Medieval Portrait Paintings

Panagia Paramythia (Mother of Consolation) Artist: Oliver Samsinger. Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24‑karat gold leaf. Dimensions: 37 × 31 × 2.5 cm. Description of...

Christ Pantocrator after a Russian icon of the 15th Century. Tempera and gold leaf on gesso over a wooden board. Measurements in centimeters: 38 x 29.5 x 3 cm. / In inches: 14.96 x 11.8 x 1.18 " This is how the artist sums up the technique used by him to create the icon: “The aim of these steps is to create a durable painting. The icon is eternal. The first step is to choose a support, traditionally made of wood, from the center of the trunk to avoid warping it. For this purpose, two hardwood bolts were often used on the back to give the picture panel additional stability. Often a frame is milled out. Then the image carrier is sanded smooth and now 12 or 14 thin layers of gesso are applied and sanded smooth as well. Then the preliminary drawing is applied and the drawing board is prepared with a special preparation called bolus. This bolus can be polished to a high gloss. Afterwards, the gold leaf is "shot" with special brushes. It dries up within a few hours and can now be polished with agate. Gold leaf is real 24-carat gold. Now does the actual process of painting begins. Egg tempera is made fresh from egg yolk, water, and a little vinegar. This is used to prepare the color pigments. Tempera painting is done in numerous layers from dark to light. When the icon is finished, it is left to dry for a few months and varnished with a special varnish called Olifa made from boiled linseed oil and other ingredients”. ABOUT THE ARTIST Oliver Samsinger (Vienna, 1968) began to take an interest in icons in 1990. He undertakes several trips to Bulgaria, Greece, and Cyprus to see in situ the original works treasured in these three countries. This experience will be crucial in his life since the studies carried out in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, and his stay on Mount Athos...

Virgin of the Sign (Orans), with the Christ Child Emmanuel and Cherubim Artist: Oliver Samsinger Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24-karat gold leaf application. Dimens...

Archangel Saint Michael after an icon from Constantinople of the 14th Century. Artist: Oliver Samsinger Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with application of gold leaf Dimens...

Christ Pantocrator (Closed Book) – Byzantine Icon, Egg Tempera & 24K Gold Artist: Oliver Samsinger. Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24‑karat gold leaf. Dimensions: 43...

The Virgin of Kataphyge with Saint John the Evangelist, after a Bulgarian Byzantine icon of the 14th Century. Egg tempera and gold leaf on gesso and wood. Author: Oliver Samsinger...

Icono of Saint Nicolas in the style of Russian icons of the 18th century. Egg tempera and gesso on wood, covered by a metal oklad made by the artist himself. The oklad, in principle, were made to cover damaged parts of highly revered ancient icons...

The Archangel Michael (after the one by Rubliev in the Tretyakov Gallery-Moscow). This icon is an original work by the Viennese iconographer Oliver Samsinger. According to the artis...

Christ, the Great High Priest. Greek-Italian style Icon with silver filigreed oklad. Egg tempera, over gesso on wood with a silver cover, "oklad", with pol...

The Evangelist Mathew after a Russian Icon. School of Moscow, 15th century. Egg tempera, gold leaf, and gesso, over a wooden board. Dimensions: (H) 52 x (W) 36 x (D) 3 cm. Saint Matthew, the Evangelist, is represented at his own desk, a true artisan laboratory. THE THECHNIQUE This is how the artist sums up the technique used by him to create the icon: “The aim of these steps is to create a durable painting. The icon is eternal. The first step is to choose a support, traditionally made of wood, from the center of the trunk to avoid warping it. For this purpose, two hardwood bolts were often used on the back to give the picture panel additional stability. Often a frame is milled out. Then the image carrier is sanded smooth and now 12 or 14 thin layers of gesso are applied and sanded smooth as well. Then the preliminary drawing is applied and the drawing board is prepared with a special preparation called bolus. This bolus can be polished to a high gloss. Afterwards, the gold leaf is "shot" with special brushes. It dries up within a few hours and can now be polished with an agate. Gold leaf is real 24 carat gold . Now does the actual process of painting begin. Egg tempera is made fresh from egg yolk, water and a little vinegar. This is used to prepare the color pigments. Tempera painting is done in numerous layers from dark to light. When the icon is finished, it is left to dry for a few months and varnished with a special varnish called Olifa made from boiled linseed oil and other ingredients”. ABOUT THE ARTIST Oliver Samsinger...

"The Archangel Gabriel", after a 10th‑century icon from the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos Artist: Oliver Samsinger. Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with gold leaf appli...

Christ Pantocrator (Open Book) Artist: Oliver Samsinger. Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24‑karat gold leaf. Dimensions: 43 × 29 × 3.5 cm. Description of the Work Th...

