What makes an icon different from a religious picture?
If you are not sure whether you are looking at an icon or not, then these are some of the main indicators • An icon is written, not painted. The name of the person depicted must be shown alongside the image • Christ is always shown with cruciform halo, with symbols denoting his full title; He who was, who is and is to come • Our Lady is always shown with three stars on her robe, to indicate her perpetual virginity • An icon will never include profile faces; all faces of saints will be facing or half profile; (satan or Judas may be depicted in profile) • An icon may contain elongated dimensions; heads are often 1:10 body length, rather than the more realistic 1:7 • More important characters may be larger, less important characters may be smaller • An icon may depict more than one moment in time at once, to tell a story • Icons use highly stylised representations of people, to make them immediately recognisable • Icons use colour in a very symbolic way • Saints as children are depicted a
