Fayum style portrait

I have just finished this invented “portrait”, a commission from a dear friend living in China. It is not an icon, but I have tried to express something of spiritual depth and mystery. It is painted only with four pigments: black, white, and red and yellow ochre.#portrait painting

View in Instagram ⇒

Icon commissioned by Panorthodox Concern For Animals

This is a new icon, commissioned by www.panorthodoxconcernforanimals.org. Two of its themes is that we ought to treat animals with love and respect as creations of God, and that Christ has come to redeem not only the human race, but all creation, so marred by our human sin, including against animals, all too often cruelly treated by us humans.#icons#cruelty to animals#creation redeemed by Christ #Saint Isaac #John of Damascus

View in Instagram ⇒

ICON PAINTING WORKSHOPS WITH AIDAN HART FOR 2018

021elizabeth-nm-jerusalem_0882-copy-1-copyAfter a sabbatical from teaching the five day icon courses this year, you will be pleased to know that I am resuming them next year, 2018. They will run as usual at beautiful Walcot Hall in Shropshire England.  The dates are 2018 May 7-11 and September 10-14
 
Information about the course and details of how to register are available as an Adobe PDF and in Word format.
 
 

Transfiguration fresco, Lancaster University

Many thanks to Benedict Scorey at Lancaster University for compiling this time-lapse video of the wall painting we painted last month at the Catholic chaplaincy… Many thanks too to Fran Whiteside and Martin Earle for their help with the painting painting! 

More images of the fresco can be found on the fresco section of this website – www.aidanharticons.com, and I have also written an article about the project, including the techniques we used, on the excellent Orthodox Arts Journal – www.orthodoxartsjournal.org

 

Transfiguration fresco icon all with altar Transfiguration fresco icon xc face 1 Transfiguration fresco icon snipe Transfiguration fresco icon peter face Transfiguration fresco icon moses face Transfiguration fresco icon john face Transfiguration fresco icon moses detail 3

Footage of Mosaic for St George’s Orthodox Church, Houston, Texas

After one and half years and around half a million hand-cut tesserae, our two mosaics for St George’s Orthodox Church, Houston, USA, are now installed. Please click here, or go to the Mosaic section of the website, to see images of the completed works. Many thanks to Fr. James Shadid for instigating such a remarkable project. And thanks too to all the hands who came to help Martin Earle and I complete the work – whether for an afternoon, for a week or for a month – Vasiliki Argyropoulou , Svetlana Elantseva, Ada Germany, Jane Bracey, Jodi Le Bigre, Victoria Handbury-Madin, Anna Karantanis, Janina Zang, Michael Hallzon, Lisa Abbott and Thomas Hogg. This video was filmed outside the studio, before the mosaic panels where shipped to Houston in December…

Icon Diploma Exhibiton

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Many thanks for everybody who made the Icon Diploma final exhibition at the Prince’s School of Traditional of Arts such a terrific success. Anyone unlucky enough not to have made it still has a chance to see some of the splendid icons at L. Cornelissen & Son. The venerable artist’s supply shop in central London, much loved by iconographers for their stocks of pigment and gold leaf, is hosting a selection of the works in their shop window. The icons will be on display until 11th November. Details about how to find Cornelissen’s can be found on their website.

 

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Icon Diploma Exhibition

Aidan’s diploma students will be exhibiting their icons at the Prince’s School of Tradional Arts next month. The exhibition opens on Monday 17th October 2016 at 9:30 and closes on Friday 21st October at 14:00. The private view is on 18th October, from 18:00 – 21:00.

Please have a look a the invitation for more details. We hope to see you there!

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Designs for a choros

For the past few months I have been a consultant for a cathedral’s restoration. As part of this work I designed a choros chandelier. Thanks to computer technology and the skill of a colleague, Tim Royall, you can see computer generated images of how the choros will look.

AHP01-15_20 12 panel ChorosAHP01-15_01 Sample Panel Assembly

2016-2019 Icon Painting Diploma

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Applications are now open for entry into the 2016-2019 Icon Painting diploma.

This Diploma course, taught by Aidan Hart and run by the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, is based on the traditional model of master and apprentice teaching. Instruction will cover all the processes required to create traditional icons in egg tempera, including panel preparation, gessoing, gilding, pigment making, design principles and painting techniques. The practical work of the students will be placed into context through studies of the masterpieces of icon painting and talks on theology and the relationship of iconography to church architecture and worship. Students will also be guided in ways of developing their skills in the contemporary business environment.

The course is based in Shropshire, and consists of seven three-day sessions a year, with extra practical studies requiring at least a further four hours work a week at home.

The next intake will be in October 2016. The deadline for applications is 1st March 2016.

