The Transfiguration of the Savior – Gold Leaf with Sandblasting – Mount Athos

Description

Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting: The Transfiguration of Christ

The image of the Transfiguration of Christ is the key to Orthodox theology regarding the vision of God. High in the middle of the image, at the top of Mount Tabor in Galilee, is the Transfigured Christ; with one hand He blesses and with the other, He holds a closed scroll.

Christ is flanked by the upright figures of the prophet Elijah on the left and Moses, who holds the tablets of God’s Law, on the right.

The iconography of the Transfiguration of Christ is a colored lithograph with handmade details.

It was created by a monk iconographer, an expert in Byzantine iconography and artificial aging techniques at Mount Athos.

Gold Leaf Printing with Sandblasting: Characteristics

In the image depicting the Transfiguration of Christ, the monk iconographer used the technique of gold leaf printing to create a work of unique beauty. Gold leaf printing is a type of thermal printing technique. Thermal printing is the method by which a very thin metallic foil is bonded to surfaces such as wood, leather, cardboard, or plastic by the pressure of a heated embossed plate (a cliché) on the surface. Around the perimeter of the image, the technique of sandblasting is also used, which is a processing technique where sand is blasted under pressure to erode part or all of a surface.

Dimensions: 14.5 x 18 x 0.5 cm
Origin: Mount Athos