What importance do symbols represent in Icons?
V. Pace: Symbols have a great importance in Christian art in general. The importance is that they try to touch the feelings and devotion of the faithful in a visual way. And they have been widely used in both Western and Byzantine art. V. Emiyan: Are those symbols similar in different cultures? V. Pace: There are certain symbols which have been used more in certain areas and less in others and vice versa. I wouldnt say that the whole branch of symbolism is common to every facet of the Christian world. Christian symbols in early Christian art in Italy may be not understandable here and vice versa. V. Emiyan: What are the basic qualities of Iconography? V. Pace: Iconography is rather a fixed grammar which must help you trough the images to make clear the ideas of the patron. So if the patron is a religious figure, a bishop or a priest, he knows the system of signs which would make his faithful confident with its beliefs. If there is a good system of communication, if there is a clear net
