The Syrian icons…A living history

The art of icon painting is a reflection of religious thoughts or events in the form of paintings with a spiritual and historical character.

 Syria is unique in being one of the first countries that created this rich artistic field and contributed to transfer it to the whole world.

Historical researcher Ilham Mahfoudh defined icons as paintings spread on the walls of churches telling the stories of prophets and Saints and formed over time a way to teach people the teachings of the Christian religion, stressing that the icon is a term recognized in the Eastern Church to denote holy images.

Mahfoudh pointed out that this art originated in Syria in the sixth century AD, where figurative mosaic decorations began to appear in temples and churches to create the art of icons that embodies Christian religious themes, reflecting the popular, ideological and spiritual heritage of the peoples of the region.

Mahfoudh said that this art dates back pre-Christianity in the Greek and Roman eras, and was adopted by the Byzantine church as a tool of persuasion and meditation to overturn the concepts of pagan beliefs and to replace the concept of Christian religion. She explained that this art originated in the Levant and was influenced by ancient Syrian art, including Palmerian art.

She went on to say that “the icon is a means of education with image, shape and color, and each one has ideological and educational connotations. Each color used has a certain meaning; red suggests life because it is the color of blood and fire, brown indicates austerity and asceticism, breen is the color of nature, while blue suggests glory and ability, and black suggests death”.

She pointed out that the most representative topic in the icons is the stages of Christ’s life, religious events and images of the Virgin  Mary and Saints, such as murals in Dura Europos churches, which are among the most important murals in Syria and which formed the first roots of the art of icon painting.

Mahfoudh talked about the relationship of icon art with the art of photography and sculpture in Syria and Iraq and the symbols used therein, such as the ship, dove, fish, anchor, Peacock, etc. and the impact of these symbols on iconic art and the way of forming faces, highlighting the eyes, gaze, nose, hand movement, etc.

The art of icons is concerned with the tendency to depth and spirit, as Mahfoudh showed, stressing that each icon has two appearances, a natural exterior seen by the naked eye, and a symbolic one that simulates the soul through colors because colors have their symbolic language.

She highlighted important Damascene figures who had a great impact on preserving the aesthetic of icons, such as Hananya of Damascus and John of Damascus, who said: “when my thoughts are disturbed and prevent me from concentrating intellectually, I turn to the church, meditating on the dimensions of the heavenly icons that fascinate my eyes. These sacred paintings attract me and urge me to glorify the creator, so I regain peace and serenity.”

The researcher affirmed Syria’s role in preserving this national wealth, which has been subjected during the ongoing wars in the region to theft and destruction, by documenting all the archaeological icons in it at the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums with a view to protecting them from theft or smuggling.

The Ministry of Tourism constantly holds local and international exhibitions to publicize these unique archaeological treasures.

Amal Farhat