Presentation of a hagiography lesson from the seminar of professor Konstantinos Xenopoulos step by step.
The piece of art is the face of the Virgin of Gorgoepikos with the Athonite style. Mr. Xenopoulos teaches next to the student carries out a work so as to understand the whole process of style at each stage.
Step 1: The hagiography motif.
Initially, students have to draw down the pattern on the wood.
The students only plan the basics. Mostly the outlines of the clothes. As for the face and there, only the basic lines are necessary. They do not need any more because they will still be covered with color.
Step 2: Face preformation.
First of all, in the icon to be hagiographed students must paint the background and then start with the theme they have chosen.
Background: 1 part white + 1/4 ocher.
Face preform: 1 part ocher + 1/4 white +1/5 red + black (very little).
Step 3: The first writing of the face
- A facial writing: reddish red + green (little).
This color must be very waterless, which means it has a lot of egg. No water added! Students make the color and then take a touch of it next to it and add a lot of egg to become waterless. This is because the color should not be too intense when we make the first writing.Step 4: The preforms of the garments.
- Cloak preform: 1 part red-red + 1/5 black.
Cotton and facial dressing: 1 part cobalt + 1/2 green + black (very little).
Syriac pruning: 1 part ocher + 1/4 cinnabar + white (little).
And here the colors go through at least 2 times until all the gaps and the lines of our original design are covered.Step 5: The first writing of the mantle.
- A cloth writing: 1 part coarse red + 1/2 black.
There is no three-dimensional hagiography. The folds do not declare any dimension, they simply allow the inner light to come out.Step 6: Sweetness.
- Sweetness: 1 part white + 1/4 cobalt + ocher.
Sweetness is used to make the transition of colors smoother. Without it, the difference between the prelude and the enlightenment that would follow would seem very intense. It makes the result look more natural.7th Step: First Lighting & First Writing by Syriacs and Fairies.
- A lining: 1 part cinnabar + 1/2 reddish red.
Writing syringes: 1 part cinnabar + 1/2 reddish (waterless).
A Chime and fawn: 1 part cobalt + 1/2 green + black (very little).
8th Step: The second lighting of the cloth & the second enlightenment and the writing.
- Clothe engraving: cinnabar (only).
- 9th Step: The golden line, the first facial enlightenment & the second writing of the clothes.
- Goldfinich: 1 part white + 1/3 yellow + 1/4 ocher.
A face lightening: 1 ocher + 1/2 white + cinnabar (very little).
B ‘writing for clothes: coarse red + black (in equal quantity).Goldfinch is a complex word. It comes from the words gold + chord. We use it instead of lighting to emphasize the points we want.
Step 10: The second facial enlightenment.
- B face enlightenment: A face-light + white.
In the lighting lines what we want is the next one to be lighter than the previous one.The question arises if the student is able to «read» these different levels on a finished project. It depends on several factors. He must definitely have some experience. Seminar students who have been involved with this technique can certainly read them because they know the steps taken. Even if the style taught is different, they will still be able to distinguish them because they know the process of completing a hagiography. There are, of course, easier and more challenging styles, but some steps are basic and simply vary in color handling.
11th Step: The Third Enlightenment of the Virgin’s Face.
- C face lightening: Face B + white.
In order to prevent the result from getting rough, the touches in the lighting should be as fine as possible. That’s where all the difficulty is. In the center, on the cheek, there must be more coverage, almost not showing the previous color, but as we go out, the lines have to be thinner and much more worked. The same applies to all points that are illuminated.12th Step: The second writing of the Virgin Mary’s face, the reddish, the nibs and the stars.
- B ‘face writing: 1 part red + green (little) + black (very little)
Reddish: cinnabar + yellow + white (waterless)
Snips: White (only)
Sagittarians: the same color as the golden beads
Reddish only on the lips of Our Lady.
13ο Βήμα: Τα γράμματα.
- Step 13: Letters.
Letters: reddish colour (only).
It is difficult to say clearly which brushes are used because it depends on the student. One can work as well as a larger brush, while someone else does not. In general, however, a large brush with a minimum of 6 and above is required for preforms. For clothes, numbers 2 and 1 are needed, while numbers 1 and 0 for the person.
Κωνσταντινος Ξενοπουλος 