Icon Painters’ Manuals

Introduction

to Icon Painters’ Manuals: Podlinniki, Hermeneia, and the Role of Patterns

Throughout the history of Orthodox Christian iconography, icon painters’ manuals have played a crucial role in preserving theology, tradition, and artistic standards. These guides, known as ПОДЛИННИК (Podlinniki - Russian - 'Pattern' or 'Authentic Example'), Ἑρμηνεία (Hermeneia - Greek - 'Interpretation' or 'Explaination'), and other regional variations, provide canonical patterns, proportional guidelines, and technical instructions for iconographers, ensuring that the sacred art of iconography remains faithful to its spiritual and doctrinal roots.

Icon painters’ manuals were not just artistic guides—they were theological blueprints. Icons are not mere religious art but “windows into the divine”, conveying the truths of the faith through a highly codified visual language. Because iconography is meant to be a reflection of divine revelation, the creation of icons has always followed strictly defined principles, passed down from master to apprentice.

These manuals served several key functions:

• Standardization of Sacred Imagery – Ensuring that depictions of Christ, the Theotokos, saints, and feast days remained consistent across centuries.

• Proportional Guidelines – Outlining the idealized forms and spiritualized anatomy used in icon painting.

• Liturgical and Theological Accuracy – Preventing errors or heretical depictions by providing descriptions from Scripture, hymns, and church tradition.

• Techniques and Materials – Offering instructions on egg tempera, gold leafing, natural pigments, and panel preparation.

Master iconographers would often pass down their Podlinniki or Hermeneiai to their apprentices as part of their spiritual and artistic inheritance. A well-crafted pattern was more than just a technical reference—it was a sacred tool that preserved:

• The purity of Orthodox tradition – Ensuring that depictions of saints and holy figures remained faithful to tradition.

• A direct connection to the past – The use of a centuries-old pattern linked iconographers to earlier masters of the craft.

• A teaching method for apprentices – Just as liturgical chants are memorized, icons must be painted in accordance with sacred tradition.

Icon painters’ manuals are indispensable tools for preserving the spiritual and artistic integrity of Orthodox iconography. Whether in the form of Podlinniki (Russian), Hermeneiai (Greek), or other regional guides, these manuals have shaped generations of iconographers, ensuring that each new artist remains rooted in the sacred tradition of the Church.

For a deeper dive into Icon Painting Manuals, see Background on Icon Painters Manuals

Byzantine & Greek Schools

• The Painter’s Manual of Dionysius of Fourna – A foundational Byzantine iconography manual from Mount Athos

  • 📚 Διονυσίου του εκ Φουρνά Ερμηνεία της ζωγραφικής τέχνης [Greek]

  • 📚 The Painter's Manual of Dionysius of Fourna, [Editor/Translator] Heatherington [English]

• The Athonite Painters’ Manual – Guides used by the monks of Mount Athos, detailing proportions and pigments  (TBR)

• The Manual of the Hodegon Monastery – One of the earliest Byzantine iconographic pattern books  (TBR)

Russian Schools (Novgorod, Moscow, Stroganov)

• Stroganov Podlinnik – A 16th–17th century Russian icon pattern book, highly detailed with intricate gold embellishments

  • 📚 An Iconographer's Patternbook: The Stroganov Colletion, Fr. Christopher P. Kelley, St. Vladamir's Seminary Press

• Bolshakov Podlinnik – A later Russian podlinnik, featuring more elaborate compositions

  • 📚 ПОДЛИННИКЪ ИКОНОПИСНЫЙ

  • 📚 An Icon Painter's Notebook: The Bolshakov Edition, Gregory Melnick, St. Vladamir's Seminary Press

• Filimonov Podlinnik – A text-heavy Russian iconographic guide describing iconographic compositions

  • 📚 Сводный иконописный подлинник XVIII Века по списку Г. Филимонова (The Combined Icon Painting Manual of the 18th Century in the Edition of G. Filimonov)

• Novgorod Icon Painters’ Guide – Outlines the simplified, bold-color style of Novgorod School icons  (TBR)

• Podlinnik of the Moscow School – Used to standardize Moscow-style iconographic proportions and details (TBR)

• Perm Podlinniki

  • 📚 Лицевой иконописный подлинник 1829 г. из Пермской Успенской старообрядческой церкви (Illustrated icon painting manual,  [of the] year 1829, from the Perm Dormition Old  Ritualist Church)

Polish-Lithuanian School

• Polish-Lithuanian Podlinnik (17th Century) – Blends Russian and Byzantine forms with Western artistic influences (TBR)

• Vilnius Iconographic Guide – Used by Uniate and Orthodox painters in Lithuania and Poland (TBR)

Balkan Schools (Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian)

• Bulgarian Icon Painter’s Manual – A lesser-known guide detailing Slavic-Balkan stylistic features.

