McGhee Collection of Icons Gallery Guide

McGHEE COLLECTION OF ICONS Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma Gift of Ambassador George Crews & Cecilia DeGolyer McGhee, 1998

Unknown Greece

Raising of Lazarus 16 /17 century Tempera on panel th

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McGHEE COLLECTION OF ICONS Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma Gift of Ambassador George Crews & Cecilia DeGolyer McGhee, 1998

What is an Icon?

The original meaning of the word “icon” derives from Greek and means “image” or “representation.” Icons developed in the 4th century CE and are still used by many people today. They play a significant role in Orthodox Christianity.

Considered sacred, the icon portrays Christ, the Virgin, individual saints, or scenes from the life of Christ or the lives of saints.

According to early Christian beliefs, the icon is not a representation of a holy figure but the figure actually transformed through the act of venerating the image. The icon is believed to have the power to work miracles. In the eighth and ninth centuries CE, icons became embroiled in a religious controversy that led to the destruction of these images and even the execution of the person venerating the image.

At the heart of the controversy was the power of images: could icons be too powerful, representative of Old Testament warnings against idolatry or “graven images”? Were images of Christ, for example, idolatry because they portrayed the human nature of Christ and not his divine nature? Or were icons a prototype that allowed the religious a means of channeling their veneration? In 843, icons were reintroduced, and remain in use today, primarily in eastern and southeastern Europe.

CHRIST PANTOCRATOR Unknown Greece

Christ Pantocrator 17th/18th century Tempera on panel

Once established in the 6th century, images of Christ remain remarkably consistent in the icon tradition. The Pantocrator, or “all-sovereign,” designates the best-known type: Christ is depicted frontally as a bearded figure clad in a tunic and blue garment, blessing with his right hand and holding a Gospel book in his left. The facial features do not change but can be subtly altered to convey a more strong ascetic, merciful or judgmental impression. The image is often accompanied by the monogram IC XC, the traditional abbreviation of the Greek words for “Jesus Christ,” (“IHCOYC XPICTOC”).

Unknown Russia

Christ Pantocrator early 19th century Tempera on panel

ST. JOHN THE FORERUNNER Unknown Greece

The Birth of John the Baptist late 17th century Tempera on panel

In this image, Elizabeth, a relative of the Virgin Mary, reclines on a bed at center. The baby, John the Baptist, lies in a small cradle at her feet. Elizabeth watches her husband, Zacharis, at left, name their newborn son. The two towers in the background represent the old and New Testament, and also the synagogue and the church.

Demetrios Komikos (Attributed to) Greece

St. John the Forerunner 18th century Tempera on panel

In the Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist is referred to as St. John the Forerunner because he is the precursor to Christ, his cousin. A preacher and a hermit who lived in the desert of Judea, St. John is often depicted with wild hair, a straggly beard, and thin sandals.

In the first century, King Herod beheaded John at the request of Herod’s stepdaughter, Salome, and wife Herodias. In reference to this event in his life, St. John, in this picture, holds a platter containing his severed head.

The cross symbolizes his martyrdom, and the scroll translates, “He is the one coming,” in reference to Christ.

The wings indicate St. John’s role in prophesizing Christ’s coming—as a messenger (or forerunner) of Christ.

McGHEE COLLECTION OF ICONS Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma Gift of Ambassador George Crews & Cecilia DeGolyer McGhee, 1998

Why do icons look the way they do?

The production of icons is an exercise of faith and requires conformity to the traditional Orthodox guidelines on subject matter, form, and composition.

Individuals who paint icons are called iconographers, which means “image writer.” Unlike other European painting traditions, in which freedom of expression is encouraged, icon painting remains static because iconographers follow the rules of icon image-making, using painting materials that have been consecrated.

Icons need to be read and understood by all believers, including the illiterate.

The legibility of the icon—through clarity, repetition of standardized images, and sometimes nearly abstract forms—helps explain why the icon tradition is often referred to as “visual theology.” Monks and nuns produced the majority of icons, which were painted anonymously, although art historians have often been able to identify some artists by name.

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM & ST. BASIL THE GREAT Unknown Greece

St. John Chrysostom with Angels early 18th century Tempera on panel

“Chrysostom” means “golden mouth,” and refers to St. John Chrysostom’s renowned gift as an orator. A monk and a popular preacher in Antioch, St. John Chrysostom became bishop of Constantinople from 398-404 CE. The book that he holds symbolizes his writings, and his scepter and crown refer to his appointment as Bishop.

The use of gold in icons, as here, creates a dazzling and brilliant effect, intended to bring the viewer into the world of divine light metaphorically. Iconographers often used tools to provide texture to the gold, called punch marks.

