Special to The Message
Iconographer Marek Czarnecki will present a virtual lecture on April 19 at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad.
His lecture, “Mary, the Mother of God in Icons: From the Catacombs to Today,” will be livestreamed beginning at 6:30 p.m. Central Time.
The public is welcome to join the lecture at this link: https://www.saintmeinrad.edu/events?item=11925. You can also view the livestream on Saint Meinrad’s YouTube channel, Twitter or Facebook page, as well as the Saint Meinrad Graduate Theology Facebook page.
About Marian icons
Scholars have classified over 600 distinct prototypes for icons of the Mother of God. How can this multiplicity point to only one source, the first-century Miryam of Nazareth? The first Christians responded to her intuitively with the earliest catacomb frescoes. The earliest Church validated her importance in biographical icons narrating her participation in the life of Christ.
Icons representing her solely with the Christ Child expressed formal Marian dogma, beginning with her first title as “Mother of God.” As an intercessor, her icons catalogued every possible human need. Other icons commemorated the sites of miracles or apparitions, while new prototypes continue to be revealed and painted into the present.
About Czarnecki
An iconographer and artist, Czarnecki teaches and writes icons out of his liturgical arts studio, Seraphic Restorations, in Meriden, CT. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1987 from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and has exhibited his work in many American and European cities.
Czarnecki is coming to Saint Meinrad as part of a grant-funded project to create six icons for a moveable iconostasis for the seminary chapel. An iconostasis is a screen of religious paintings that separates the nave from the sanctuary in a church. During his time at Saint Meinrad as an artist-in-residence, he will give lectures on topics related to his work.
Among the honors Czarnecki has received is the National Council for Polish Culture’s Jan de Rosen Artistic Achievement Award. In 2000, he was awarded the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Award, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, to study under master iconographer Ksenia Pokrovsky. Twice he was awarded the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Painting Fellowship.
His work can be seen at the Franciscan University of Steubenville; the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, Illinois; and at Yale University’s St. Thomas More Chapel.
The program is made possible through a Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.
The lecture also will be recorded and made available for later viewing by those who cannot join the live event. For more information, call Mary Jeanne Schumacher at (812) 357-6501 during business hours.