To apply, please download the following information sheets and complete application form:

Summary of the Icon Painting Diploma

Curriculum for 2016-19

Application form

If you have any questions about the diploma please contact Aidan Hart 07910246774 or Margot Stone 020 7613 8532


class

New pictures of the Houston mosaics in progress

mary at the foot of the cross mosaicIn 2014 Aidan Hart Icons received an exciting commission for St George’s Orthodox Church in Houston, Texas. The parish asked for two mosaics, one depicting the Crucifixion and the other The Descent into Hell. Each mosaic is to measure around 5 x 3.5 metres (16.5 x 11.5 feet) and will be installed in their renovated and expanded church.

Work began on the mosaics at the beginning of 2015 and is progressing well. We’ve recently uploaded some new photographs of the work in progress and a brief explanation of our mosaic technique. We’ll continue to add photographs as the works progress…

 

Aidan elected fellow of the Temenos Academy

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Aidan has recently had the honour of being elected a Fellow of the Temenos Academy.

In 1980 the poet and scholar Kathleen Raine, together with Keith Critchlow, Brian Keeble and Philip Sherrard, launched Temenos, a journal devoted to the Arts of the Imagination. The journal sought to give space to poets, artists, writers and thinkers who subscribed to the belief that man is firstly a spiritual creature with spiritual needs which have to be nourished if we are to fulfil our potential and be happy. From these early beginnings the Temenos Academy was launched in 1990.

The Academy’s Patron is HRH Prince of Wales. There are currently about thirty-three Fellows from over the world, all scholars and artists eminent in their field.

 

2nd Edition of Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting now available

bookcoverA new edition of Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting is now available to buy. As well as making updates and correcting typos, a very useful five page index has been added – no more wasted hours searching for the page on egg glazes or hog haired bushes!

The Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting is the most  comprehensive book to date on the techniques of icon and wall painting and has established itself as the seminal work on the subject. Translations are pending in Polish and Arabic. 460 pages. Over 450 colour illustrations and over 160 drawings. 227mm x 278mm. Hard cover, £40. Gracewing Publishers.

“I know of no comparable work in the English language that deals with the technique of icon painting in such a thorough and comprehensive manner. Yet, while concerned with technique, the treatment is never merely technical. At every point we see how technique reveals a transfigured world. Spirituality and technology are combined together, so that each illuminates the other.”

From the Preface by Kallistos Ware, Metropolitan of Diokleia

 

Click here to find out more and to order your copy

 

Hanging oil lamp

hanging lamp scaledThis bespoke bronze oil lamp is inspired by early Byzantine designs. Contemporary oil lamps can be somewhat florid, but here we have tried to return to the elegance of simpler but well crafted earlier models. Designed by Aidan, made by Frazer Picot, and the glass hand blown by Nikki Williams of Ironbridge.

Similar lamps, of whatever size, can be made to order.

Some recent commissions….

January has seen a flurry of commissions completed – including an altar and lectern for Cambridge University Catholic chaplaincy and a painted tabernacle that is now on its way to Silverstream Priory in County Meath, Ireland. The winter edition of the Aidan Hart Icons quarterly newsletter, with some more photos and details, is about to be sent out.  You can subscribe to the newsletter here. The magnificent Cimabue crucifix pictured below was commissioned by the chaplaincy from the Hamilton Kerr Institute in 2005.

Tabernacle for Silverstream Priory. Cabinet making work by Dylan Hartley.Limestone altar for Fisher House, Cambridge. The magnificent Italo-Byzantine crucifix was commissioned by the chaplaincy from the Hamilton Kerr Institute in 2005.Lectern for Fisher House crafted by Dylan Hartley and designed by Aidan Hart.

New index for the Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting

index detail

Gracewing will be realising the second edition of ‘Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting’ this Spring. As well as some minor revisions, the new edition will include a long awaited index – no more wasted hours searching for the page on egg glazes or hog haired bushes! For anyone who already has a copy the new index is now available here and under ‘Resources’.

Gessoing and Icon Board making courses with Dylan Hartely

icon-board-course

The dates for Dylan’s highly recommended icon board making and gessoing courses are now available!  This year Dylan will be running two sets of two day courses in his workshop in the beautiful Iron Bridge Gorge. The first course covers the process of making a tulip wood icon board and, in the second, preparing the board for painting including the application of fifteen layers of gesso. Choose to take part in both courses or only one. More information available here.

Icon board making courses
2 days 9am until 4pm. £220 incl. materials and 2 boards to take home.
Commence 11th & 12th May 2015
Commence 13th & 14th July 2015
Commence 14th & 15th September 2015

Icon board gesso courses
2 days 9am – 6pm day 1 and 9am – 2pm day 2,. £220 incl materials and 2
boards to take home.
Commence 14th & 15th May 2015
Commence 16th & 17th July 2015
Commence 17th & 18th September 2015

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Loft chapel iconostasis

leeds iconostasis

This screen has been made for the loft chapel of the Roman Catholic priest, Father Michael Krychiwskyj in Leeds. The icons have been painted by Aidan over a long period of time, the penultim

ate icon of the Transfiguration being installed in November. The final icon, to be placed over the Royal Doors, is to be of Christ washing the disciples’ feet. The oak screen was designed by Aidan and made by Dylan Hartley.

