An icon is a very special way of painting, inheriting an important theological and spiritual tradition of the Orthodox Church, both in it’s content and method of painting. It is made prayerfully by traditional or modern techniques. It takes a long time to make and, kept properly, should last many lifetimes and be a focus for prayer in church or home.

The iconographer is a 'contemplative theologian' working within a specific tradition which transmits the teaching of the Orthodox Church in visual form. Iconography has a number of rules or ‘canons’ which are used in expressing the spiritual character of the sacred event or saint depicted. These canons are based on the deposit of faith and tradition of the Orthodox Church, as given in Scripture and interpreted by the Councils of the Church, primarily the Ecumenical Councils before the schism in the eleventh century.

Icons usually take between two weeks and three months to complete, depending on size and complexity. The design, preparation of the gesso surface and gilding takes up most of the first week, allowing for the drying times of multiple coats of gesso and gilding preparations.

Complex decorative raised and embossed/ engraved gilding is the most time consuming and expensive technique, although a small gilded halo is relatively inexpensive. A complex subject involving multiple saints or scenes takes longer than a single figure. This means a small complex icon or triptych may sometimes cost as much as a large single figure.

Costs are normally the average living costs of the time spent to write the icon plus the materials, costed at an hourly rate. So count a living wage of two weeks or more, according to complexity, unless the work is small and simple enough to complete within a week ( including preparation processes). Generally, little work is undertaken at €200.00 or under, and most church work is around €1,000 upwards.

• Al secco painting is aprox.85€ per m2
• Hollow gilding is 30€ ich

• Gildid icons
  (gold 23,3/4crt):

• 20х30cm - 250 €.
• 30х40cm - 350 €.
• 33x50cm - 420 €.
• 40x50cm - 450 €.
• 50x60cm - 550 €.
• shipping are not included

• Icon for Iconostasys are 10 €/dm2
• Complete iconostasys (carving wooden construction) is abb. 600-800€/m2

from Prices to Serbian Orthodox Icons