In old Slavic languages, the word "write" and the word "paint" are synonymous. The traditional art of creating pictures of saints and holy people is referred to as "writing". The icon is a representation of the ideal of the human subject as depicted in the Holy Bible. As a result, the look of the artwork is highly stylized as well as very orthodox. The most stringent method for creating these images has not changed for hundreds of years.
The last thing Byzantine icons are is primitive. The drawing and layout of the icon requires adherence to a strict series of measurements. Despite that this drawing has less than a hundred and fifty lines to it, it took me several days just to get this far. Even then, it's a bit rough by old world standards.
I patterned my drawing after the Theotokos of Tikhvin. I had to simplify my rendering considerably so that I will be able to keep up with the rest of the class. Theotokos equals Mother of God, while Tikhvin is the Russian church that holds this among the most famous examples of Byzantine iconic art.
I'll post my progress on JSVB as the weeks go by. Please stay tuned!
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