Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum) [Paperback]

Robert S. Nelson (Editor), Kristen M. Collins (Editor), Thomas F. Mathews (Contributor), David Jacoby (Contributor), Father Justin Sinaites (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2007

Isolated in the remote Egyptian desert, at the base of Mount Sinai, sits the oldest continuously inhabited monastery in the Christian world. The Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at Sinai holds the most important collection of Byzantine icons remaining today. This catalogue, published in conjuction with the exhibition Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai, on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from November 14, 2006, to March 4, 2007, features forty-three of the monastery's extremely rare--and rarely exhibited--icons and six manuscripts still little-known to the world at large.
The exhibition and catalogue bring to life the central role of the icon in Byzantine religious practices. Themes include the icon's status as holy object, the ways in which the icon sanctified the place of worship, and the monks' quest for the holy. The Greek Orthodox monastery at Mount Sinai not only functioned as a major pilgrimage site for centuries but was also a cultural crossroads at the center of the shifting sands of ecclesiastical and secular politics. The accompanying essays explore how the monastery's contact with the outside world, through pilgrimage, resulted in aesthetic exchanges between the monastery and Coptic, Crusader, and Islamic art; and between the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic communities in Europe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this compact but beautiful volume, Tradigo provides some of the most comprehensive information currently available regarding theological icons in general, specific icons, Orthodox sanctuary furnishings (including a very informative discussion of the role and significance of the iconostasis and various elements thereof), and various Orthodox saints."--Choice

"The essayists do an admirable job of portraying the role of icons in the Byzantine Empire as well as Saint Catherine, but it is the catalog entries that really sparkle. Each thoroughly crafted entry includes notes and references as well as a condition report and detailed notation of inscriptions. Recommended for all collections covering Byzantine art."--Library Journal

About the Author

Robert S. Nelson is Robert Lehman Professor of the History of Art at Yale University and author of Hagia Sophia, 1850-1950: Holy Wisdom Modern Monument.

Kristen M. Collins is assistant curator of manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Thomas F. Mathews is John Langeloth Loeb Professor of the History of Art at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York.

David Jacoby is professor of history at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Father Justin Sinaites is librarian at the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at Sinai.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089236856X
• ISBN-13: 978-0892368563
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #833,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare Icons, March 8, 2007

By 

Elena S. Danielson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum) (Paperback)

This volume is the companion to the recent Getty exhibition of original icons from the St. Catherine Monastery in the Sinai Desert, the presumed site of the Old Testament burning bush. The book provides the scholarly background on the ancient images, some going back to the 6th century and showing stylistic features common to Roman portraiture. The color illustrations are especially well done and true to the tones of the originals that I saw in Los Angeles. The book can be enjoyed simply for the aesthetics for the mesmerizing pictures, or for religious meditation, but also for insight into the historical development of early Christian practices. Given the lavish color printing in a large format, the price is quite reasonable.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautifully Produced Volume, March 9, 2007

By 

Diego Banducci (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum) (Paperback)

The reproductions in this book are beautiful, the discussion intelligent and thorough. I bought and read it prior to visiting the exhibit, and thought that it provided 95% of the experience of actually being there.

The Getty, which has had an uneven history in its prior exhibits, really did a superb job on this one. The Getty website retains an excellent interactive description of the exhibition.

I had the impression that St. Catherine's was an isolated outpost at the base of Mt. Sinai. It is at the base of Mt. Sinai, but about an hour's drive from Sharm-El-Sheikh, a popular Egyptian resort town. Apparently tour buses make daily runs between the two places.

For a view of St. Catherine's at the end of the Nineteenth Century, consider reading The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just like being there., March 8, 2007

By 

Greg Habib "Pacific279" (Burbank, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum) (Paperback)

Great book full of pictures and explanatory text. The purchase was prompted by a visit to the Getty Museum to view the exhibit. I was familiar with the monastary beforehand from a VHS tape and the exhibit provided a sense of being there and walking its holy and hallowed grounds. A time capsule of religious art and activity. The detail was very intricate and I marveled at the detail in the icons for those using crude and self-made art supplies. These icons are indeed a labor of love. They go back some 1400 years and have a span of 600.

The book serves to recollect my feelings at the exhibit, the next best thing to being at the monastary itself.