Theotokos of Unburnt Bush 1850

This icon, Theotokos of the Unburnt Bush, created by Orthodox Icons, uses traditional techniques of egg tempera on a wooden panel. Egg tempera involves mixing ground pigments with egg yolk, a technique going back millennia. The artist would have painstakingly prepared the ground, applying gesso in layers and polishing it to a smooth finish before painting. Each color is built up with thin, translucent glazes, allowing light to reflect from the gesso ground, resulting in an intense luminosity. The icon's power emerges from its meticulous handcrafting. Unlike mass-produced images, the making of an icon is seen as devotional labor, imbued with spiritual significance at every stage of production. The materials themselves contribute to this effect: the warm, organic texture of the egg tempera, the solid support of the wood. Ultimately, understanding the icon as a made object invites us to look beyond the image itself and appreciate the tradition of skilled labor that gives it its enduring resonance.