Virgin of Tijvin, after a Russian icon of the 17th century. Egg tempera, gold leaf on gesso over a wooden board. Measurements in centimeters: 44 x 33 x 3 cm / In inches: 17.32 x 12.99 x 1.18 " Author: Oliver Samsinger...

Icon of Our Lady of Jerusalem. Egg tempera on gesso and over a wooden board. Dimensions in centimeters: 42 x 34 x 2 cm / In inches: 16.54 x 13-39 x 0-79 " Author: Oliver Samsinger...

Christ Crucified (Christus Patiens) with God the Father, the Virgin and St. John In the manner of 14th century Tuscan painting Tempera on panel Height: 150 cm Width: 99 cm Perform...

Christ with the Angry Gaze (The Savior of the Burning Gaze), after a Russian icon from the mid-17th century Artist: Oliver Samsinger Technique: Egg tempera on gesso and wood, with 24...

Scandinavian Family Portrait Artist 18th century 18th Century Scandinavian School Signature: Not signed Medium: Miniature Dimensions: Image size ...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compositions, or tondos. These tondos float amongst abstract discs, set within fields of lustrous, gold leaf. The Madonnas predominate before a variety of backgrounds, which were traditionally innocuous. Greenfield, however, presents these backdrops as various revenge fantasies, where white supremacists are cast in the role of victims, suffering the fates...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compositions, or tondos. These tondos float amongst abstract discs, set within fields of lustrous, gold leaf. The Madonnas predominate before a variety of backgrounds, which were traditionally innocuous. Greenfield, however, presents these backdrops as various revenge fantasies, where white supremacists are cast in the role of victims, suffering the fates...

Saint John, The Forerunner, after a Russian Icon from the 16th Century. Tempera and gold leave on gesso over a wooden board. Dimensions: (H) 33 x (W) 25,5 x (D) 4 cm. Photos are included with the icon exposed to very different lighting, but all of them are natural. John, The Forerunner, is depicted as an ascetic desert saint with a tousled beard and a coat made from camel hair. The expression that transmits his beautiful face is very intense. This is how the artist sums up the technique used by him to create the icon: “The aim of these steps is to create a durable painting. The icon is eternal. The first step is to choose a support, traditionally made of wood, from the center of the trunk to avoid warping it. For this purpose, two hardwood bolts were often used on the back to give the picture panel additional stability. Often a frame is milled out. Then the image carrier is sanded smooth and now 12 or 14 thin layers of gesso are applied and sanded smooth as well. Then the preliminary drawing is applied and the drawing board is prepared with a special preparation called bolus. This bolus can be polished to a high gloss. Afterward, the gold leaf is "shot" with special brushes. It dries up within a few hours and can now be polished with agate. Gold leaf is real 24-carat gold . Now does the actual process of painting begins. Egg tempera is made fresh from egg yolk, water, and a little vinegar. This is used to prepare the color pigments. Tempera painting is done in numerous layers from dark to light. When the icon is finished, it is left to dry for a few months and varnished with a special varnish called Olifa made from boiled linseed oil and other ingredients”. ABOUT THE ARTIST Oliver Samsinger...

Italian painting of Alphonsus Liguori in French Neo-Gothic Frame Italian and French, Late 18th and 19th Century Frame: Height 61cm, width 39cm, depth 6cm Panel: Height 28cm, width 22...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compo...

Icon of THE KORSUN VIRGIN (KORSUNSKAYA), egg tempera, and gold leave on gesso, over a piece of wood. Dimensions: (H) 26.5 x (W) 23.5 x (D) 3 cm. Also called The Holy Virgin of Tenderness, represents the Mother of God and infant Christ in a tender cheek-to-cheek embrace. The Virgin's hands tenderly surround the head and hands of the Child Jesus while he takes the cloak of the Mother of God with his left hand and plays with the fingers of his right hand, between his mother's neck and his own. Two very old icons, from the 12th and 13th Centuries, painted on the same theme, are respectively in the Uspenskii Cathedral in Moscow and in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. This is how the artist sums up the technique used by him to create the icon: “The aim of these steps is to create a durable painting. The icon is eternal. The first step is to choose a support, traditionally made of wood, from the center of the trunk to avoid warping it. For this purpose, two hardwood bolts were often used on the back to give the picture panel additional stability. Often a frame is milled out. Then the image carrier is sanded smooth and now 12 or 14 thin layers of gesso are applied and sanded smooth as well. Then the preliminary drawing is applied and the drawing board is prepared with a special preparation called bolus. This bolus can be polished to a high gloss. Afterward, the gold leaf is "shot" with special brushes. It dries up within a few hours and can now be polished with agate. Gold leaf is real 24-carat gold. Now, the actual process of painting begins. Egg tempera is made fresh from egg yolk, water and a little vinegar. This is used to prepare the color pigments. Tempera painting is done in numerous layers from dark to light. When the icon is finished, it is left to dry for a few months and varnished with a special varnish called Olifa made from boiled linseed oil and other ingredients”. ABOUT THE ARTIST Oliver Samsinger...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compositions, or tondos. These tondos float amongst abstract discs, set within fields of lustrous, gold leaf. The Madonnas predominate before a variety of backgrounds, which were traditionally innocuous. Greenfield, however, presents these backdrops as various revenge fantasies, where white supremacists are cast in the role of victims, suffering the fates...

