I'm looking at a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I say it is an "Icon" others say I am wrong it is merely and "Image" or "Painting". Who is right?
2006-08-19 12:22:36 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Painting
An icon can be a picture, sculpture or object of veneration. For example The Virgin Mary, The Statue of Liberty.
An image is a picture, idea, or impression of a person, thing, or idea; or a mental picture of a person, thing, or idea. The word imagery refers to a group or body of related images.
Therefore, your Bessed Virgin Mary is both an icon and an image.
2006-08-20 07:52:31 · answer #1 · answered by samanthajanecaroline 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In the classic (art history) sense, an icon is a 4th to 14th century Byzantine or Greek (Christian) religious image, often very small and used as object of worship.
This term has developed into our modern (and some would say bastardised) "iconic", where the image takes on a meaning quite beyond it's visual form (mickey mouse, statue of liberty, marilyn monroe etc).
Thus the subject of a relatively modern virgin mary painting fits into the latter definition of "icon", if that is what the writer of the sentence wishes, but the painting itself (unless an incredibly famous painting) is not an icon!
2006-08-19 12:55:49 · answer #2 · answered by AzaC 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An icon has potency in its implied message...there is no room to add your point of view. The icon is an image that carries the weight of what it represents. Like the Virgin Mary. An image is the term we've applied to retinal and optical phenomena..it is what we see and is subject to personal interpretation. It is what we make it.
2006-08-19 22:00:14 · answer #3 · answered by Victor 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nobody.
I'm an icon.
You're an image.
Ok, seriously, the painting is an image, the actual woman (the virgin mary in the flesh, not the painting) is an icon.
2006-08-19 12:28:31 · answer #4 · answered by stephenalan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry bit a painting or photograph is merely an image
2006-08-19 13:51:08 · answer #5 · answered by mjdp 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this is simple,
all you have to do is to go to our almighty google.
and type in the address bar.........
" define icon " or image for that matter, or any thing you want.
2006-08-19 12:49:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both. Its just a play with semantics
2006-08-19 12:29:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