RELIQUARY OF SAINT VINCENT OF ZARAGOZA

 

cloisonné st. vincent

St Vincent was a deacon martyred in Valencia under Diocletian in 304AD. St Mary Magdalene Russian Orthodox Church in Madrid was given a relic of this saint and so they commissioned a reliquary to hold it. Aidan designed the reliquary, hand carved the silver for the cloisonné and set the stones. The box was made by Dylan Hartley, and the cloisonné was painstakingly made by Christabel Anderson.

Cloisonné was chosen in the past for prestigious church items, but is rarely made now on account of the laborious and skilful processes involved. Gold or silver wire is first enamelled to a base, and then the islands so formed are filled with coloured enamels and fired. But since each colour has a different firing temperature and must be built up in layers, many firings are required. When the firings are completed, the surface is carefully polished to a flat surface. I am delighted that in Christabel, who as an Orthodox believer involved full-time in the liturgical arts, we finally have a skilled craftsperson who can make cloisonné. Hopefully more commissions will be forthcoming.

reliquary front 2reliquary sidereliquary top opensimplified reliquary top

Wrought Iron Screen, St Michaels and All Angels, Bedford Park, London.

bedford park screen side

Finally installed in September after nine months of labour, this massive hand wrought iron screen measures 3.3 x 2.7 metres ( 11 x 9  ft). It was hand-forged by master blacksmith Frazer Picot of Shropshire, and was designed by Aidan Hart. It is probably the largest hand wrought screen of this complexity to have been made for a church in Britain for decades. Everything has been either been riveted or fire welded, a difficult traditional technique in which two sections of iron are heated in the forge and hand forged together. The screen, soon to be partially gilded, was commissioned to cover the wooden pipes of a recently installed organ. It bears a large icon of the Archangel Gabriel, paired with another icon of the Virgin placed on the other side of the sanctuary which together form the Annunciation. For further explanation of the icons’ and screen’s meaning, click here to download an article in PDF format. 

More images of the screen here 

 

 

 bedford park church

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New Book

AidanBook5.inddBEAUTY SPIRIT MATTER

A long awaited collection of essays on contemporary issues as seen through the theology of the icon, covering subjects such as ecology, the role of the material world in the spiritual life, beauty, the revival of liturgical art, the nature of the human person, and abstract art. 240mm x 170mm  256pp + 32pp colour plates. ISBN 9780852447826. RRP £14.99. Gracewing Publishers.

ORDER HERE 

 

 

Some comments:

“Aidan Hart, one of the greatest living icon-painters, reflects in this book of essays on the place of the Icon in the Christian mystery. Drawing on wide and diverse reading… Aidan helps us to see how the icon reveals a vision in which matter is transfigured, the meaning of mystery reaches throughout the whole cosmos, and human kind, in the image of God, is restored to its role as microcosm and mediator, through God’s embracing matter itself in the Incarnation. This is a profound and arresting book, full of insights and surprises.”

Revd. Prof. Andrew Louth FBA, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University UK.

*

“Aidan Hart’s booked is rich and refreshing. It has a striking spiritual depth, deriving from profound knowledge of the Orthodox theological tradition and the wisdom of a creative artist whose art is rooted in prayer. It also has breadth since he is open to the insights of other Churches and artists from all faiths and none.”

Father Timothy Radcliffe OP, author and from 1992 to 2001 Master of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans).

Bedford Park screen

Work on a wrought iron screen for St Michaels and All Angels parish in London, is progressing well. The work, which was designed by Aidan Hart Icons, is being hand wrought by master blacksmith Frazer Picot. Aidan has just finished painting the 1.6 metre high icon of the Archangel Gabriel which will sit in the screen’s centre.

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Quarterly Newsletter…

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Aidan Hart Icons is starting a quarterly email newletter, with images and news of the latest icon projects and information about any upcoming events or talks.

If you would like to subscribe to this, please follow this link and fill in your name and email address.

Many thanks!

SEPTEMBER 2014 ICON PAINTING WORKSHOP

2014 September 8-12

at Walcot Hall, Lydbury North, Shropshire, SY7 8AZ

 

THE TEACHING

A LIMITED NUMBER OF PLACES HAVE JUST BECOME AVAILABLE on Aidan’s icon painting workshop to be held this year on September 8-12 at beautiful Walcot Hall in Lydbury North, Shropshire (http://www.walcothall.co.uk/).

During this course we shall paint either a bust (waist up) or a whole face, and therefore will concentrate on the flesh parts: faces and hands. The workshop will include a talk with slides.

We all do the same icon, with Aidan guiding us through the different stages of building up colours in egg tempera on a previously prepared gessoed panel.

