Peeks at Heaven Exhibit of Russian Icons Is Provocative, Moving by Gary Tischler We all think we know what icons are and what they look like. They are old, Russian, Orthodox, fairly flat in their depiction of faces, and very familiar in their presentation of Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, the Crucifixion and the Nativity. We see them as works of art and collectibles, and weíd know one when we saw one. ìWindows Into Heaven: Russian Icons, 1650-1917,î now at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center through Aug. 17, will confirm everything you know about icons. It will also confound that very same knowledge and make you look at icons in a whole different light. Dating from a period that is viewed by many as a fundamentally revolutionary time that veered away from the ìoldî way and style of icons, these 88 pieces actually mix the old and the new, and the result is a phenomenally rich gathering of works that is reverent and reverential, spectacularly beautiful, and, more often than not, provocative and moving. The works come from the collection of James and Tatiana Jackson, mostly gathered from individuals and churches. One of the revealing things about these icons is not only their varie ty of styles and even subject matter, but also what the icons meant in daily life. Many if not most Russian icons came from individual families and served functional purposes in the daily lives of their owners, often being presented as gifts and used as a point of worship and adoration. In fact, it is quite possible that in this exhibition, some devout viewers might choose to kiss a particular icon. Russian icons have been around since there has been a Russian Orthodox Church, and they remained fairly unchanged in style, substance and use until the ascension of Peter the Great. Peter always looked toward the West for ideas and inspiration, and his reign sparked a renewed interest and shift in the way icons were made and how they were seen. A Western influence began to fall over the creation of Russiaís icons, which retained their powerfully mysterious aura while at the same time gained a more realistic and romantic look. In content, the icons depicted here focus heavily on portraits of Mary and Jesus, mother and child, as well as the larger Nativity, a variety of saints from both Christian and Russian stories, and John the Baptist, including a startling, three-dimensional offering called ìThe Honorable Head of Holy John the Forerunnerî dating from 1790. ìWindows Into Heavenî features the kind of realism that was not part of the more traditional method of creating icons. The oldest icon in the exhibition, ìThe Tikhvin Mother of God,î dating back to 1660, is also one of the most beautiful. The original was supposed to have been painted by St. Luke himself, and after a series of mysterious and miraculous travels, it came to rest in Tikhvin in 1520. Gently moving, it also marks a unique departure from previous icon portraits: It includes a tear duct. This kind of attention to detail can be seen in many of the icons, including a portrait of a child Jesus, in which every single hair is hand painted. Mother-and-child icons of Jesus and Mary were often used as gifts upon the birth of a child. In fact, many of the icons figured strongly into the lives of their creators and owners, with family members often accumulating a number of icons throughout their lives. Most of the creatorsósometimes called ìwritersî in Russianówere anonymous, and yet, the icons emerged from every strata of society, some of them tender and charming examples of folk art, such as ìThe Good Shepherd,î a 19th-century example of an oil-on-wood panel usually associated with peasant icons. Another work, the ìSacred Heartî of Jesus, has in addition to its strong Catholic symbol, a remarkably whimsical feel to it in the expression of the lamb and in the style of the painting. Many of the icons are also spectacularly ornate, decorated with pseudo silver and gold that covers everything but the faces and flesh. The makers of the icons never announced themselves as artists. Their creations were acts of adoration, of thanks almost, and the icons were made for the purposes of worship and holy reverence. Whatever the styleóWestern or Easternóthe devotion and love that it took to construct these works dominate the talents of their creators. Although most of the icons can stand on their own in any frame of reference as art, their function is grander than that. In this way, they differ from the spectacular Western religious art of medieval and Renaissance periods, which could only be housed in cathedrals and museums. These icons, however, have a place in the cathedral of the heart. ìWindows Into Heaven: Russian Icons, 1650-1917î runs through Aug. 17 at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, 3900 Harewood Road, NE. For more information, please call (202) 635-5400 or visit www.jp2cc.org. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.