Bulgarian Hand Painted Icon of SAINT GEORGE
Size: 22 X 30 cm
Painted by Ilko Ivanov, a qualified icon painter
We offer you a handmade icon of Saint George. This saint is the patron of the Bulgarian army and he is celebrated on 6th May.
The icon is made in Bulgaria, according to the original medieval Bulgarian orthodox painting traditions.
For the make of the icon we offer to you was used dark stained wood. What is most striking about this icon is the irregular form of the piece of wood employed. Its interesting shape gives the icon rather authentic look which enhances the artistic value of the icon.
The icon is tempera painted, as painting-on-canvass technique was used.
Saint George is presented in the traditional way: riding his horse and slaying the dragon. The saint wears red cloak, the red color symbolizing divinity. Red is the colour of the cloaks of the holy warriors St George and St Demetrios of Thessalonike. The way Saint George is painted on this icon is evident of the creativity of the artist too.
Gilding is often used for the background of icons as well as in painting draperies, details of costumes and ornaments. But very often gilt is given symbolic meaning that relates gold to power of spirit.
In fact, the icon is the epitome of the victory of good over evil.
In the iconography of Eastern Orthodoxy, George has been depicted as a soldier since at least 7th century. In 9th century, another way of depicting became popular: the one of "Saint George and the Dragon". After the Fall of Constantinople and the association of St George with the crusades, he is more often portrayed mounted upon a white horse.
The icon makes an excellent gift for your friends and family and it will remind you of the intransient values we, human beings, have a tendency to forget about now and then.
Additional information about Saint George, as found on the Internet
Saint George was born to a Christian family during the late 3rd century. His father was from Cappadocia and served as an officer of the army.
The youth followed his father's example by joining the army soon after coming of age. He proved to be a good soldier and consequently rose through the military ranks of the time.
In 303, Diocletian issued an edict authorizing the systematic persecution of Christians across the Empire George was ordered to take part in the persecution but instead confessed to being a Christian himself and criticized the imperial decision. Diocletian ordered the torture of this apparent traitor, and his execution After various tortures, George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia's defensive wall on 23 April 303.
Why is Saint George depicted as the killer of the dragoon? Here is an interesting legend that explains this interesting detail: A dragon made its nest at the spring providing the city-state with water. Consequently, the citizens had to dislodge the dragon from its nest for a certain period of time, in order to have some water. To do so, each day they had to offer the dragon a human sacrifice. The victim was chosen by drawing lots. One day, this happened to be the princess. The monarch begged for her life, but in vain. She was offered as a sacrifice to the dragon. However, Saint George appeared. He faced the dragon, slew it and rescued the princess. The grateful citizens abandoned their ancestral Paganism and converted to Christianity.
General information In 865 the Bulgarians were THE FIRST Slavonic people to adopt Christianity from Byzantium as its official religion.
Since then the icon, venerated as an especially sacred object of cult and rite, has developed as a fundamental part of the Bulgarian art from the ninth century until present days.
The Bulgarian icon painters had left their deep mark in the overall development of Christian Orthodox Art. Their trail can be seen in the monasteries of Mount Athos and the south-west Balkans, or in Wallachia, Moldavia and Russia, whose icon masters had followed the Bulgarian canonical pattern.
The rich historical background of the Bulgarian icon and the fact that it is a result of the efforts of a small but gifted nation makes it an inseparable element of European cultural history.
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