Unknown Russia

St. Basil the Great early 19th century Tempera on panel

St. Basil the Great, identified by his long, black beard, was a fourth-century Greek bishop in modern-day Turkey. With St. John Chrysostom, seen nearby, and St. Gregory of Naziansus, he formed one of The Three Hierarchs (in the Orthodox Church) or Doctors of the Church (in Roman Catholicism), all venerated for defining Christian theology. St. Basil, in particular, established guidelines for monastic life, which focus on the community, prayer, and manual labor.

Icons are intended to be a symbolic representation rather than a true portrait of a holy figure. Thus, they are standardized images of the human figure, who is uniformly seen facing forward, in direct contact with the viewer.

ST. NICHOLAS Unknown Greece

Unknown Russia

St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas

mid-18th century Tempera on panel

early 19th century Tempera on panel

Unknown Southern Russia

St. Nicholas 18th century Tempera on panel

Unknown, Romania

St. Nicholas early 19th century Tempera on panel

These four icons represent St. Nicholas, a 4th century Christian saint and Bishop of Myra, in modern-day Turkey.

He is also known as the “Miracle Worker.” St. Nicholas is among the most popular saints within the Orthodox tradition, known for many miracles, including exorcism and healing, and as a defender of the faith. In certain countries, gifts are made in his name at Christmastime. St. Nicholas appears with a balding head and a trim round beard. His image often features small images of Christ and the Virgin, with Christ handing him a Gospel book.

Unknown Greece

Baptism of Christ (Theophany) mid-16th century Tempera on panel

In this image, Christ stands nude in the River Jordan, which is teeming with fish. John the Baptist leans over the river to baptize Christ, while four angels stand on the opposite bank and hold Christ’s robes. A personification of the sea is shown as a figure in the water at lower left. The smaller figure on the river at lower right represents the River Jordan. Above Christ’s head, the sky opens in a half circle and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove.

Theophany means “appearance of God,” and the event of Christ’s baptism marks the moment in the Gospel in which the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) revealed itself to man for the first time. Also called “the feast of lights,” the Theophany is one of the Great Feasts in the Orthodox Church.

Unknown Greece

The Presentation of Christ mid-19th century Tempera on panel

The Presentation of Christ, also called the “Hypapante,” (literally, the “meeting”), depicts Christ’s presentation in the temple during Mary’s “purification” from the legal uncleanness of the birthing process 40 days after Jesus was born. The scene takes place in the sanctuary where Simeon greets Mary, Joseph, the Christ child, and Anne the prophetess (from the Gospel of Luke). Joseph holds the traditional offering of pigeons or doves.

Unknown Greece

Raising of Lazarus 16th/17th century Tempera on panel

Deriving from the Gospel of John in the New Testament, this icon shows Christ resurrecting the shrouded Lazarus, who had died and been buried four days earlier. The corpse emerges from the tomb as a man standing near Lazarus holds his nose from the stench of death, and two other men hold his burial wrapping or attend to the lid of the sarcophagus. Mary, dressed in red, and Martha, in green, bow at Christ’s feet. The crowd in the background is representative of those who look to Christ for salvation.

THE VIRGIN Unknown Northern Greece

Virgin of Hodegetria late 18th century Tempera on panel

The composition seen here follows the format of a popular icon known as the Virgin of Hodegetria, the most widely copied of all types of the Virgin. The original was so named because it was housed from the 12th century onward in the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople.

According to popular tradition, the Evangelist Luke painted the original icon during the Virgin’s lifetime. In the image, Christ holds the scroll of the law in one hand and gives a benediction in the other.

Unknown Greece

The Virgin of Achtyrka early 19th century Tempera on panel

The Virgin of Achtyrka (Okhtyrka) is named for the city in which it first appeared, in 1739, in modernday Ukraine. The Achtyrka icon was authenticated by church fathers as a genuine miracle-working icon in 1751. The Akhtyrka icon always shows a halflength image of the Virgin with hands folded in supplication, with the crucifixion shown to her left.

Evidence of the “readability” of icons, this icon features numerous symbols that refer to biblical passages. For example, at left is the pillar or column where Jesus was whipped. The rooster on top refers to the rooster that crowed after Apostle Peter’s third denial that he had betrayed Christ. Among the symbols in the red strip at bottom are: the crown of thorns; the four nails used to anchor Christ’s hands and feet on the cross; the whip for the flagellation of Christ; the burial shroud; the hand that slapped Christ’s face; the ear of the High Priest’s servant cut off by Peter using his sword; and the hammer used for the nails.

