Original Research - Special Collection: Romania

Representations of the Life-giving Spring feast in Romanian iconography

Ioan O. Abrudan
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 77, No 4 | a6719 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v77i4.6719 | © 2021 Ioan O. Abrudan | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 08 April 2021 | Published: 30 September 2021

About the author(s)

Ioan O. Abrudan, Department of Orthodox Theology, Faculty of Theology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania; Department of Systematic and Historical Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

This article explores the development of the theme of the Life-giving Spring in Byzantine iconography. The path towards its establishment was initiated at the moment when a representation rule, an original convention was set. Thereafter, because of its diffusion in time and space, the theme became enriched by particular mentalities and sensibilities of the epochs and the communities that adopted it as a form of devotion for the Virgin Theotokos. As a result, the representations we have known so far are extremely varied.

Contribution: The final purpose of this approach, as well as its contribution, is to highlight the diverse unity of the iconographic tradition and illustrate both the evolution of the theme in the painting of Romanian church artists and its gradual refinement through the incorporation of diverse nuances and new perspectives.


Keywords

Life-giving Spring; Byzantine and post-Byzantine iconography; ancient Romanian art; woodcut; goldsmith

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