Iconic Images: Russian icons are right where they belong at NOMA

Doug MacCash By Doug MacCash The Times-Picayune

Doug MacCash

Art critic

Don't tell the American Civil Liberties Union, but the Slidell City Court isn't the only civic institution where you can view a Russian religious icon.

The New Orleans Museum of Art's current exhibit "Windows of Heaven" might not have the controversial cachet of Slidell's 16th-century portrait of Christ bearing the words "To Know Peace, Obey These Laws." But in every other way, it's probably the better bet for art viewing.

What the NOMA exhibit lacks as a First Amendment lightning rod, it makes up for in sheer volume and authenticity. By all accounts, Slidell City Hall has only one icon and it's a reproduction at that. The museum has amassed 100 -- and they're real, dating from the 1500s to the 1900s.

Most of the NOMA icon collection is on loan from Daniel R. Bibb, an Atlanta-based art researcher (you've bought a painting and need to know more about it, he finds out for you), who's been collecting icons since a friend gave him one as a birthday present 30 years ago.

Russian icons generally are small paintings of the savior and the saints, rendered in a stiff, playing card style and often encased in a golden jacket to protect the surface from the ritualistic touching and kissing given the icons in churches and home shrines.

They vary in sophistication from the fine craftsmanship of the Christ Pantocrator made by the Sazikov jewelry workshop -- a Faberge rival -- to the charmingly rustic The Baptism of Christ by an unknown monk. Bibb loves them equally, citing the "good simple lines" that they all share.

The communists frowned on religion, so for decades icons were more revered in the west than in mother Russia. Bibb said that many were destroyed, many allowed to deteriorate and some recycled for their raw materials. Russia, he said, is a hot market for icons now, as the people attempt to reconstruct their history.

Bibb said he's found icons everywhere from yard sales to high-end auction houses. He once rescued a broken icon from a flea market trashcan. He calls icons "a wonderful playground" of styles, blending Byzantine, European and pure Russian influences.

"When you're standing in front of an icon for whatever reason you're standing in front of an icon, you get such a visual impact it can't help but stir your imagination," he said.

A Roman Catholic, Bibb said he was drawn to the paintings first for their appearance. But as he described the role of icons in the Russian orthodox faith, he didn't sound entirely immune to their metaphysical properties.

"Icons are like visual prayers," he said. "When they're in a church setting, they're windows to the presence of God. They have a distinct purpose: To teach, inspire, invite veneration and invite a mystical experience."


Russian Ikons From the Collection

of Daniel R. Bibb and the

New Orleans Museum of Art

What: An exhibit of 16th- to 20th-century Russian religious paintings.

Where: The New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park.

When: Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Aug. 26.

Admission: Louisiana residents free. Non-residents: adults, $7; seniors, $6; children (3 to 17), $3; younger than 3, free, (504) 658-4100.

Lecture: John Webster Keefe, NOMA's curator of the decorative arts, will discuss "Collecting the Devotional, Connecting the Spiritual: Ikons as Windows of Heaven" July 22 at 2 p.m.