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Introduction
In the middle of the
15th century , Byzantium was nearing its end .
The Eastern part of the
Roman Empire vanished , but the Church remained , and
its creative art kept shining .
Under Ottoman rule
, iconography reached its ultimate point .
The disparate schools of
iconography thrived and united .
Greek , Serb , Bulgarian
and Syrian iconographers all seemed to engage in the
same activity .
Local workshops
contributed to this movement , adopting a common
language characterized by their own many colored
patterns .
Always open to the
invisible , the icon celebrates holiness in lines and
color , and reveals " the dwelling of God within men " (
Rev. 21:3 ) .
In Antioch m a thriving
icon production continued that of the Greco – Balkan
world .
An Aleppan workshop
seems to have constituted the focal point of this
activity under the leadership of Yussef Al Musawir .
An incomparable painter
, Yussef founded a dynasty of iconographers from the
father to great grand child : Yussef , Nehmat-Allah ,
Hannania and Gergis .
The evolution of
this production from one generation to the next
perfectly reflects that of the icon in modern times .
Thus , the production of
Yussef 's work unfolds in perfect fidelity to the Greek
tradition .
The work of
Nehmat-Allah comes more original , constantly renewing
its plastic treatment .
The pre-set
prototypes are enriched with new anecdotal details .
Masterpieces of
Syro-Christian art , Aleppan icons stand honorably in
the history of post-Byzantine art .
Far from being a vague
memory of a saturated production , they reveal truthful
and innovative creativity , extending and vivifying the
inherited tradition .
It is inevitable to
mention the many iconographers that Homs city procreated
them too .
Georgi Al Musawir and
Nasser Al Homsi are the most famous |
