Nimbus on the icon of Christ

[Anna]

Hello, I'm new on the forum and have a question about a rare (to my newborn experience of icons) way to present the nimbus on the icon of Christ.

I´m a very ignorant beginner to icon writing (I know many, including myself, believe icons can really be written only by orthodox christians who can take part in the Mysteries of the Church, but I'm hoping to be one some day, maybe in the meantime I can learn some technique...)

My teacher has suggested that the cross on the nimbus be coloured red and green (otherwise the nimbus would be gold).

I have never seen an icon with this kind of colouring. Does anyone here know a page where one could be seen?

What is the tradition of this colouring?

Another question is how to write the "letters" on the nimbus when the color red-green changes at the center where the letters normally are? Of course I will ask this next time I have class but there is sometimes not so much time to talk...

Thank you all

[Sandra June Hofstead]

Greetings Anna,

You may see good examples of Icons of Christ on many Orthodox websites e.g. www.OCA.org (http://www.OCA.org); also some monasteries and Orthodox online shops have good examples. The halo of Christ is guilded using good quality gold leaf (not imitation stuff). If gold is not available it may be painted with a gold ochre color of paint. The cross is formed by drawing thin lines of red and the lettering in the cross is done in red also. It is important to do this properly.

Iconographer Alexandra

[Olga]

Hello Anna, and welcome to the forum. In the hundreds of icons of Christ I have seen, I can only recall seeing the nine-bar cross and lettering in Christ's halo in red or a reddish-brown colour, and not ever in green, as far as I can remember. Some very early icons, including many mosaics, show a cross in His halo, but instead of the Greek letters O W N, are coloured geometric designs that look like jewels or gemstones. The nine lines (three single lines and three double lines) which make up the cross represent the nine orders of heavenly hosts (angels, archangels, seraphim, cherubim, etc) who surround the throne of God and ceaselessly glorify Him and serve Him.

Do not let your non-Orthodox background put you off exploring iconography and Orthodoxy. Though a beginner, you seem to have the right approach. God works in mysterious ways! http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/happy.gif

[Anna]

Thank you both for your friendly welcome and your help!

Now, I have finally found one example of the kind of halo, but it's a russian site, so I don't understand a word, but I'll give you the address if you're interested, hope it works: www.wco.ru/icons/VirCat/Alt11-16/A1 -008Z2.htm (http://www.wco.ru/icons/VirCat/Alt11-16/A1-008Z2.htm)

My teacher said the colours would be the same as the clothes of Christ, as it is in this icon (again, I thought His clothes were red and blue, not red and green). The rest of the halo will be in gold leaf. But I'm still worried about the letters, it would seem wrong to leave them out?

I don't want to paint an un-canonical icon, but I also don't want to be a persistant sceptic toward what my teacher says - after all I can see too much of all that in my background already and long to learn the humility and obedience that seems so right and that draws me to Orthodoxy among other things...

Actually, the borders of the different colors also do form nine lines...http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/happy.gif, that was interesting to hear an explanation of those nine lines.

Interested to hear your comments again.

[Sandra June Hofstead]

Dear Anna,

I checked the icon at the link you provided. I must say that it is the first time I have seen this type of halo on icon of Christ. And as an Orthodox Christian iconographer who also teaches iconography I have a problem with that image. In addition to borders on the colors there are drawn lines (albeit somewhat faded) of which I counted 15. But my real problem is the addition of colored bands to the halo in the first place. It is safe to say that many innovations occured in icon painting that never became widespread because they were not canonical or were simply unintelligible from an Orthodox perspective. I personally view this as an example of that since it is so unusual. I also respect your personal desire to practice obedience, so my suggestion is to ask your teacher to explain the reasons for his/her suggestion to you, or to paint the halo according to widely accepted Orthodox Traditon since you now understand the reasoning behind it as Olga explained. It is especially important to understand the reason why you paint in a certain way in icons.

May God bless you,
Alexandra

[Anna]

Thank you all for your help and advice. I think I'll follow the widespread tradition as well as I can...
I'm thankful for finding this forum in many ways.

I hope I'll gradually learn icon writing with the years if God will lead me on with classes, good books and experienced helpful people like you.

God bless you.

[Olga]

I agree with Alexandra that the icon of Christ from the wco site is indeed unusual, to say the least. While there seems no trace of a circular halo around Christ's head, a possible explanation for this could be that this has faded with time. However, there are two counters to this possibility: One, that even in ancient icons which are no longer in perfect condition, it should be possible to see traces of the halo, or of either the letters or the bars in the halo. Two, it is very likely that the wco icon never had a halo to begin with, as if one looks closely at the corners, the letters IC and XC within two circles are just visible, as well as two other pairs of less distinct letters just above Christ's shoulders (possibly NI and KA? Too difficult to tell). The position of these letters would "get in the way" of being able to paint a conventional halo. It appears that this inscription is original, and not added some time after the icon was painted. In my humble opinion, the wco icon, while probably painted "in good faith", is moving away from the canonical requirement of the three letters and the nine-bar cross, which are, surely, essential to illustrate our understanding and proclamation of Christ as the Son of God.
Here is a link to an icon from Mt Athos, where the halo is not distinct, but it is obvious that it was once there:

http://www.culture.gr/2/21/218/218a b/00/l2-44.html (http://www.culture.gr/2/21/218/218ab/00/l2-44.html)

You are also correct, Anna, Christ's garments should be red and blue (except at the Transfiguration and the Resurrection). There are instances, however, of old icons where the outer garment does look green, as in the icon in the link I posted. This is either due to the way the image has been processed or photographed (quite common, the phenomenon is called metamerism) which makes blue look green and vice versa, or, (please correct me if I'm wrong, Alexandra! http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/happy.gif) due to certain pigments changing slightly over the centuries, or if the iconographer simply used a dark green pigment if a blue one was not available to him.

[Olga]

Further to my earlier post: The icon of Christ from the wco site is known as "Christ of the Fiery Eye", due to the particular way His gaze is portrayed, and dates from the 14th century. (There are other icons of the same name, which have the canonical halo as well). I have seen contemporary versions of it, which confirms my guess about the letters in circles around Christ's head.