Participants bring their own pigments, panel and equipment. About three months before the course, students will be sent a list of materials which they will need to bring with them, along with instructions on how to make the gessoed panel. If desired, students can instead purchase a prepared panel. They will also be sent a print of the icon that we shall be working on and will be expected to do a drawing of this before the workshop begins, so that we have maximum time for learning painting skills during the course itself.

The course consists of around seven hours tuition per day (9.00 am – 5.00 pm, except Monday when 10.30 am–5.00 pm, and Friday when 9.00 am -1.00 pm). There are places for twelve participants.

The nearest international airports are Birmingham International and Manchester. The nearest train station is Craven Arms, six miles from Walcot Hall. From there the best thing is a taxi (this needs to be booked in advance: Arms Cabs – 01588 672010. Craven Arms Taxis – 01588 673333 or 01588 638350). If you prefer to go to Shrewsbury, then Number 553 is the regular bus service between Shrewsbury and Bishop’s Castle, run by Minsterley coaches. Up to date details of all public transport in the area can be gained by ringing Shropshire LINK at 0345 678 9068.

 

THE COST

The cost for the teaching is £330, with a non-refundable £30 deposit payable when booking (this will be refunded if there are no places available). This includes a substantial cooked lunch and morning and afternoon teas with biscuits and cakes. The non-refundable balance of £300 is due three months before the course begins; an invoice will be mailed about two weeks before that due date. For accommodation, see below.

 

ACCOMMODATION

The course offers self-catering accommodation at Walcot Hall to those who wish it. Participants are given their own bedroom in one of the Walcot apartments. Each apartment has two to three bedrooms and its own kitchen and bathroom or two. Accommodation is booked through the course and not directly with Walcot Hall.

The cost is £180 per person. This includes the bed linen and towels, and the food supplies for you to make your own breakfast. Participants will need to arrange their own evening meals. Bishops Castle is 3 miles (5 km) away and has numerous shops, takeaways and eating places.

A non-refundable £20 deposit is required at registration (but will be refunded if no places are available).

The course accommodation is available from 9.30 am Monday until 1.00 pm Friday. Unfortunately the rooms are not usually available for the Sunday night before the course, and never for the Friday night after, but you can ring the office to enquire if you wish (01588 680570). If you need accommodation for these nights, you can usually get rooms at the following local places:

• Brumslow Farm Ph.01588 680244

• Walcot Farm Ph. 01588 680243

 

REGISTRATION

If you wish to come, please fill in and return the registration form below (either by post or by email), along with the appropriate deposit (£30 for tuition only, or £50 for tuition plus accommodation). Please note that my wife administers the course, which means that payments will need to be made in her name.

Payment may be made:

• By cheque (payable to “Sarah Hart”), sent to: Aidan Hart, 4 Station Road, Pontesbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY5 0QY, U.K.

• By bank transfer: For account details please contact Aidan at <mail@aidanharticons.com> • By PayPal, to account: s.hartmedia@btinternet.com 

• By PayPal, to account: s.hartmedia@btinternet.com

 

Download the registration form as: Adobe PDF | Word document 

Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln

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In a solemn and moving service on 31st May, the feast of the Visitation, The Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln was dedicated in Lincoln Cathedral by the Rt Revd Christopher Lowson, Bishop of Lincoln.

The 7ft tall stone carving of the Christ and the Virgin Mary, in whose name the historic Cathedral is dedicated, is one of the largest works commissioned by the Dean and Chapter since The Reformation. The sculpture now sits in a chapel at East End of the cathedral, looking down the length of the magnificent South Aisle. It is hoped that this corner of the cathedral will become a little Bethlehem, a place of contemplation and prayer for reconciliation for the whole Christian family.

This major commission is carved from a single block of Lincolnshire limestone and, in the tradition of Romanesque and Gothic carving, polychromed using egg tempera and natural pigments. The design is a unison of many influences, in particular the ‘Our Lady of the Sign’ icon and Romanesque carvings of the Virgin enthroned and Christ in majesty. Above all it is an icon not only of the Virgin Mary, but of God Incarnate who, through Mary, has forever united Himself to our human nature.

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From you, O Virgin, God was incarnate and became a child, our God before the ages. He made your body into a throne, and your womb He made more spacious than the heavens. All of creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace! Glory to you!

– Orthodox liturgy

Caius College Annunciation

Tannuciationhis icon, measuring 735 x 430 mm (29 x 17 inches) was installed this February in the chapel of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. The throne behind the Virgin draws on elements of the college’s architecture, and the symbols on the foot rest are from the dining hall’s stained glass windows. These symbols represent major discoveries made by members of the college, such as the DNA by Francis Crick and the Venn diagram by John Venn. This has been done to show that the Lord’s incarnation in human nature also embraces human culture and the wonders of the created world.

