Jesus Christ HAND-CRAFTED Byzantine Icon 24k gold Start Price USD 4,999.00 Current Price USD 4,999.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, October 23, 2008 End Time Saturday, November 22, 2008 Location US See more about 'Jesus Christ HAND-CRAFTED Byzantine Icon 24k gold' Description makedonicus Store Jesus Christ LARGE HAND-CRAFTED and HAND-PAINTED 24 k gold Byzantine Icon   This is a very detailed and colorful large hand painted and hand crafted icon of Jesus Christ, done in the Byzantine Christian traditions.    This icon is made on a traditional thick and high quality durable wood.  After completing the painting of the drawing to the panel, several layers of bole (burnishing clay) are applied to the background to prepare them for the receiving of 24K gold leaf.  After gilding, gold is burnished using agate burnisher or, for a varied effect can be finished with so-called water matte method. Then the base is covered with a layer of batiste or canvas and several layers of gesso made from rabbit skin glue and powdered marble. It comes in several sizes and this is the smallest size of all – it is truly a spectacular masterpiece, aged to look like it came from Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire at the height of its power some 1000 years ago. This is NOT an ordinary painting - think of it as like getting a large 24k gold painting: it is expensive to make, the wood is heavy and much harder to handle then simple light oil canvas, and it is extremely complicated to create and aged.  size: 53" (1.35 m) high, 35" (0.88 m) wide and 1.6" (0.04 m) thick.     $4,999.00 (please click on the picture below to see it in a large format)   Creation and delivery: please allow 30-60 days for custom order recreation and delivery of the same item.  Please contact us with any questions you may have.   This icon is also available in the following sizes:   size 1:  16" (40 cm)  x 12" (30 cm) x 1.4" (3.50 cm)     $799 size 2:  24" (60 cm) x 16" (40 cm) x 1.6" (4 cm)        $1,599 size 3:  32" (80 cm) x 24" (60 cm) x 1.6" (4 cm)        $2,999 size 4:  40" (100 cm) x 28" (70 cm) x 1.6" (4 cm)      $3,999 size 5:  53" (135 cm) x 35" (88 cm) x 1.6" (4 cm)      $4,999    Please contact us if you want to place an order for any of the above 5 sizes.   What is Byzantine Icon art?   Byzantine art is generally taken to include the arts of the Byzantine Empire (the Eastern Roman Empire) from the foundation of the new capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul) in AD 330 on the location of ancient Byzantium, to the capture of the city by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Byzantine art grew from the ancient classical heritage, but was distinguished from it in a number of ways. If the purpose of classical art was the glorification of man, the purpose of Byzantine art was the glorification of God, and particularly of his son, Jesus.  In place of the nude, the figures of God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints and martyrs of Christian tradition were elevated, and became almost exclusive focus of Byzantine artists. The origins of icons have been spotted in 6th-7th century church decorations, such as those of the churches of Saint Demetrius at Thessalonica in Macedonia and Santa Maria Antiqua at Rome in Italy.  The greatest legacy of Byzantine art is that it made possible the Renaissance in western Europe.  By the 11th century the art of Byzantine icons was widely diffused from Russia and Ukraine to Norman Sicily and Venice in Italy.  By the 12th century the influence of Byzantium on western European art reached its zenith and played a truly generative role in the development within Romanesque Art of a revival in realistic portraiture and greater naturalism in style and humanism in content.  This influence was transmitted through the Frankish and Salic emperors, primarily Charlemagne, who had close relations with Byzantium.  And despite the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantine cultural heritage had been widely diffused from Macedonia, Thrace and Greece, to Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and, most importantly, to Russia, which became the centre of the Orthodox world following the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. Even under Ottoman rule, Byzantine traditions in icon-painting survived.   It is because of this importance the Byzantine icons hold in world art, they find their space here at the Ancient Sculpture Gallery's Icons collection.  We offer all the best masterpieces of Byzantine art, including recreation of all the icons from Constantinople and Thessalonica, the two major cultural and artistic centers of the empire.  Our Byzantine icons are painted in the original and authentic Byzantine traditional style, the same way utilized by the Byzantine artists from the 5th to the 15th century. They are done the way on properly prepared linden wood and painted with the egg tempera technique. They are gilded with 24K gold leaf.  We are true to the original Byzantine tradition in iconography, and are guided by the greatest Byzantine icon painters.   How are our Byzantine Icons created?For creation of our icons we use and apply traditional Byzantine methods and materials which have been tested over many centuries.  The base of the icon is a traditional high quality durable wood.  Then the base is covered with a layer of batiste or canvas and several layers of gesso made from rabbit skin glue and powdered marble. Such prepared ground is both tough and absorbent and allows egg tempera paint to adhere strongly and provides good, firm surface for so-called water gilding.After completing the painting of the drawing to the panel, several layers of bole (burnishing clay) are applied to the background to prepare them for the receiving of 24K gold leaf.  After gilding, gold is burnished using agate burnisher or, for a varied effect can be finished with so-called water matte method.Since the egg yolk is very perishable and egg tempera paint cannot be purchased ready made, our artist makes it professionally. Dry, powdered pigments are ground with water and then mixed with egg yolk on daily basis. We use pigments which meet highest standards of permanency (sufficient even for fresco painting).  Our palette is built around the various natural earths, which are not only beautiful, but also exceptionally stable, with real vermilion and a few other manufactured pigments added for contrast and liveliness of color. Particles of pigment, when enclosed in egg medium, retain their brilliance and freshness of color for centuries and the translucent character of tempera allows exploiting their optical properties to the fullest extend.As a final finish for our icons we use linseed oil based varnish, made with fossil resins: either amber or copal. Such varnish is difficult to make and to apply, but for icons, which are first of all liturgical objects, such varnish is the most appropriate. It is made by exposing linseed oil to the action of sunlight and oxygen from the air for several months, then boiling it adding dissolved resin and a little bit of cobalt drier. Later the mixture is thinned with turpentine and poured while still hot over warmed icon. It is left, protected from dust, for several hours to allow the oil to penetrate the paint and to thicken through exposure to air. Then excess of oil is removed from the surface. The icon has to be left in horizontal position and protected from dust for about a week to dry. Oil varnish imparts a delicate sheen to the surface, makes the paint inedible for insects or rodents and protects it from oil or salt from hands, and is not brittle.Finally a degree of aging can be applied to the icon, which depends of your personal choice.  You can view several aging results in our list of Completed Icons and chose the style your like. Of course, you may also elect your icon not to be aged.  Let us know what your reference is when placing the order.While some other works of art require some special conditions for their preservation (most typically protection from light), paintings in egg tempera on wood, finished with linseed oil based varnish are best preserved under the same, moderate conditions of light, humidity, temperature and cleanliness of air that are optimal for human habitation. This is why our Byzantine Icons are a timeless investment set to be enjoyed by many generations of your family.   Check out my other items!  Be sure to add me to your favorites list! Place a Bid!