Hand Painted Icon on Wood

I bought this unusual handpainted icon over the weekend. It's on wood, quite light weight, and backed in velvet. I know that icons are often faked, so I paid very little for it. The velvet is very worn and reminds me of antique velvet I've seen before, while the paint is flaking in places to reveal an underlying coat of red paint. I looked at it under a loupe, and there is some minor crazing in places, no dot matrix to suggest a print.

I guess that one damaged corner is kind of suspicious...

 

This is curious; the broken corner looks like the wood was covered in a cloth, sewn along the edges, before painting. By the flaking it looks like it was red, and the backside cream. Pics are fuzzy. Is that right?

See
http://www.gsinai.com/the-technique-of-panel-icon-painting

 

Sorry, I don't have an actual camera so I'm using my phone.

That's interesting. I had assumed that the velvet was simply glued to the back, but now I've reexamined it. I can see the thread ends of the fabric by the broken part and along some of the border, but along the rest of the border, the edge of the velvet is smooth.

I think it is painted red on the back, too; where the velvet has worn thin, I can see the red peeping through.

EDIT: I think I read your post wrong. I don't think the icon is painted atop fabric, but I can't tell for sure.

 

From the article link: "We have egg tempera icons centuries old, which, when cleaned, have retained fresh, vivid colours and an unflawed surface. Oil painting, on the other hand, after a comparatively short time dries out, cracks and flakes. Modern acrylic-based paints tend to become brittle, dull and lifeless when dry, and have the further problem of being inherently opaque--lacking the translucence possible with egg tempera which has always been a striking feature of icons."

That may eliminate 'antiquity'... flaking tends to suggest oil or acrylic. And the current practices of commissioning the iconograph suggests it could be 'real' - whatever that means. Could be something a church commissioned, say, over the last 75 years? or maybe a nice 'tourist' piece to add income to the painter/commissioned artist... Need an expert beyond that. Not that person.

 

My guess is, from reading the link article, that the fabric is virtually indistinguishable b/c it might be 'double glued' down onto the wood (wood and fabric are saturated), so it becomes part of the wood in effect, thus when the corner split, it split right off with it... need a microscope to tell. But why else would the 'suture' be along the sides... you have to sew the thread to something else, and it's not the wood. So, logically, the fabric was put down, then overhang sewed, then tightened up... maybe glued etc... so hard to tell without seeing it in person. And even then, it might be 'there' but neither can tell.

It suggests to me that the artist had knowledge of how to paint icons 'correctly'... could have been done during a period of history that was 'trying oils' alot, and so, after it started flaking, the owner (church?) goes "oh no. now what" and goes back and has another one done 'old school' the 'right way'... that's a possibility anyway.

Or the artist painted extras in oil and sold them at a stand by the roadway to the church goers/tourists.

Either way, lots of work. Somebody just didn't feel the need to restore it, nailed a wire electrical staple on the back and sold it.

This is where experience with icon paintings provides more insights.

 

I'm not sure what defines "fake" here, unless we're talking about faked age.

My concern is, as far as I can tell, there is nothing to identify the subject. Either through attributes or labeling...

But maybe someone else recognizes something I don't (such as the pattern on the robes).

 

(My guess would be Catherine of Alexandria, but... )

 

Good point. Moral: don't get stuck on techniques.

 

Good. If you know nothing about them but want to buy one, that is the best way.

The hairstyle and diadem look like the archangel Michael's, but no wings.

 

Before settling for Catherine, I tried every possible way to find wings!!!!