The Crucifixion, mosaic for St Georges Orthodox Church, Houston

In 2014 Aidan Hart Icons received an exciting commission for St George’s Orthodox Church in Houston, Texas. The parish asked for two mosaics, one depicting the Crucifixion and the other the Descent into Hell. Each mosaic is to measure around 5 x 3.5 metres (16.5 x 11.5 feet) and will be installed in their renovated and expanded church.

Work began on the mosaics at the beginning of 2015 and is progressing well. Because of their large scale, we have split the mosaics up into around 30 panels which will be shipped to Houston and joined together on site.

We hope you enjoy this selection of images of different panels from the Crucifixion mosaic. You can see a brief explanation of our mosaic technique by clicking here. We’ll continue to add photographs as the works progress…

 

Wrought iron screen commission, St Michael and All Angels Church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Aidan Hart Icons has been commissioned to design and have made a wrought iron screen for St Michael and All Angels Church in Bedford Park, London. The screen, measuring around 2.7 x 3.3 metres ( 9 x 11 ft), will be hand-forged by master blacksmith Frazer Picot using the traditional ‘fire welding’ method rather than arc or gas welding. It has been designed to cover the wooden pipes of a recently installed organ and will bear a large icon of the Archangel Gabriel. This icon will be complemented by an icon of the Mother of God on the south side of the church – together creating an Annunciation. The screen is due to be completed by May 2014.

 

Blessing of Christ the Pantocrator of Roath

 

As parish priest Fr Irvin Hamer looks on, the ex-Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, takes to the streets of Cardiff to bless a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator.

Aidan Hart Icons made the icon which was installed onto the exterior wall of St Martin’s Church in Roath last March. At the end of a beautiful High Mass, the mosaic was dedicated and named ‘Christ the Pantocrator of Roath’ in a solemn rite of blessing.

 

Our Lady of Capel-y-finn

This icon was commissioned to revive an old pilgrimage site at Capel-y-finn near Hay-on-Wye in Wales, where the Virgin appeared to two children. The icon depicts the Virgin’s appearance to the children while they played ball, with St Mary’s chapel in the background. For information about pilgrimages to Capel-y-finn ring Father Richard at 01497 820448.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five analoys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five iconstands (analoys) were commissioned by the  Orthodox Parish of Saint John of Kronstadt, Bath. Designed by Aidan Hart and crafted in sycamore by Dylan Hartley.

Choosing stone for Our Lady of Lincoln

I have just been to Lincolnshire to look for local stone for carving Our Lady of Lincoln – commissioned for the chapel at the east end of the famous Lincoln Cathedral. The illustration shows the half size maquette for the work.

Although it is not usual for the Orthodox Church to use three dimensional imagery, there is a strong tradition in Western Christendom. In this work I am trying to make the sculpture act like an icon, so that people are led through it to the Mother of God. To this end I have drawn on the rich tradition of Romanesque art. To my mind this period is the most advanced in the history of western in producing effective iconographic imagery. Drawing on this tradition will also help to integrate the work into the cathedral, which is a Romanesque creation.

 

Apostle Paul

An icon just completed of the Apostle Paul based on the work of Fr Zennon, which draws on early Christian iconography.

New chandelier

Recently made to order for a private chapel, this chandelier is 62cm in diametre and cast in solid brass. It was made in collaboration with three other craftspeople – Nikky Willams of Kinki Glass who made the hand-blown bowls, cabinet maker Dylan Hartley who made the original former and  Madeley Brass Castings who sand cast it. This work is fully electrified, with fittings which are cunningly hidden from view, but it would also be possible to make an oil-lamp chandelier using the same design.

Kivot for Madrid

This large kivot, or icon casing, has just arrived at St Mary Magdalene’s Russian Orthodox Church in Madrid. It has been made to house a large icon of the church’s namesake, and the carving at the base depicts her encounter with the risen Christ, the new Adam, in the garden. At the top of the frame the words ‘Christ is Risen’ are carved and gilded in Spanish and Slavonic. I worked with cabinetmaker Dylan Hartley, who did a superb job building the frame in oak.

Four living creatures

A new work for St Luke’s Episcopalian Church in Silverstream, Georgia, USA, carved in oak primarily by Aidan’s assistant, Martin Earle. The winged living figures, symbols of the Evangelists, are inspired by a 11th century ivory from Germany or Northern Italy. Originally it would have decorated the cover of an Evangiliary, a manuscript containing all four Gospels. This icon, however, will be installed 30 feet up on the ceiling of St Luke’s at the intersection of two structural beams

Doors for the Church of Mary Magdalene, Madrid

These mighty oak doors have just been sent to Madrid, where they’re to be installed into the main entrance of the new Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene. The carvings are inspired by early Spanish designs with plants and birds that evoke the garden of Eden. On the inside of the door sixteen icons in gold leaf on patinated copper depict the major feasts of the Christian year. Aidan designed the doors and produced the copper icons. His assistant, Martin Earle, carved most of the panels under Aidan’s guidance. The joinery was by Worrall Joinery, and master blacksmith Frazer Picot  hand forged the iron fittings.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Mosiac, St Martin’s, Cardiff

As part of a refurbishment project at St Martin’s in Roath Aidan has just finished installing this large mosaic of Christ Pantocrator. The design draws on Western and Eastern influences, especially the Deësis mosaic in Hagia Sophia and an image of Christ from the vault of Sancta Sanctorum chapel in Rome. 

