Iconography

“The invisible things of God have been made visible.”
―Saint John of Damascus

Iconography manifests the soul shining through a human portrait. Focusing mainly on the transfigured human face, taken from historical Eastern Orthodox and contemporary models, The Sacred Art Institute teaches classic egg tempera techniques, common to all schools of historical iconography.

Essentials of Iconography: Writing the icon of King David

With Marek Czarnecki

May 18 - 23, 2025

King David was the greatest king of Israel, author of the psalms, father of Solomon and noble ancestor of Our Lord. This powerful 15th century Russian prototype was originally part of the prophet’s tier of an icon screen and is kept in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery. This is one of the best and highest examples of […]

Panel Preparation and Gesso making for Egg Tempera and Icon Painters

With Marek Czarnecki

July 12, 2025

Enders Island

Egg tempera must be painted onto a stiff, inflexible panel, coated with an absorbent primer called “gesso”. In a one-day workshop, iconographer and instructor Marek Czarnecki will teach students the process of making true artists’ gesso with rabbit skin glue, chalk and marble dust.

Praying with a Brush

With Marek Czarnecki

August 16, 2025

Enders Island

Praying With a Brush is a one-day workshop for iconographers interested in learning the basic brush skills necessary to paint an icon. We start with a repertoire of basic calligraphic brush strokes and practice exercises using only ink and a brush. Using traditional, art historical Orthodox icons as models, students will be taught to make their own drawings. After an acetate transparency is placed over the model, we re-discover line by line, the icon’s inner geometry, balance, order and structure.

Essentials of Iconography: Writing the icon of Archangel Michael

With Marek Czarnecki

September 28 - October 3, 2025

Mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, St Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of our Sacred Arts Institute. One of the most depicted saints in Orthodox icons and western religious art, his popularity attests to his powerful intercession and protection against all forms of evil. This workshop’s prototype is a fourteenth century […]