The Virgin of Tijvin (after a Russian icon in the style of the 18th Century). Egg tempera and gold leaf on gesso over wood. Measurements in centimeters: 45 x 36.5 x 3 cm / In inch...

One of the three biblical ‘magi’ or ‘wise men,’ King Balthazar gave the highly prized gift of liquid myrrh to Jesus upon his birth. Balthazar was an African King...

"Christ Pantocrator". After an Icon in the style of the Moscow school (15th century). Somewhat similar to that of Rublev. Author: Oliver Samsinguer Egg tempera and gold leaf on gesso and on wood. Dimensions; (H) 42 x (W) 33.5 x (D) 3.5 cm. (H) 16.54 x (W) 13.19 x (D) 1.38 in. This is how the artist sums up the technique used by him to create the icon: “The aim of these steps is to create a durable painting. The icon is eternal. The first step is to choose a support, traditionally made of wood, from the center of the trunk to avoid warping it. For this purpose, two hardwood bolts were often used on the back to give the picture panel additional stability. Often a frame is milled out. Then the image carrier is sanded smooth and now 12 or 14 thin layers of gesso are applied and sanded smooth as well. Then the preliminary drawing is applied and the drawing board is prepared with a special preparation called bolus. This bolus can be polished to a high gloss. Afterwards, the gold leaf is "shot" with special brushes. It dries up within a few hours and can now be polished with an agate. Gold leaf is real 24-carat gold . Now, the actual process of painting begins. Egg tempera is made fresh from egg yolk, water, and a little vinegar. This is used to prepare the color pigments. Tempera painting is done in numerous layers from dark to light. When the icon is finished, it is left to dry for a few months and varnished with a special varnish called Olifa made from boiled linseed oil and other ingredients”. ABOUT THE ARTIST Oliver Samsinger...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compositions, or tondos. These tondos float amongst abstract discs, set within fields of lustrous, gold leaf. The Madonnas predominate before a variety of backgrounds, which were traditionally innocuous. Greenfield, however, presents these backdrops as various revenge fantasies, where white supremacists are cast in the role of victims, suffering the fates...

Califia (c. 1510) is the mythical Black warrior Queen and inspiring character in Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo’s 16th century epic poem, Las Sergas de Esplandián (The Adventures of Esplandian). In Montalvo’s tale, Queen Califia rules on the fabled island of California, a utopia brimming with pearls and gold and inhabited solely by her menacing army of black Amazon women...

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compo...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compo...

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of history as seen through a white lens. With Halo, Greenfield brings the stories of Black folk-saints, martyrs, freedom-fighters, survivors, magicians, and visionaries back into view. Many of the figures are from the 1400-1800s, a timeframe that corresponds with Europeans beginning to use racial distinction as a tool to justify slavery. Greenfield honors their simultaneously disturbing and astounding lives by bestowing them with halos, traditionally seen as reverential symbols of adoration and respect. “I am reimagining what a saint is,” Greenfield says. “Maybe in studying their stories, they can inform us on better ways to live.” Thought to have been a descendent of central African royalty...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compo...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compositions, or tondos. These tondos float amongst abstract discs, set within fields of lustrous, gold leaf. The Madonnas predominate before a variety of backgrounds, which were traditionally innocuous. Greenfield, however, presents these backdrops as various revenge fantasies, where white supremacists are cast in the role of victims, suffering the fates...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compositions, or tondos. These tondos float amongst abstract discs, set within fields of lustrous, gold leaf. The Madonnas predominate before a variety of backgrounds, which were traditionally innocuous. Greenfield, however, presents these backdrops as various revenge fantasies, where white supremacists are cast in the role of victims, suffering the fates...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compo...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compositions, or tondos. These tondos float amongst abstract discs, set within fields of lustrous, gold leaf. The Madonnas predominate before a variety of backgrounds, which were traditionally innocuous. Greenfield, however, presents these backdrops as various revenge fantasies, where white supremacists are cast in the role of victims, suffering the fates...

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...

Greenfield's versions are rendered in the Byzantine style of their art historical predecessors, with the black Virgin Mother and Baby Jesus as the central focus within circular compo...