  • 📚 ЕРМИНИЯТА НА ЙОАНИС КОНСТАНТИНУ om 1831г. (The Herminia of Ioannis Constantinou from 1831), Emanuel Mutafov, [Bulgarian]

  • 📚 СРМИНИЯ Дичо Зограф (Herminia (icon-painters manual) written by Dimitar Krustev (1819—1872) known as Dicho Zograph), Dimitar Krustev  [Bulgarian]

  • 📚 СРМАИНЯ Вырван Копаров - cocmipa лабратя (Herminia (icon painter's manual) translated from Slavonic to Modern Bulgarian by Varban Kolarov in 1863), Varban Kolarov  [Bulgarian]

  • 📚 СРМИАНЯ Захарий Петрович (Herminia (icon painter's manual) compiled in 1834 by the Bulgarian painter Zahari Petrovich)  [Bulgarian]

• Serbian Hilandar Monastery Icon Guide – Preserved at Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos, emphasizing fresco-style iconography (TBR)

• Romanian Iconographic Compendium – Covers both painted wooden icons and Transylvanian glass icons (TBR)

American Orthodox & Contemporary Manuals

• Prosopon School Icon Painting Manual – A modern adaptation of Russian icon techniques, developed for Western iconographers (TBR)

• 📚 A Byzantine Text on the Technique of Icon Painting – Georgi R. Parpulov’s critical study of early Byzantine icon manuals

  • 📚 A Byzantine Text on the Technique of Icon Painting, Parpulov, Dumbarton Oaks Papers; Vol. 64 (2010), pp. 201-216, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University

• 📚 Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting, Aidan Hart

• 📚 A Brush With God: An Icon Workbook, Peterson Pearson

Patterns

• 📚 The Painter's Manual of Dionysius of Fourna, [Editor/Translator] Heatherington [English]

• 📚An Iconographer's Patternbook: The Stroganov Colletion, Fr. Christopher P. Kelley, St. Vladamir's Seminary Press

• 📚The Iconographer's Sketchbook, An: Drawings & Patterns: Vol I - The Pastinov Collection,  Gregory Melnick, St. Vladamir's Seminary Press

• 📚The Iconographer's Sketchbook Vol 2: The Tuylin Collection, Gregory Melnick, St. Vladamir's Seminary Press

• 📚 An Iconographer's Patternbook: The Stroganov Colletion, Fr. Christopher P. Kelley, St. Vladamir's Seminary Press

• 📚 An Icon Painter's Notebook: The Bolshakov Edition, Gregory Melnick, St. Vladamir's Seminary Press

• 📚Icon Patterns, Prosopon School

• 📚Icon Patterns, Raymond Vincent, Vincent Iconography

• 📚Orthodox Icon Patterns: Patterns & Sketches for Iconographers: Vol I, RB Cass

• 📚Orthodox Icon Patterns: Patterns & Sketches for Iconographers: Vol II, RB Cass

• 📚Orthodox Icon Patterns: Patterns & Sketches for Iconographers: Patron Saints Book 1, RB Cass

• 📚Orthodox Icon Patterns: Patterns & Sketches for Iconographers: Patron Saints Book 2, RB Cass

• 🔗 Icon Patterns, Byzantine Icon Studio (ETSY), https://www.etsy.com/shop/ByzantineIconStudio

Other Manuals

To Be Categorized

• 📚The Iconographer's Labor, Mother Iuliania (Sokolova), [trans. by Paul Stetsenko], 2015 [trans.]

• 📚The Icon Image Of The Invisible: Elements of Theology, Aesthetics and Technique, Egon Sendler,  [trans. by Fr. Steven Bigham], Oakwood Press, 1999 [4th edition]

• 📚A Byzantine Text on the Technique of Icon Painting, Georgi R. Parpulov, Irina V. Dolgikh & Peter Cowe, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

• 📚The Icon Painter's Handbook: Part One, Ian Knowles, Youcanprint, 2023

• 📚The Teachings of Master Iconographer Neoklis, Jan Verdonk