Agios Eleftherios – Gold printing with sandblasting – Mount Athos

Description

Sandblasted gilding with Saint Eleftherios.

An amazing gold print with Saint Eleftherios.

Saint Eleftherios (December 12) was born in the 2nd century AD in Greece (according to others in Rome) to wealthy parents. Orphaned by his father, he was brought up according to the dictates of the Gospel by his pious and philanthropic mother, Anthia, who became a Christian by listening to the preaching of disciples of the Apostle Paul.
When Anthia visited Rome, the bishop of Rome Aniketus, appreciating Eleftherios’ great intelligence, fervent faith and pure morals, took him under his protection.
At the age of 15 he was ordained a deacon and after three years a priest. From this position Eleftherios fought with zeal for the teaching of his flock, and in works of charity. Later and at the age of twenty, by a joint vote of the clergy and the people, he became bishop of Illyricum, today’s Albania, based in Avlona.
The ordination of Saint Eleftherios took place “according to the economy” of God, due to his great virtues and wisdom with which he attracted the pagans to Christ. The sweetness of his speech, confirmed by his many miracles, made those who were in error embrace the Christian truth.
The fame of the virtue of Saint Eleftherios was so great that it reached Britain. Thus, its king, Lucius, wrote a letter to Eleftherios and declared that he and his people wished to become Christians. Eleftherius immediately responded, sending two men trained in the faith, who catechized and baptized Lucius and his people as Christians.
Saint Eleftherios is considered a helper of pregnant women by giving them “good freedom”, that’s why many women invoke his help and place the icon of the saint on them.

When Septimius Severus was informed of the Christian activity of Eleftherios, he ordered his arrest. After many tortures Eleftherius was led by the pagans to the arena of Rome. But the wild animals did not touch him, so they beheaded him along with his mother.

Gold Sandblasting: Features

In the icon with the representation of Jesus Christ, the hagiographer monk used the technique of gold printing, creating a work of unique beauty.
Gold printing is a type of thermotype technique. Thermography is the name of the method by which very thin metallic gold foil is placed on surfaces such as wood, leather, cardboard, plastic by pressing a heated embossed plate (cliché) onto our surface. Around the image you also use the sandblasting technique, it is the technical processing by which the corrosion of a part or the whole of a surface is achieved by throwing sand under pressure.