It is has now been set into the church’s exterior north wall, about 30 feet above a bustling high street in central Cardiff. 

He worked alongside stonemason Paul Mitchell who carved a frame for the mosaic in Bath stone and Martin Earle and Ulia Clow who helped lay some of the many thousands of coloured glass ‘tesserae’ which make up the icon. 

 

 

New wall painting, Shrewsbury

In August I completed a wall painting on the east wall of my medieval parish church, The Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Fathers, Shrewsbury, England. On some of the other walls there already exist simple medieval wall paintings, dating from around 1380 A.D., but the east wall was newly plastered during recent restoration work and was therefore free for a new painting.

The image depicts Christ in glory, flanked by two six winged cherubim and surrounded by the four living creatures who represent the four Evangelists. The Biblical inspiration for such depictions are the visions recorded in Isaiah 6:1-7, Ezekiel 1:4-12, and Revelation 4:6-8.

Stylistically the secco is a union of Romanesque and Byzantine influences. The overall scheme of Christ in a mandorla with the four living creatures is a theme commonly depicted in Romanesque wall paintings in France and Spain. More specifically, I adapted the four living creatures from the Bury St Edmunds Bible (created about 1135 A.D.), and Christ’s tunic from the stained glass windows in Canterbury Cathedral (1180-1207 A.D.).

The painting measures 6 metres by 3 metres (10 feet x 20 feet), and was begun as fresco (that is, on wet lime plaster) and completed in secco (on dry plaster). The medium used in both the fresco and secco phases was egg yolk and limewater. Recent analysis has shown that this was the technique and medium used in the famous paintings by Manuel Panselinos in the Protaton church, Mount Athos. Having mentioned this recent discovery in my book “Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting”, and experimented with it on small panels, I was keen to see how it worked on a larger scale. The lime water and egg seem to make a very robust chemical bond. I was very pleased how the secco stages united aesthetically with the fresco stages; helped by the use of natural earth pigments, the secco painted regions look translucent and integral with the wall.

In a simple rectangular church with a hipped roof such as this, the focal point is the east wall. There are no appropriate places to depict Christ in the ceiling, and this is why on the east wall in such “basilican” churches the central figure is usually Christ rather than the Mother of God.

BEAUTY SPIRIT MATTER

‘BEAUTY SPIRIT MATTER: Icons in the Modern World’ by Aidan Hart

A long awaited collection of essays on contemporary issues as seen through the theology of the icon, covering subjects such as ecology, the role of the material world in the spiritual life, beauty, the revival of liturgical art, the nature of the human person, and abstract art. 240mm x 170mm  256pp + 32pp colour plates. UK ISBN 9780852447826, Australian ISBN 9781781829882. RRP £14.99. Gracewing Publishers.

AidanBook5.indd

BUY NOW

Icons and the theology behind them are a crystallisation of what some of the greatest minds and hearts in history have concluded about matter as a mediator between God and man. In this new collection of essays Aidan Hart considers the insight icons give us into a range of such contemporary issues as the role of our bodies in the spiritual live, ecology, scientific knowledge and the nature of beauty. Ultimately, he argues that icons resonate with our innermost being as creatures made of spirit and matter, and awaken within us a nostalgia for paradise.

 

Some comments:
“Aidan Hart, one of the greatest living icon-painters, reflects in this book of essays on the place of the Icon in the Christian mystery.  Drawing on wide and diverse reading… Aidan helps us to see how the icon reveals a vision in which matter is transfigured, the meaning of mystery reaches throughout the whole cosmos, and human kind, in the image of God, is restored to its role as microcosm and mediator, through God’s embracing matter itself in the Incarnation.  This is a profound and arresting book, full of insights and surprises.”
Revd. Prof. Andrew Louth FBA, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University UK.

“Historical and poetic, informative and reflective, certainly dedicated to the transformation of the created nature through the gaze of the icon, Aidan Hart’s book offers a unique contribution in iconology. Aidan Hart writes with theological knowledge, but also with the long experience of a practitioner, a man who learned his iconology from the icons themselves. As he mentions in a short anecdote, “we do not judge icons, icons judge us”. In his case they also teach us how to think.”
Revd Dr. Andreas Andreopoulos, Reader in Orthodox Christianity at the University of Winchester.

“Reviving the classical art of the essay, Aidan Hart has also revived a sensitivity for God’s presence in all things—God, one of whose names is Beauty. This book is rich in wisdom drawn from the iconographic tradition, illuminating the material cosmos, history, the virtues, and the challenges of contemporary life.” 

Stratford Caldecott, Editor, Second Spring Journal.

“Aidan Hart’s booked is rich and refreshing. It has a striking spiritual depth, deriving from profound knowledge of the Orthodox theological tradition and the wisdom of a creative artist whose art is rooted in prayer. It also has breadth since he is open to the insights of other Churches and artists from all faiths and none.”
Father Timothy Radcliffe OP, author and from 1992 to 2001 Master of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans).

“In this astonishing book Aidan takes us through the icon to the very heart and mind of God and thus of ourselves. Perhaps the most challenging statement he makes is that we have been called to become gods by grace and in this fascinating exploration of the art, meaning and beliefs of Orthodoxy, he helps us understand why this could be the key that unlocks a better more godly future. Read this and the world will never appear the same again – thank God!”
Martin Palmer, Secretary General of Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC).

BEAUTY SPIRIT MATTER

‘BEAUTY SPIRIT MATTER: Icons in the Modern World’ by Aidan Hart

A long awaited collection of essays on contemporary issues as seen through the theology of the icon, covering subjects such as ecology, the role of the material world in the spiritual life, beauty, the revival of liturgical art, the nature of the human person, and abstract art. 240mm x 170mm  256pp + 32pp colour plates. UK ISBN 9780852447826, Australian ISBN 9781781829882. RRP £14.99. Gracewing Publishers.

AidanBook5.indd

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Icons and the theology behind them are a crystallisation of what some of the greatest minds and hearts in history have concluded about matter as a mediator between God and man. In this new collection of essays Aidan Hart considers the insight icons give us into a range of such contemporary issues as the role of our bodies in the spiritual live, ecology, scientific knowledge and the nature of beauty. Ultimately, he argues that icons resonate with our innermost being as creatures made of spirit and matter, and awaken within us a nostalgia for paradise.

Click here for some comments on Beauty Spirit Matter

 

Mosaics

Mosaic

Because of its brilliance mosaic has always been considered the most glorious expression of liturgical beauty. Its angled tesserae play with light. It doesn’t fade and it endures outside, while the flowing lines of tesserae called andamenta create wonderful rhythms. The intense colours and the andamenta suggest a world transfigured, restored to paradisiacal splendour.

Aidan Hart Icons bring over thirty years of experience in iconography to its mosaic design and creation. Our commissions to date range in size from one and a half metres (five feet) in diameter to our most recent mosaics almost five metres (sixteen feet) high. We apply the lessons we have learned from years of studying Byzantine and Roman masterpieces. Rather than try to imitate painted icons, our mosaic designs aim to make the most of the particular strengths of the medium. We use the direct method of laying the tesserae so that we can angle them to obtain the maximum play of light. Please click here for a brief overview of our mosaic technique.

Please visit www.aidanhartmosaics.com to see the website dedicated to our mosaic work.

We would be delighted to discuss any ideas you have for either a church or a private commission.

PUBLISHED WRITING BY AIDAN HART

Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting, Gracewing Publications, 2011, 2015 (2015 Polish edition, publ. Jednosc)

Beauty, Spirit, Matter: Icons in the Modern World, Gracewing Publications, 2014

Festal Icons: History and Meaning, Gracewing Publications, 2022

Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting

‘TECHNIQUES OF ICON AND WALL PAINTING: Egg Tempera, Fresco, Secco” by Aidan Hart

The most comprehensive book to date on the techniques of icon and wall painting. 460 pages. Over 450 colour illustrations and over 160 drawings. 227mm x 278mm. Hard cover, £40. Gracewing publishers, 2011.

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click here to preview the book now

This is the most comprehensive book to date on the techniques of icon and wall painting. Illustrated by over 450 colour ilustrations and over 160 drawings, it is a source of pleasure and inspiration for the general reader as well as for the practising icon painter. More than just a technical manual, it sets artistic practice in the context of the Church’s spirituality and liturgy, with chapters on the theology and history of the icon, and the reasons behind the placement of wall paintings within churches. 

An index for the book is now available to downloaded here.

