FRANKFURT.- The exhibition IKONA. Holy Women at the Museum Angewandte Kunst is the first to be dedicated to the diversity of the historical functions, hard-won scope for action and current social significance of female saints in Orthodox Christian art.

The iconic representations show the plurality of Orthodox cultures from more than six countries spanning five centuries. They tell the stories of well-known and lesser known women from early Christian times to the late 19th century. Their stories raise questions concerning spiritual practice in the context of sacred art, as well as about the tradition of power relations, role models and how they might change. The icons were mostly created in Russia and Greece, but also in Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Egypt and Bethlehem between the late 15th and 21st century.

Exhibiting such a multifaceted spectrum of female holiness in various local traditions and different media at the Museum Angewandte Kunst is possible thanks to the unprecedented collaboration of the three largest icon museums in Western Europe in Kampen (Netherlands), Recklinghausen and Frankfurt am Main and their associated private collections.

Icons are more than just skillfully crafted images of saints, created using prescribed painting techniques that have been passed down for centuries. As a sacred medium, they unfold a special presence and impact for practicing Christians: they call the saints into their presence and allow communication with them in prayer and invocation. However, the 78 exhibits are not only a testament to spiritual practice, but also to the diverse forms of expression in applied art. Tempera painting on wooden panels of various sizes, metal icons cast in bronze, reverse glass painting, small icons and medallions made of painted enamel, caskets painted in lacquer work – the wide variety of materials used and craftsmanship techniques vividly demonstrate the great importance of holy women for religious practice at home and in the community.

The exhibition is divided into eight chapters, each dedicated to a different revered, inspiring, intrepid, and influential woman. Some of them can be rediscovered through their portrayal on icons: While Eve and Mary continue to shape familiar role models to this day, other biblical narratives challenge them. Women play important roles in the New Testament, as significant witnesses to the passion and resurrection of Jesus and as proclaimers of his message. The influential role of women like Mary Magdalene is the object of renewed discussion to this day. Vita icons provide detailed accounts of the self-determined and intrepid actions of female martyrs, going as far as death and transcending gender roles. Female scholars competed with men in debates – and knew how to be convincing. Other women designed new forms of communal living as founders and operators of convents. As nuns and abbesses, they organized their lives and their livelihoods, cared for each other throughout their lives, and, as valued networkers, influenced not only religion but also the politics and society they lived in. Hermits, such as Maria of Egypt, withdrew from the earthly world in an ascetic life of a lifelong search for God. Other women exercised both secular and spiritual power as influential rulers, creating their own legacy through their reigns. To this day, women of faith invoke the help of holy women as healers in various emergencies and illnesses. Icons of Sophia, representing the wisdom of God, continue to be questioned: the depictions of this ambivalent figure on icons oscillate between Christological-male and Mariological-female interpretations. The wisdom of God eludes any gender attribution.

The sound installation VIRIDESCENCE, developed especially for IKONA by the composer Raphael Languillat and the soprano Maren Schwier, creates a sonic bridge between the female saints depicted in the exhibition and the Saint Hildegard of Bingen, who formulated the principle of viriditas (greening power).

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog and a brochure. The bilingual catalog in German and Dutch is available at the museum ticket office for 20 euros. The accompanying brochure provides a detailed introduction to each of the exhibited icons.

Curators: Dr. Konstanze Runge in collaboration with Liesbeth van Es (Kampen) and Dr. Lutz Rickelt (Recklinghausen)