Theodore Poulakis (Attributed to) Greece

Christ and the Magi 1640-74 Tempera on panel

This icon shows the birth of Christ, or Nativity, and the Adoration of the Magi. The three magi appear at left; Mary is at center; and the Christ child lies behind her in a manger where he is watched by an ox and a donkey, representing the Jews and pagans. (In the Orthodox Church, the magi are interpreted as symbols of the conversion of Gentiles). At left, Eve, in the Creation story from the Bible’s Book of Genesis, and Salome the midwife, perform the ritual bathing of Christ, and Joseph sits at Mary’s feet. Angels hover from above.

Unknown Greece, Ionian Islands

Virgin and Child 17th century Tempera on panel

Most Byzantine images emphasize the role of the Virgin in Christ’s incarnation and show her holding the young Christ child. The “types” of the Virgin Mary differ mainly in the way in which these two figures are shown responding to one another, whether with grave respect, mutual tenderness, or foreboding.

ST. MICHAEL

Unknown Greece St. Michael Flanked by Saints 17th century Tempera on panel

Like the folding icon shown nearby, this one would have been used for private devotion.

Saint Michael the Archangel is a holy figure in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths. Here the Christian St. Michael is an angelic warrior, clad in armor, wielding a flaming sword, and holding a globe. He defeats Satan, seen here as a winged devil, and more demonic faces appear below the cloud. The Three Cappadocian Fathers (St. Basil the Great; St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. John Chrysostom) appear in the panel at upper left; and St. George at the lower left.

ST. GEORGE Unknown Greece St. George Slaying the Dragon

Unknown Greece St. George Slaying the Dragon

early 19th century Tempera on panel

mid-18th century Tempera on panel

Unknown Greece St. George Slaying the Dragon 19th century Tempera on panel

These three icons depict St. George, a youthful warrior in elegant clothing with tightly curled hair, killing a dragon. Representative of a great force against evil, St. Michael is among the most widely portrayed saints in Byzantine art. The story of St. George slaying the dragon is a Christian retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Perseus rescuing Andromeda from a dragon, the subject of a painting hanging in the next gallery.

The small metal hands on one of these icons may be tamata, a form of Greek votive offering (ex-voto).

TREE OF LIFE & SPRING OF LIFE Unknown Greece

The Twelve Apostles with the Tree of Life and Root of Jesse 1796 Tempera on panel

The Tree of Jesse is a metaphorical image of the Genealogy of Christ, specifically his descent from the kings of Judah through his mother Mary. Christ appears at the crown, the Virgin Mary on the stem, and Jesse’s son David and his descendants on the branches. Based on the biblical books of Isaiah and Matthew, the Tree of Jesse asserts both Christ’s Incarnation and his messianic descent from the Old Testament kings.

Unknown Greece

Spring of Life early 19th century Tempera on panel

The Spring of Life, also known as the Sacred Spring, was a fountain near the Gates of Constantinople.

According to tradition, the Virgin Mary declared that its water was miraculous, and it became one of the most important pilgrimage sites of the time. In this image, the emperor, dressed in military garb and seen at the lower right, leads a blind man to the fountain. The Virgin and Christ child appear at the top of the spring. People gather around the fountain to draw water and bathe. At the lower center, a man who is possessed becomes free of his demon. The Three Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom) appear in the upper left panel, and St. George is seen on the lower left panel.

Icons play a central role in both public and private devotion. Folding panel icons, like this one, lend themselves to private devotion and form small altars in the privacy of home, or can be carried on journeys or into battles for protection.

McGHEE COLLECTION OF ICONS Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma Gift of Ambassador George Crews & Cecilia DeGolyer McGhee, 1998

Where did this collection come from?

The icons on view in this gallery date from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, and were made in Greece, Russia, Romania, and present-day Turkey.

Ambassador George Crews McGhee and his wife, Cecilia DeGolyer McGhee, gave 38 icons to OU in 1998, and, later, three more. McGhee, a 1933 graduate of OU, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and a prominent figure in the petroleum industry, served the United States in a number of posts, including ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany from 1963-68, and ambassador to Turkey, where he began collecting icons in the 1950s.

OU has received a number of gifts from the McGhees, now deceased. Mrs. McGhee’s father, Everette Lee DeGolyer, donated the nucleus of the History of Science Collection at OU, including rare volumes by Galileo, Copernicus, and Isaac Newton. Ambassador McGhee also donated his Mediterranean villa in Turkey to Georgetown University, where it houses the department of Eastern Mediterranean Studies.

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