are prepared from
minerals, even semiprecious stones are used (such as lazurite and malachite).
An icon is painted following a sample. Looking at the sample, an icon-painter
traces the lines of the icon first, then the background or the halo is covered
with gold leaf, and the icon-painter continues his work. Garments and buildings
are painted first, and then we paint the faces. The icon is covered with
varnish in the very end. These are the main steps but everybody has a different
approach toward them. As a rule, the soul of the person and his inner life are
somehow reflected in his work. An icon is a spiritual barometer in a sense,
since it shows the inner state of the icon-painter. While an artist expresses
himself through his work and admires it at a picture, one looks at an icon as a
mirror where one can see all his untruth. This exposes the sins of the
icon-painter and can be pressing sometimes. The difficulty and the problem with
the icon-painter’s ministry is that although you can see that you are not ready
to paint icons, you still have to go on painting. The Lord helps through icons.
A person who faces his inner untruth begins searching for God even more so that
he could change and live according to the Lord’s truth.
On attitude to printed icons
What is my attitude? I venerate them. An icon is an
icon whatever method of production: painted using pigments or printed using a
printing press. If the icon complies with the rules and is consecrated, it is
an icon anyway. Sometimes printed icons do not correspond to artistic tastes,
but tastes differ, you know. Praise the Lord that every person has an
opportunity to have an icon in his house because if the icons were painted
only, not everybody could afford them, for it is expensive. On the other hand,
there is a negative side to it because people really appreciated any image in
ancient times because not every one can paint an icon. Everything that is
painstaking to produce is more precious. There are lots of printed icons today,
and people lose the awe before a sacred image, unfortunately.
Traditions that influenced the painting style
It is very hard to tell what traditions had an
influence on us. At first, we based on Ancient Russian samples, the icons of
Andrew Rublev and Dionisius were the benchmarks for us. Now we have a lot of
opportunities: there are sources on Byzantine icons, and we can get to know the
samples of 6th century iconography. Thus, an icon-painter has a wide diversity
to choose from. That is why we do not have a clear-cut tendency. However, the
work of certain icon-painters sets the mainstream of the work for the others.
We also look at the modern samples, for example, at the works of Holy
Trinity-St Sergius Lavra icon-painters and we try to stick to the mainstream of
the modern icon-painting.
On creativity in painting icons
This is a sophisticated question. What is creativity
and what is a canon? Each person has his own answers to these questions. Canon
is a Greek word meaning a straight stick, that is, it defines an upright
measure. The canon is not a set of regulations; it is the language of the
Church. One can view the canon as a rigid pattern, but creativity can be also
eerie. The Lord inspired creative life into everybody. The human is created
according to the image of God the Creator. A meeting of God and man happens in
an icon. There is man and there is the Lord, and an icon-painter bears witness
to this meeting when he paints an icon. Thus a true icon is created, for
example, the icon of the Holy Trinity by Andrew Rublev. This is visibly not a
human invention (daydreaming) but the highest of the arts. This is what turns
into a canon. The canon is not derived from dry theoretical data. It appears
where God and man meet one another and perhaps, the people who are near
suddenly see that this is something they may and should follow. That is how the
canon appears. It is wrong to speak of the canon as of a stable pattern. The
icons of new saints have to be painted now. There are no canonical images of
these saints; there are photos so an icon-painter should have a creative
approach. Generally, the Church is alive, and the life cannot stop dead in its
tracks.
On students
People who would like to become icon-painters keep
coming. Some come and then go, some remain. It is life. How does a tree grow?
Some branches blossom and some wither. The same holds true for our workshop as
well. There are people who seek for an opportunity to serve God through the
icon. So we attempt to share our experience. It is far too early to call it a
“teacher-student” relationship. We just try to share something we have learned
or felt.
Is there a difference between an artist and an
icon-painter?
It depends on the personality of the artist or the
icon-painter. Pablo Picasso and Andrew Rublev are different although both have
some peculiarities that are impossible to compare. Not every artist should be
an icon-painter. This is because an icon-painter is a person who serves God in
the first place. Icon painting is a church obedience. There are various
obediences in the Church: choir singing, reading, tidying up the church. All
these obediences are indispensable so it is impossible to say that one is
better and the other is worse. Same with an artist and an icon-painter.
An
icon-painter is indispensable because icons are to be painted for the new
churches that are built; and an artist is indispensable because people look for
the beauty and this beauty does not necessarily have to be of religious
background. Every artist feels God, perhaps, even in the outward beauty: in
nature, in people and in relations. That is why I think there is no conflict
between an artist and an iconographer; it is that their tasks differ. An
icon-painter has a more particular speciality. Generally, an artist…I think that
every person is an artist in a sense. And it is impossible to clearly separate
one from another.
What icons are painted most often?
The icon painted most often is the icon of our
Saviour. This is the main icon and most people want to have the icons of the
Savior and the Mother of God in their homes. Many people also order an icon of
their heavenly patrons.
Is painting icons a catholic art?
Sure. Look at it from the technical side of the
matter: one person makes the board, another covers it with gesso, a third gilds
it and a fourth paints on it. Only if they cooperate and unite their efforts,
an icon can appear. An icon-painter must understand that everything he does is
the reflection of the prayer of the whole Church. The more people seek for God,
the easier it is for us to paint an icon. Looking back into history, the 15th
century is the Golden Age of icon-painting. There was spiritual revival at that
time but when it faded the icon-painters faced more difficulties as they
worked. The late 20th and the early 21st centuries, judging from the fact that
many icon-painting workshops have come into existence, is the time of spiritual
revival. Fr Igor often says that an icon-painter reflects the today’s state of
the humankind. It is important that people who come to church and look at the
icons would understand that this is not a one-person work. An icon comes in
existence as a result of prayer of many people.