 

 

ARTICLES

A selection:

  • “A Beauty with Fire” in Modern Painters; art criticism; article; Fine Art Journals Ltd, London; 2000 Spring. ISBN 09536698.
  • “The Tradition of Sacred Iconography” in Harvest; Jungian studies; chapter; C.G. Jung Analytical Psychology Club, London; 1992, Vol. 38. ISSN 0266 4771.
  • “Poreia sto Kallos” in Greek in “2000 Years After”; religious; chapter; Akritas, Athens, 2000. ISBN 960 328 129 8.
  • “Constantin Brancusi: A Modernist Against Modernism” in “Second Spring”; religious/cultural commentary; G.K. Chesterton Institute, Oxford; 2006 Spring.
  • Sacred Icons: Paradise Regained”; exhibition catalogue; sole author; Oriel 31, Wales; 1991. ISBN 1 870797 07 8.
  • Sacred Icons”; exhibition catalogue; sole author; Greek Church of Shrewsbury for Orthodox Christian Millennium Festival, UK; 2000. ISBN 0 947805 35 4.
  • “Icons of Grace: The Art of Paul Martin” in “Image: A Journal of Arts and Religion”; art criticism; article; The Hillsdale Review Inc., USA; 1996 number 15. ISSN 1087 3503.
  • “The Icon and Contemporary Art” in “Epiphany”; religion and culture; article; Christ the Saviour Brotherhood, NY; 1991 Spring. ISSN 0273 6969.
  • “Beauty and the Gospel” in “Epiphany”; religion and culture; article; Christ the Saviour Brotherhood, NY; 1992 Fall, 1993 Winter and Spring. ISSN 0273 6969.
  • “Life and Architecture on Mount Athos” in “Temenos Academy Review”; scholarly; article; The Temenos Academy, Kent, UK; 2003. ISSN 1461 779X;
  • Vatican newspaper “l’Osservatore Romano”, appearing December 2011, two page article “Icons and the Spiritual Role of Matter”
  • Numerous articles in the Orthodox Arts Journal.

TEACHING AND LECTURING

2000–present

  •  Visiting tutor to The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, London. From 2009 teaching The Certificate in Icon Painting.

1990-present

  • Lecturing at various institutions, including: The British Library; Hillside College, USA; IOCS, Cambridge; European Council of Churches, Minsk; St Andrews University, Scotland.

Freidrich Hundertwasser

 

Bronze portrait bust of Freidensreich Hundertwasser, architect, painter and ecologist. Commissioned by Birkdale Intermediate School, Auckland, New Zealand. A cast is also with The Hundertwasser Foundation, Vienna.

MEDIA AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

A selection (dates are approximate):

2022

  • Radio New Zealand, 16 April: Half hour live interview with Kim Hill.
  • ‘My Shrewsbury’ Sept/Oct (pages 69-73), five-page illustrated feature.
  • Radio Rhema interview, New Zealand
2021
  • Interview with Jonathan Pageau (Oct 27),’The Dance between Sacred and Secular’

2019

  • BBC Radio 1, ‘Walks of Life’, with JB Gill. May 5.

2018

  • BBC Radio 4 and World Service.. Series of five fifteen-minute radio programmes: ‘In the Studio: Creating an Icon’, 6-10 August.

2015

  • BBC Two TV, “The Face of Britain” with Simon Schama

2012

  • Appearance on BBC4’s TV programme “A History of Art in Three Colours” – programme “Gold”, demonstrating and speaking about the symbolism of gilding.
  • Interview on Radio Shropshire
  • Two page illustrated article on iconography in the Italian and English editions of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.

2010

  • Channel Four TV “Rome Wasn’t built in a Day” as fresco consultant and teacher on the construction of a Roman Villa in Wroxeter, U.K.

2009

  • SBS Australia TV series “Cracking the Colour Code”, an award winning three part series.

1998

  • Dutch TV programme on Christian artists.
  • “The Church Times”, a feature.

1997

  • BBC Radio 4, a 30 minute feature on ecology and iconography.

1996

  • Midlands TV BBC, 5 minute programme on icons.

1996

  • “The Daily Telegraph”, a 2 page feature.

1995

  • “Country Living” magazine, a feature.

1988

  • BBC TV, a 5 minute slot on a programme about imagery of the Virgin Mary.

1980

  • TVNZ, a 10 minute interview.

 

PRAYER ROPES

prayer ropes by christabel anderson

London based iconographer Christabel Anderson produces these beautiful hand made prayer ropes. If you are interested in purchasing a prayer rope please contact Christabel at christabel@christabel.cc. Examples of her other work, including illuminated miniature paintings and cloisonné, can be seen on her website, christabelanderson.com.

 

 

BBC Radio 4 – The Creation of an Icon

In December 2018 BBC Radio 4 aired “Creation of an Icon”.  In this series of five fifteen-minute programmes, Aidan spoke speak about the process of painting an icon of the Annunciation from its beginning to end.

Click here to hear the radio episodes, and see photographs and videos of the process, on a dedicated page of the BBC website…. enjoy!

SCIENCE AND FAITH

Science as a study of God’s creation can be an act of contemplation and wonder, a means of discovering the Logos’s multiple logoi within the world He has made. And conversely, a scientist’s faith and wonder at the mystery of God can make their mind more elastic and open to other paradigms, thereby assisting them to make more scientific discoveries.


Click here to view the article on the website of Orthodoxy in Dialogue

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