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Beauty Spirit Matter: Icons in the Modern World: Sprint, Matter and Beauty
£14.20
32 colour plates
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Additional information
| Publisher | First Edition (31 May 2014), Gracewing |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 288 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0852447825 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0852447826 |
by Amazon Customer
A lovely book by Aidan Hart – beautifulyl produced and lots of information
by Malcolm U
This book is as profound as it is informative. This is a beautiful study of icons and their relevance for to-day. Initially I was attracted to the book by the lovely icon of Our Lord’s Transfiguration on the cover. It conveys all the mystery and wonder of the event as proclaimed in the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. “The Word was made flesh, he lived among us and we saw his glory.” (John 1:14.) The Prologue of St John’s Gospel encapsulates the message of Aidan Hart’s writing and iconography.
What especially impresses one is Aidan’s inspired narrative. His book is also a brilliant exposition of the faith once delivered to the saints. That he is himself an artist, brings to his writing an added dimension. As an icon painter his own personal faith shines out from his luminous script. There are thirty three plates of colored icons. These not only add to the interest of the book, but also convey the author’s spirituality and love for the Lord.
by Jack Ladde
Aidan Hart’s reputation as both an icon painter and as a teacher is deservedly high amd I approached this book hoping it would refelect at least a little of the depth of his knowledge and wisdom in the field: I wasn’t disappointed. Every page draws the reader deeper into the mystery of how the physical things of this world can be used to express worship but also connect the individual to the unseen reality of God and the saints. Hart uses a range of beautiful imagery in his writing that is both simple and profound and I foud myself lingering over some of the images long after I had put the book down.
This is not a book to read quickly. It took me much longer to get through than many others because each page is full of detail that I had to pause over and ingest. As a result my sense of the purpose and theological reality of icons is deepened and I am aware of how differently I am relating to them.
As a physical object the book is impressive. It is printed on very high quality paper that does justice to the many colour prints. Great care has clealrly been taken over its design.
Any book written on spiritual matters needs a living spirituality to produce it. This is clearly the case with this one, it did what only the best books can do and that is made me more aware of God and added something to my own spirituality.
by Duppy Conquerer
Wonderfully clear and insightful, the passion of the Author seeps out of every page 🙂 Complete with beautifully printed Images of Icons! Would highly recommend to anyone interested in Christian Artwork
by Amazon Customer
Ordered this after hearing The Creation of an Icon in Radio 4.
by Ms. M. A. Selwoood
I like this book as I am very interested in icons and the philosophy behind them. The book is well written and illustrated with stunning photos of contemporary icons. Wonderfully spiritual too.
by Father Emmanuel Kahn
In the introduction, the iconographer, author and lecturer, Aidan Hart, writes of how “icons are physical objects that partake in spiritual life,” so it is appropriate to consider “the role that the material world plays in our relationship with our Creator and our neighbour, and that our body plays in our fulfilment as human beings” (p. 1).
He points out that “when we look at an icon we are seeing how a saint sees. We are inside their head and heart and looking out through their eyes… For the saint sees not just with the eye of [their] body but the eye of [their] spirit” (p. 2)…. Although this book contains an opening essay on the theology of the icon, it is primarily about the insight that icons offer on the contemporary issues of the renewal of liturgical art, tradition and innovation, ecology, the nature of the human person, the meaning and importance of beauty, and modern art” (p. 3)…. Everything in us is made to fulfil [the] calling to unite matter with spirit, time with eternity, the lower with the higher, and the bounded with the boundless” (p. 4)… Icons challenge us and lay bare our inner state, or at least our cultural conditioning. An encounter with them is a small judgment, not in the sense of condemning us, but in the sense that our response to them tells us more about ourselves than about them” (p. 5).
The introduction, along with 37 full-colour plates, gradually draws the reader into a deep spiritual experience of what it means to see and pray with an icon. The final essay, “A Little Story” offers a beautiful perspective on the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.
This book will deepen your understanding of icons and draw you closer to Christ.