Inseparable from the liturgical tradition, religious
art is seen by Orthodox Christians as a form of
pictorial confession of faith and a channel of
religious experience. Because the icons provide
direct personal contact with the holy persons
represented on them, these images were objects
of veneration, in either a public or private
setting, and were even believed to have the
ability to heal.
Saint John the Baptist, believed to be the
precursor and cousin of Christ, emerged after
many years of self-teaching in the desert to
prepare people for the coming of the Messiah, as
prophesied in the Old Testament. He led an
ascetic life, like the Old Testament prophets, and
spent years preaching the importance of
penitence, baptizing the faithful in the Jordan
River. John’s work culminated in his baptism of
Jesus. Soon afterward, John was imprisoned for
angering Herod Antipas, the Judean ruler, by
denouncing him for marrying Herodias, the wife
of his half-brother Herod. At the request of
Salome, daughter of Herodias and Herod, St. John
was decapitated.
This extraordinary icon depicts Saint John
holding a golden chalice and an unwound scroll.
Inside, we see a miniature baby Jesus, clearly an
allusion to the baptism of Christ. However, this
is a symbolic representation of the event, not a
historical one. This icon in not dedicated to the
baptism, but to the Baptist. From his overgrown,
dreaded beard to his heavy, recessed eyes, the
toils of his ascetic life, isolated in the desert, are
evident. His elongated, emaciated wrist also
attests to the toils of his philosophy. Stylistically,
much is derived earlier Byzantine paintings and
mosaics. This influence is evident in the linear,
angular folds of his green and yellow drapery and
the lack of spatial articulation besides the once
solid gold leaf background symbolic of heaven.
St. John appears here like a miraculous holy
vision, permanently captured in paint for all to
revere.
- (PF.5700)
|
