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Telling Stor
Of Nativity
"And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from
them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let us
now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is
come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
"And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph
and the babe lying in a manger." Luke 2:15-16.
As even little children know, the words of St. Luke tell the
story of the Miracle in a' manger. Shepherds watching in the
fields, herald angels singing — these things Christians can
.picture today because of St. Luke, the physician who be-
came Christ's disciple,
Traditionally, St. Luke, did still more to preserve the spir-
itual treasures of the Christmas story, He literally pictured
the Madonna.
According to this tradition, St. Lube was an iconographer
as well as a physician, and as such•the created the first im-
age of the Madonna, a painting that became the guide for
many icons in later centuries.
As legend has it, St. Luke's icon of the Madonna 'and his
other paintings were the forerunners of the style of artistic
expression known as Byzantine art.
Oppressed and suppressed in some eras, Byzantine reli-
gious art has so original and distinctive. a style that it re-
turned again and again, to thrive throughout 12 centuries.
Today, it is enjoying a• rebirth, through the efforts of dedi-
cated iconographers: In the Greek Orthodox
Church icon technically
means a movable religious
painting. However, iconogra-
phy often refers, more broad-
ly, to wall paintings and
mosaics as well as portable
icons.
Showing Images
Iconographer is asystem
for representing Christian
subjects. by means of pictures
or images. Originally, the
term -meant -"portrayal," and
applied especially to panels
-.portraying the figure of Going Iconoclastic
Chris, the Madonna, a saint
or some scene from the Bible,
"according to the Grolier
Book of Art.
The art of the Byzantine—
or Eastern Roman empire
first flourished under the
rule of Justinian, in the 6th
century A.D.
But trouble loomed' ahead.
When i'Emperor Leo III
came to power, he brought
with him a deep hatred of all
images, especially, icons, say
the. editors of the Encyclo-
pedia Americana.
As an Iconoclast—hater o/
icons — Leo forbade the cre-
ation of religious figures and
images, and the.Iconoclastic
Age began in 726.
Paintings on church walls
were whitewashed, ivories
and mosaics removed, count-
less works h�of art destroyed.
Comics Get Help
When icons returned to
favor in the 9th century, the
Iconoclastic Age had been
responsible for the loss of
much religious art - but it
had some benefits.
Secular art gained by it,.
as artists of the monastic
schools began to work under
the patronage of the nobility.
Even modern comic strips
owe Something to the Icono-
clasts The monastic artists
who turned to secular work
brought with them the By-
zantine method of telling a
story through a continuous
series of drawings.
Symbolism Rules
Surviving wars, crusades
and conquests, Byzantine art
flourished till the middle of
the 15th century.
Over the years, Byzantine
artists
Over,
others, but
111ERRY CIIRISTMAS
oyful and Triumphant
were rarely influenced by
others. 'Thoughh the early
Renaissance brought realism,
the colorful, decorative and
formai, qualities of the By-
zantine style remained vir-
tually . unchanged,
In, Byzantine art, highly
stylized figures appear, with
little or no three-dimensional
effect. Gold backgrounds sug-
gest almost no sense of space.
Familiar scenes such as
the Nativity show painted
figures that are allegorical,
mystical, symbolic—but
never realistic in color or
form._
For' believers of the Greek
Orthodox, faith and other
astern churches, the sym-
bolic nature of Byzantine art
has a deep religious signifi-
cance.
ignificance.
Considered solely as an art
form, the ° Byzantine tech-
nique is renowned" for its
beauty and decorative char„-
acter, In its symbolic ap-
proach, this ancient art is
closer to the art of today
than the representational
works of more recent cen-
turies.
There's Inspiration
As in all forms of art, the
story of the Nativity has been
a source of inspiration to
AS O
Iconographers " through the
ages.
The Madonna and Child
have long been favorite sub-
jects for icons, while Byzan-
tine triptychs often showed
Christ, Mary His Mother and'
'Iconography.
The ancient Byzantfhe
art of iconography is a
contemporary art, too, and
very much a part of today.
So declares John Papas-
piliopoulos, leading icon-
ographer and owner -cre-
ator of the Byzantine
Icons Studio, New York.
He points out 'khat the
turn of the century Art
Nouveau technique, which
has influenced much con-
temporary art, is' related
to Byzantine religious art.
Anon -realistic use of color
and flattening of perspec-
tive are typical:
As an iconographer, Mr.
Papaspiliopoulos leads the
development of a "Byzan-
tine art of the 20th cen-
tury." •
Assisted by _ the artists
of his studio, he has deco-
rated some 30 churches in
the United States. In his
hative Greece, he has dec-
orated 19 Athens churches•
Like Byzantine artists of
centuries past, Mr. Papas-
piliopoulos works with tra-
ditionally authentic egg
. J94 n the Baptist.
other early iconographers
turned to St. Nicholas, bishop
of Myra, as a subject worthy
of attentio*i. The good bishop
is known in legend as the
forefather of Santa Claus.
it's Part of today
tempera, He makes his
own tempera from egg,
vinegar and 'ammonia. To
this emulsion, coloring
agents are added.
He makes extensive use
of gold leaf, another tra-
ditional element in Byzan-
tine art, .His work shows
his own personal touch
but always follows _ the
pure Byzantine style.
Tiny•Treasure -Hunt
The simplest searching
game is one in which one
person leaves the room while
another hides a small object
that has been agreed upon
beforehand -- a small pack-
age, some wrapped Christ-
mas, candy.
When ."it" ' comes back, he
hunts for the object arid the
other person indicates that.,,
he is near it . by clapping
loudly or saying, "You're
warm."
When "it" moves away
from the object, the other
person clapssoftly or says,
"You're getting cold."
/i
•
GREETINGS
FOR
/AIM
To you, sincere greetings and
thanks ... with every good wish that the
joy and delight of the Yuletide will be yours.
SERVICE ELECTRIC
30 VICTORIA ST. N.
(GODERICH)
and suddenly the shepherds saw, on
their peaceful hillside, the
angels come to proclaim the birth
of a Saviour... their
hosannas echoing through'the holy
-nights As we share the wondrous tidings
of Christmas, may we also
share love and kindness with our" fellow en,
•
Across the land, in
farm, village, town and city,
the spirit of
Christmas is everywhere. May
it fill your own
world with happines3, joy j
and good will now
and throughout the coming
year!
•
rjf
GQDE'RlCH PUBLIC
ANDREW DAIRY
*Om srtvEawoonS DAIRY Oaonurrs
•
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