WOOD AS A SUPPORT FOR CARPATHIAN ICONS FROM SOUTH-EAST POLAND

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Carpathian icons form a group of masterpieces of sacred art which can be found in Poland as well as in Slovakia, the Ukraine and Romania. The geographical name seems most appropriate because through the centuries this region belonged temporarily to different states. It is, rather, a cultural climate that defines the specificity of art created by local people. Though derived from a classical Byzantine origin, a Carpathian icon has its own form, all the more so in that it was influenced by both Russian and Western European art. Influences of the Orthodox and the Western church, too, crossed in the region of the Carpathians, which were not without an impact on the character of the art. In addition, it has many provincial elements, because the most important cultural centres were quite far away. These days a significant group of these icons is deposited in the museums of south-eastern Poland. No rigorous studies or research on their technology and technique have been completed so far. It is very difficult to state as a fact the existence of certain workshops, because the whole art is determined by local trends. Also there are not many surviving archival documents. The first signed icons appear principally not earlier than the end of the sixteenth century. Exact dating seems to be generally very difficult or almost impossible, because the technological structure and iconographic style remained unchanged through the centuries. Significant changes in the image were introduced not earlier than the seventeenth century. Wood is the basic material for icon panels. There are, however, rare examples of Carpathian icons painted on canvas or on metal plates. The main destination of these icons was to be set in the iconostasis of a wooden village church. More than 40 selected, dated Carpathian icons from Polish collections have undergone research and studies in relation to the following questions: