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Introduction to the Icon
The Iconographer
The iconographer who wrote this icon is called Isaac Fanous, a groundbreaking artist who is also the leading contemporary Coptic iconographer. He was born in al-Minya Egypt and attended the faculty of Applied Arts in what is now HelwanUniversity in 1941. After this, Fanous obtained teaching certification in 1943 before going on to become one of the first students at Cairo’s Institute for Coptic Studies, a centre for instruction in Coptic art, music and religion, from which he obtained his doctorate in 1948. At this time Fanous focused his studies on the ancient Egyptian origins of Coptic art. During the 1960s, Fanous was able to receive funding to studying in France at the Louvre, then studied icon painting under Léonid Ouspensky, who had profound devlepment on Fanous’ theological and artistic develpoment. Ouspensky believed that in iconography the treatment of a subject is never arbitrary and therefore should always reflect some consciousness of dogmatic meaning or a focus on the spiritual reality of the transfigured state of man.[1] Ouspensky’s strong sense of theological inquiry into Christian iconography provoked Fanous to re-examine is views about religion and Coptic art, initiating a journey that would allow him to develop into a well regarded theologian and iconographer. Eventually, Fanous became the chair for Coptic Art at the Institute for Coptic Studies in Cairo. Fanous died on January 14, 2007 at the age of 87. He is regarded as the founder of modern Coptic art.[2]
The Icon’s Production
This icon written by Fanous is part of the contemporary or neo-Coptic school of iconography. Because his work was very innovative and has been subsequently imitated, Fanous is considered to be the father of this school of iconography, which is rooted both in historical ancient Egyptian art and Coptic iconography, as well as modern artistic trends such as Russian symbolism, learned from Ouspensky, and later cubism and impressionism. However, it should be emphasized that Ouspensky’s influence was hardly a modernistic influence, as Ouspensky always maintained the very traditional view that icons should depict the prototype of the person represented and not the imagination of the painter.[3]Fanous’ own view of iconography can be summarized by the following quote taken from him, “We live in eternity and we have to dig into our heritage.” Clearly, Fanous’ sense of iconography combined a contemplative outlook with a keen awareness of the history of the Coptic iconographic tradition. The subject and themes found in this icon were favourites of Fanous, as he painted several versions of this icon during his lifetime. As well, his students have since continued writing icons following his theological and artistic approach, following in his footsteps, even reproducing this image often with slight stylistic or thematic alterations.[4]
Description of the Icon
Writing
The following text is written on this icon (transcribed): “Piapostolos – piagios – Markos”
At first glance, it seems that the iconographer decorated the icon using Greek characters, seemingly from the Byzantine period. However, there are several letters, the M, S and A, which are not characteristic Byzantine Greek forms. These letters are in fact standard forms of the letters from the Coptic alphabet, which was itself adapted from the Byzantine Greek alphabet.[5] Another question then arises, what precisely does this text say? The Coptic suffix PI, derived from PAI, is the demonstrative pronoun ‘this’, serving in this case as an article.[6] The terms APOSTOLOS, meaning apostle, and AGIOS, meaning holy or saint, are both of Greek origin, whereas MARKOS simply identifies the name of the saint, who is Saint Mark. Therefore, the best English rendition of this text is “The apostle – saint – Mark.” It should be noted that the use of Greek words such as apostolos or agios is in no way surprising as Greek is an integral part of the Coptic language and tradition, which is largely based on heavily Hellenized liturgical and patristic texts.[7]One may wonder why Saint Mark the Evangelist is called Mark the Apostle, though considering the importance of this saint in the Coptic tradition, which regards him as the evangelist of Egypt and the first bishop of Alexandria, it is understandable.[8]For Coptic Christians Saint Mark is known as the Apostle of the Egyptians.
Saint Mark
The central image of this icon is the image of the saint, who is Saint Mark. Upon examination of the figure of Saint Mark, one notices several things, his youthful bearded face and brown hair, his long white robe with very long opening to his sleeves, his red tunic or shoal which he has draped over his left arm, his two sandals which he wears on his bare feet and finally the halo which is behind his head. Each of these elements in the image of Saint Mark has some symbolic importance and tell us something of who the saint is.
The face of Saint Mark in this icon is noteworthy in that it is very Christ-like and it does not exhibit any particularities. Just as in many depictions of Christ, Saint Mark is shown as a younger man, in the prime of his life, with a youthful face and brown hair. It is not clear from his the hagiographical sources for the life of Saint Mark how old he was when he died, though it is more likely that Fanous’ rendition of Saint Mark is not primarily concerned with historical accuracy.[9] It is possible that the image of the beard may represent a sense of wisdom. Yet, when one looks at the face of Saint Mark without reading what is written on the icon or looking at the form of the halo, one is tempted to identify the figure as Jesus Christ. Since thisbearded face of a younger man is so much like that of Christ that one may say that perhaps that is precisely what the icon is trying to say, that Saint Mark is Christ like.
The clothing worn by Saint Mark tell us much about the saint. The white robe which he wears is in the form of a dalmatic, a liturgical vestment with long sleeves worn by deacons. One may think of Biblical passages which talk about how saints will be dressed in white in paradise, just as from this quote from Christ from the Book of Revelation: “The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and of his angels” (Rev. 3:5).This vestment, being white is a sign of the saints purity and holiness and in being a liturgical vestment echoes something of Christian joy and hope for salvation. The red shoal or tunic which covers the dalmatic is also significant in that red is the colour of blood and as such is a symbol for a martyred saint. The red represents that fact that Saint Mark was martyred for the faith. In the accounts of his martyrdom, he, like Christ, shed his blood before finally being put to death.[10]As well, the sandals worn by the saint are a very biblical and apostolic example of footwear (Matthew 3:11) and show illusions to Saint Mark’s missionary activity and spirit (Matthew 10:14). The clothing of Saint Mark tell us that he is an apostle, that he is a martyr and that he is a saint in heaven.
Finally, Saint Mark’s halo is a standard symbol in Christian iconography intended to show that this is a holy man. In fact, from the halo, one can easily tell that in spite of the similarities between the face of the saint to that of Christ, this is not Christ. In eastern iconography, the halo of Christ has a cross behind it with the writing of “o on” an indication of Christ’s divinity on the cross. The circular image of the halo, which is behind Saint Mark, imitates the shape and colour of the sun. In doing so, the gold colour radiates divinity. As well, the saint’s gaze shows that he is in heaven, beholding God as he is: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him s he is” (1 John 2:2).
The Book
The book being held by Saint Mark should represent the gospel, written by the Evangelist, that is to say the Gospel according to Mark. One strange element in the depiction of this book is that there is a large golden cross on top of the cover of the book. As has already been said, the colour gold is a colour representing sanctity. The cross however is a clear symbol of discipleship: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Why then is there a large cross a top of the gospel? Saint Mark, being a faithful disciple of Christ wrote the gospel, then bore his own cross leading to his own martyrdom. The icon connects the Gospel of Saint Mark to his own cross. This shows us something clear about the life and the ministry of the saint, who was a martyr and evangelist.
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse in the distance is the Pharos or Lighthouse of Alexandria a symbol of that city and one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The three level depiction of the Lighthouse roughly follows a reconstruction of it drawn in 1909 by a German historian named Herman Thiersch. This reconstruction was based on ancient mosaics and depictions of the Lighthouse of Alexandria found in places such as Venice, Libya and Jordan. One, however, could easily assume that the three levels and three windows or entryways at the base of the structure have Trinitarian and hence Christian symbolic meaning. Though the three level form of the Lighthouse may or may not correspond to the historical reality, it is impossible to know as the building no longer exists.[11]However, Fanous’ addition of a cross a top the Lighthouse does have important symbolic importance. It is a symbol not simply of the city of Alexandria but of Christian Alexandria.
What is the connection though between Saint Mark and the lighthouse of Alexandria? Ancient Christian tradition says that Saint Mark, being an assistant to Saint Peter, went to Rome with Saint Peter, then was sent by the Apostle Peter to go and evangelize the city of Alexandria in Egypt. After that, Mark became the first bishop of the city of Alexandria and then was martyred and buried in that city.[12] This being a Coptic icon, it shows the connection between Saint Mark and the city of Alexandria, the see of Saint Mark and also the see of the Coptic Patriarch or Pope. The lighthouse itself has the significance of a place from which light is shed, or in the spiritual sense a place from which one can see the glory of God: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket, it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all the house. Just so, your light must shine forth before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mathew 5:14-16). Saint Mark shone his light upon Alexandria just as the Pharos or Lighthouse of Alexandria once did.
The Ship
The image of the ship in this icon is interesting for several reasons, that the decoration on its sail, the direction in which it is sailing, and its three dimensionality. First of all, the decoration on the sail is a clear anachronism, ships at the time of Saint Mark did not sail with crosses on their sails. Why then is this ship decorated with a cross? The ship is sailing West away from the lighthouse of Alexandria and therefore could possibly be the ship representing the Venetian operation to steal the relics of Saint Mark from Alexandria.[13] Though, the form of the cross on the sail is that of the Coptic Cross, which can be found throughout Coptic churches and Coptic artwork, making it unlikely that a Coptic cross would be given to the Venetians. The ship therefore, may represent the voyage of Saint Markto Egypt. However, judging that this icon is contemporary and Fanous lived for sometime as part of the Coptic community outside of Egypt, the ship may also represent the contemporary expansion of the Coptic Church beyond the limits of Egypt. Regardless, the presence of a Coptic Cross upon the sail of the ship tells us that this is a Coptic Christian ship, a symbol linking us to the Coptic Christian Church of Egypt.
The Lion
A lion traditionally has been the symbol for Saint Mark the Evangelist. The tradition of the symbolism for the four evangelists is rooted in the description of the four faces of the four cherubim in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel. “Their faces were like this: each of the four had the face of a man, but on the right side was the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox, and finally each had the face of an eagle.” (Ezekiel 1:10) Saint Mark the Evangelist was given the image of the lion because his gospel begins with the cry in the wilderness. “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’ John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:2-4)
Deeper than this simple association of Saint Mark as an evangelist, writer of the Gospel of Mark, with a lion, there are other traditions linking this saint to lions. For instance, in the Coptic Doxology of Saint Mark, a Lion in mentioned in the following way: “Markos… when the lions attacked you and your father prayed and so immediately they died Markos…”[14]In this case, the lion signifies the saint’s triumph overperilous danger, adversity and ultimately persecution. In fact, strong echoes between the life of saint Mark as recorded by later hagiographers and the life of the Old Testament prophet Daniel, who with God’s help survived being thrown into a lion’s den. (Daniel 6:17-23) Therefore, the image of the lion serves two functions, one simply to identify the saint, as an evangelist, while the other shows the saint to be triumphant and courageous in face of difficulties and persecution.
The Tree
To the right of Saint Mark, in the soil, is the representation of a small pointed tree, bearing seven pieces of red fruit. The image of the tree is very important to Christian symbolism and has deep roots, going back to the beginning chapters of the book of Genesis: “Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” (Genesis 2:9) It is less likely that the image of the saint is linked to the tree of good and evil and the fall of man, as there is no allusion to temptation or other elements of the story of Adam and Eve in this icon. A healthy tree of this sort in Christian iconography tends to be a symbol of life an hope.[15] Probably, this tree is an image of the tree of life mentioned in Genesis and mentioned yet again in the Book of Revelation: “To the victor I will give right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God.” (Revelation 2:7) Saint Mark, clearly identified as a saint in heaven, through his clothing, gaze and hale, is the victor who has eaten from the tree of life. He is also the Evangelist bringing the good news to the land of Egypt.
The Fruit
If the tree in the icon is the tree of life, than the seven pieces of red fruit on this tree are the life giving fruit. The number seven is significant in that it is the number of the seven virtues, being the tree theological virtues and the four cardinal virtues. One question that may be asked is why red fruit? This fruit may be a red apple, though that image would be better suited to an image of temptation and the tree of good and evil. More likely, this fruit is a pomegranate, a red fruit which traditionally has the symbolism of the church, fertility and the hope of immortality and resurrection.[16]The image of red pomegranates having such connotations comes from the Song of Songs in the Old Testaments: “You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride, an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed. You are a park that puts forth pomegranates, with all choice fruits.” (Song of Songs 4:12-13). The images of fruit in the Song of Songs in particular have been understood allegorically in the Christian tradition to refer to Christ’s love for his Church and the mystical union with God.[17] Saint Mark is in the presence of God, in the presence of the tree of life and the life giving fruit, divine love, which can be found on it.
The Path
Why is Saint Mark standing on a path, where is it coming from and where is it going? These are interesting questions though not all are easy to answer. From the perspective we have, the saint’s body blocks the path behind him and it leads directly to the viewer. There is a message here, that there is a path leading from Saint Mark to us, the viewers. One could suppose that since he was an Evangelist, this could be an illusion to the Gospel of Mark or perhaps his life could be an example of Christian virtue. Both interpretations may have some truth in them. We mustn’t forget however that in the Christian tradition, the path to life is Christ, therefore Saint Mark is showing us Christ and bring us to Christ: “Jesus said to him ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Clearly then, this path is hardly a simple trail near Alexandria, it is a sign of the Christian faith and vocation.