Chrysler Museum Experience
Where Can a Piece of Art Transport You?
February 12, 2016
How Long Did That Take You, Mr. Stravitz?
March 29, 2016
I recently visited the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia to see the Saints and Dragons exhibit of Icons from Byzantium to Russia.
This exhibition comprises of 160 extraordinary works of religious, historical, and artistic importance — rare icons and extraordinary artifacts that rarely leave the collections of The British Museum, London, and the Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, Mass.
An Icon is an image of a holy person or event, created by an iconographer who follows the strict standards of the Orthodox Church. They are typically sanctified and blessed by a priest. To the Orthodox believer, icons are more than religious art. They are holy objects.
I was interested in this exhibit because I have my Grandmother’s Russian Icon and took it to the museum to get information on it. I found out that it dates back to 1755 and that it is oil painted on wood not tempra which is rare.
It was nice to learn more about icons in general while also digging deeper into my family’s history.
