byzantine icon
- Magdalen Abe
- Apr 19, 2018
- 1 min read
I painted this portrait of myself some months back. It was done from a mirror (probably dirtier than it should have been.) As with any self-portrait, the main challenges were the changing light and the subtle variations of pose one must adjust for with every turn of the head. This creates a self-portrait that, for me at least, is almost hieroglyphic in nature, showing not a single state or moment like a photograph, but many compressed into one. As I worked, my vatic/vapid stare and capuchin of dark hair reminded me of Byzantine icons haloed in gold, hence the Winsor & Newton Renaissance Gold on either side of my head. I varnished it up real glossy, hence the glare in the photo.
"From the Mirror [Byzantine Icon]." Oil on panel, 2017.
For fun, here's a mosaic of Christ from 526 AD, located at the Sant'Appollinare in Ravenna:
