This exhibition, on view: March 2—August 27, 2023, created in collaboration with New Mexico State University, will explore and compare Orthodox icons and Mexican retablos, which convey artistically similar themes but with different materials, styles, and iconographies.
Orthodox icons, typically made with egg tempera on wood panels, feature a stylized representation of the divine against a golden background, symbolizing the intangible and mysterious world of heaven. Icons, an integral part of worship in the Orthodox Church, offer us a glimpse of the divine and transcend ordinary, earthly reality.
Retablos, on the other hand, are religious images painted in oil on industrial pieces of tinplate. They depict an idealized likeness of the divine against blue skies, symbolizing truth and heaven, and facilitating a human connection with God and the saints. This unique and richly varied artistic tradition flourished in Mexico during the nineteenth century.
More information: museumofrussianicons.org