The Icon Handbook

Library Journal

Although the symbolism of the Christian art of Western Europe is extensively covered in the English-language art literature, the visual clues to Russian Orthodox painting have remained obscure to those without a reading knowledge of German or Russian. Formerly a curator at Maryhill Museum of Art, Coomler has tried to make Russian Orthodox iconography more accessible by presenting 182 illustrations taken from prerevolutionary Russian sources and giving a short description of each with an explanation of the importance of the pictured saints. Interspersed throughout the text are short notes of a general nature touching on broader topics of technique, conservation, and caveats for collectors. The sketchy quality of the 174 black-and-white drawings and the modest quality of the eight color illustrations indicate that this book will serve better as a research tool for collectors and art historians than as an introduction to icons for the general reader. For larger art history collections.-David McClelland, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia